Got an offer from a small press. A bigger publisher has also expressed interest. I've already nudged the bigger publisher to tell them I've had interest from others. Could I nudge them again without coming across as annoying?
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Should I nudge a publisher again?
- Thread starter writera
- Start date
I would definitely say let them know about the offer. And let everyone else who has the manuscript know as well.
Congrats on the offer!
Congrats on the offer!
Two things... (And I apologize because these bits of advice are a bit outside just a critique of your email and more than you asked for.)
1. Don't offer to let the midsize publisher determine the time table in which you're going to reply to the small press. I know, with you having your own goals in mind, it's tempting to keep the small press hanging for as long as possible while the midsize pub makes up its mind, but it's not actually very professional. The small press assumes you submitted to them in good faith and has every reason to believe that you'd be willing to work with them if they made a suitable offer. So let the midsize pub know that you received an offer, but focus on your decision about the small press, right now. If you already know you don't want to work with them, after all, just tell them no and don't mention it to anyone else. You should probably only inform others of offers you're actually considering. If you feel like you do want to work with them, then pick a time frame that feels fair to both you and them (if they don't end up responding with one), and make your decision by that date. Inform the midsize pub and any agents considering your work of that date, as well. "I would be willing to hold out longer to see what you decide" is sort of inconsiderate to the small press. It feels like someone sincerely asked you to prom, and you don't want to be dateless but you do want to see if a more popular person will ask you out, so you're going to string the first person along as a sort of backup in case the popular kid doesn't end up asking you. You know? Nobody likes that.
2. Don't let the publisher decide whether you should have an agent. If you don't feel like you need an agent, then do this solo. If you do want an agent, then let some agents know when you have an offer on the table and are looking for help negotiating the deal. But it's not on the publisher to make sure your interests are looked after--that's a career decision you should be making for yourself.
I should ETA: I'm not actually "in the industry" so take what I say with a grain of salt. Most of what I think comes from how I've seen agents say they want us to interact with them... I don't know if it's the same with publishers. This just all seems like the standard protocol from what I've seen around.
1. Don't offer to let the midsize publisher determine the time table in which you're going to reply to the small press. I know, with you having your own goals in mind, it's tempting to keep the small press hanging for as long as possible while the midsize pub makes up its mind, but it's not actually very professional. The small press assumes you submitted to them in good faith and has every reason to believe that you'd be willing to work with them if they made a suitable offer. So let the midsize pub know that you received an offer, but focus on your decision about the small press, right now. If you already know you don't want to work with them, after all, just tell them no and don't mention it to anyone else. You should probably only inform others of offers you're actually considering. If you feel like you do want to work with them, then pick a time frame that feels fair to both you and them (if they don't end up responding with one), and make your decision by that date. Inform the midsize pub and any agents considering your work of that date, as well. "I would be willing to hold out longer to see what you decide" is sort of inconsiderate to the small press. It feels like someone sincerely asked you to prom, and you don't want to be dateless but you do want to see if a more popular person will ask you out, so you're going to string the first person along as a sort of backup in case the popular kid doesn't end up asking you. You know? Nobody likes that.
2. Don't let the publisher decide whether you should have an agent. If you don't feel like you need an agent, then do this solo. If you do want an agent, then let some agents know when you have an offer on the table and are looking for help negotiating the deal. But it's not on the publisher to make sure your interests are looked after--that's a career decision you should be making for yourself.
I should ETA: I'm not actually "in the industry" so take what I say with a grain of salt. Most of what I think comes from how I've seen agents say they want us to interact with them... I don't know if it's the same with publishers. This just all seems like the standard protocol from what I've seen around.
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This is a tricky situation. Heza has a point, if you don't even want the small publisher, I would definitely not nudge the mid size publisher again. Honestly, you've been nudging them so far and another nudge will look unprofessional. And that long winded letter sounds unprofessional as well, I'm sorry. I've had a bad experience in the past, being too eager and emailing an interested publisher back and forth. Well it was one too many for the publisher and they passed simply by saying, "It is in bad form to keep emailing." And it was only about 4 or 5 emails back and forth within a 4 month span, so be careful.
So take my experience with warning. What I would do is, pass on the small publisher and wait on the other stuff. And I would definitely pass on the small publisher especially if there's other better publishers you still haven't yet submitted too. And agent interest? So you have agent interest, and small and mid size interest. You're all over the place.
I really don't know your situation, or if you've been doing this for a long long time and this is your last route. Because like I said, if it isn't your last route and your getting all this interest, why are you even submitting to small publishers at this point? You should aim your highest and try all the higher publishers first (if of course the agent thing fails and you're ready to submit to publishers.) But it sounds like your still querying agents too? Again, it's a tricky situation for sure.
