14-month book evaluation...(??!)

It has now been 14 months since I submitted a requested book proposal and complete MS to a publisher. Not a big-name, but no small potatoes either. (This was the result of a writer's conference interview.) The initial reaction was very positive, and electronic submission was requested and sent as well. After the one-yr. mark, I drummed up the courage to finally call the editor, as several written queries had been ignored. The editor answered immediately and was very pleasant on the phone, and said that the book 'was still under consideration,' and had definitely not been rejected. Is this possible?? Any idea what might be going on here? I was convinced it was in a reject pile somewhere, and was so flabbergasted, I had no further questions. But now I'm wondering how often should I pester them about it?

triceretops said:

Pat--This seems to be a positive, if not longish, response. The manuscript might be past the editorial faction, and might now be with an in-house marketing board who just might have the final say. I would bite the bullet and wait this out another few months befor contacting them again. I realise that the wait must be maddening, but to let it consume you any further would be counter-productive. Do you have anymore submissions out there for the same manuscript? You might line some up just in case.

Triceratops

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Thanks for the words of encouragement, both of you. This was the first thing I ever wrote, and I've since decided that although I'm enthusiastic about the content, I'm not completely sold on it myself as to its format--so I'm holding off submitting it anywhere else. If this publisher ends up rejecting it I'll rewrite it and submit it to the other publisher that requested it, asking that I condense the first 3 chapters into one.

Nomad, as you're an editor I really appreciate your input! You make a very valid point, and one which I've considered these past several months. The only problem is, I don't want to invest the time rewriting specifically for editor # 2 (or even doing a completely new version for all subsequent editors, which is really my present vision) if there's even a remote chance of hearing a 'yes, but rewrite it this way' from editor #1. There's my quandary. I'm basically lazy. I know beyond a doubt it'll be rewritten somehow before being published but am not sure HOW it'll be rewritten. To tell you the truth, I just spent last year teaching it (it's a Bible study), and I'm a little tired of it, anyway! I think I'll just let it percolate till Christmas, and then revisit the idea of a completely new way of packaging it. Maybe time will give me a little more direction.

Thanks for the comments!