I've had small publishers in the past, and some are not even worth any time whatsoever. So if you happen to go with the small publisher, be careful with that too. Do all your research on it and ask all the questions you want to ask before you sign anything. Make sure to check the Bewares section here.
So take my experience with warning. What I would do is, pass on the small publisher and wait on the other stuff. And I would definitely pass on the small publisher especially if there's other better publishers you still haven't yet submitted too. And agent interest? So you have agent interest, and small and mid size interest. You're all over the place.
I really don't know your situation, or if you've been doing this for a long long time and this is your last route. Because like I said, if it isn't your last route and your getting all this interest, why are you even submitting to small publishers at this point? You should aim your highest and try all the higher publishers first (if of course the agent thing fails and you're ready to submit to publishers.) But it sounds like your still querying agents too? Again, it's a tricky situation for sure.
I've had small publishers in the past, and some are not even worth any time whatsoever. So if you happen to go with the small publisher, be careful with that too. Do all your research on it and ask all the questions you want to ask before you sign anything. Make sure to check the Bewares section here.
I agree about small presses. These days there isn't much a small press can do for you if anything unless you just want someone to handle the business side for you. You will still have to do most of the promotion if not all because the average small press can't afford to devote tons of promo to individual authors. If the mid-sized publisher is reputable and you have checked them out I'd wait on them. I also wouldn't nudge just yet. You said you just nudged three weeks ago? At least give them six weeks and they might get back to you before then. Publishers are extremely busy and you will appear desperate and impatient if you keep nudging, which aren't ideal qualities a publisher wants in an author. Also, I agree about the letter. Please don't send that. You are telling them a lot of things that aren't even their business. They don't need to know all this and once again you sound extremely desperate in that letter and you're groveling. You're giving them all the control of the situation. You don't wanna do that. Wait until the mid sized press gets back to you before offering them any information. Just take a deep breath and be patient. Patience is the name of this game.
If you are truly interested in the small press then you have to weigh the pros and cons but don't sign with one press just because they offered a deal first. That's never a god reason to sign with anyone. If you haven't, done all the research you can on all the publishers you've submitted to and look at their books and see if they are selling, look at reviews, look at what authors might be saying about working with these pubs. If they aren't in the Background and Bewares section, post the pubs and ask for opinions. Do anything you can to make the best decision.
But, don't sell yourself short. Hold out for what you want and if the mid sized press rejects you in the end you can always go back to the small press. I am willing to bet they would still be interested down the line.
One of the worst things you can do in this business is settle.
If you are truly interested in the small press then you have to weigh the pros and cons but don't sign with one press just because they offered a deal first. That's never a god reason to sign with anyone. If you haven't, done all the research you can on all the publishers you've submitted to and look at their books and see if they are selling, look at reviews, look at what authors might be saying about working with these pubs. If they aren't in the Background and Bewares section, post the pubs and ask for opinions. Do anything you can to make the best decision.
But, don't sell yourself short. Hold out for what you want and if the mid sized press rejects you in the end you can always go back to the small press. I am willing to bet they would still be interested down the line.
One of the worst things you can do in this business is settle.
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Maybe others will weigh in, but wouldn't this be a good time to nudge the agents, rather than the mid-size press, to let them know that you have an offer in hand? Then if one of them decides to rep you, they can help you with evaluating the small press, whether or not to nudge the mid-size, and maybe even send your MS to some larger presses. Good luck--it all sounds promising!
It took me 5 years to get FIX ME published. It was a horribly long and soul-crushing experience because I was really really close so many times, it was crazy to think it took me that long. I tried 100s of agents, big publishers and small. I was all over the place too, just as you are now. I've had a couple of offers along the way, but passed because by then I had worked with a few small publishers for my first couple of books and that, like I mentioned wasn't worth it. And also by then I had my fourth book published by a mid-size publisher and got a nice advance, so I was expecting that and more for my next book. I got that publisher all on my own too. Had agents in the past that didn't work out. So I continued to drag it through querying and submissions to publishers for 5 long years. I searched far and wide and Googled to the 35th page, reading and finding all I can. Submitted to places that opened for submissions, tried contests like PitMad and everything, all for this one book.
I was on my last straw with the book, and in doing my search, yet again after all these years, the best opportunity opened up for me when my publisher decided to open to submissions after always wanting only agented work. So cleaned it up as best I could for the last iffin time. And I pretty much threatened God, if you don't do this, I'm finished pushing it. I was sweating it out horribly, I really thought that if it didn't work, my book would be finished at that point. My publisher requested the full after 6 weeks and then 5 days later I got the most incredible email of my writing career. It was an offer to publish the book, flat out and they were setting it for their fall catalogue.
So if you're getting all this promise after all these years and feeling desperate. Don't be. I think you're in good hands at getting it published. Just keep those queries and subs fresh and write the next book in the meantime. You've been so determined as these years, it will happen. But like others have said, don't settle. Not on a book like this.
Also, you can virtually send to agents like forever, lol. All you need to do is keep a look out for new agents on QueryTracker. There's always new agents popping up. Sometimes it gets slow and you feel like you've exhausted the entire agent list. It's not possible to do so. The only thing that will stop you from querying is you. Good luck. You got this!!!!!
I was on my last straw with the book, and in doing my search, yet again after all these years, the best opportunity opened up for me when my publisher decided to open to submissions after always wanting only agented work. So cleaned it up as best I could for the last iffin time. And I pretty much threatened God, if you don't do this, I'm finished pushing it. I was sweating it out horribly, I really thought that if it didn't work, my book would be finished at that point. My publisher requested the full after 6 weeks and then 5 days later I got the most incredible email of my writing career. It was an offer to publish the book, flat out and they were setting it for their fall catalogue.
So if you're getting all this promise after all these years and feeling desperate. Don't be. I think you're in good hands at getting it published. Just keep those queries and subs fresh and write the next book in the meantime. You've been so determined as these years, it will happen. But like others have said, don't settle. Not on a book like this.
Also, you can virtually send to agents like forever, lol. All you need to do is keep a look out for new agents on QueryTracker. There's always new agents popping up. Sometimes it gets slow and you feel like you've exhausted the entire agent list. It's not possible to do so. The only thing that will stop you from querying is you. Good luck. You got this!!!!!
Thank you so much for this reply. It gives me hope. My experience, to date, has been almost exactly like yours except I haven't gotten an offer yet. So right now I've been pitching the book to agents and to as many publishers as I can, including following up with a few submissions my agent had sent but the editors emailed me back to stay they never got and to resubmit, etc. This mid-size publisher seems like my last chance at a good deal, so I'm really hopeful and nervous about it. But as I've come so close so many times before, don't want to get my hopes up!
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Most likely any agent worth his or her salt isn't going to be interested in a deal with a small press and you don't need an agent with a small press because the agent won't be able to do anything for you with a small press. There's most likely NO negotiation room with the small press. Most small presses don't have the means or ability to negotiate and the terms they offer are usually "take it or leave it". I doubt any agent that could really help an author's career would sign someone based off of them getting an offer from a small press.
Now it's different if the agent already represents the author, they might be open to a small press depending on who the press is but most agents won't find a small press deal impressive enough to sign an author who writes them out of the blue. If you got a six figure deal sitting on your lap with Simon and Schuster, you might get some agents' eyebrows raising. LOL! Agents want to make money from deals as well. We forget and agents know with a small press the author might not make much let alone an agent. Also, many small presses will say straight out they prefer to deal with the author and many will skip authors with agents. They don't wanna deal with an agent. It complicates things too much for a small press and they know an agent most likely will be a hassle to deal with.
So if an author has a small press deal and then goes and gets an agent and THEN comes back to the small press they could blow that deal because the press probably won't wanna deal with an agent.
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Good luck but it's out of your hands now. Also don't put too much stock into this one publisher. Keep submitting your work and concentrating on other possibilities as well. This is a SLOW industry so take what a publisher says about getting back to you by a certain time with a grain of salt. If you really want this publisher then take a breath and wait it out. Good things come to those who wait.
Meanwhile, don't just sit there. Keep submitting! You want as many options as you can get.
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I wish I could decode the language they use to try to determine when they might get back to me lol. It sounds like they'll get back soon, but in publishing terms, I know this could be a long time.
Me too. haha. I think we all wish that. Some are slow, some are quick about things. Some I've waited as long as a 18 months on one! 3 weeks is nothing! Really, it's like an hour to them. I would nudge them again at the 3 month mark from the last email. It's usually standard wait time.
I once got a rejection from an agent a YEAR after I got a publishing offer. Yep. This was back in the late 90's when you had to use snail mail. Agents weren't accepting email back then and if they were it was like two or three. I had forgotten all about this person until I got one of my SASEs, (self-addressed, stamped envelopes). Goodness I hated having to send all those queries and SASEs out)! But yeah, I laughed when I got the rejection because I'd already inked a deal. Needless to say it didn't hurt my feelings a bit.
But the point is, it can take a long, long, long, long time to hear back and some agents/pubs never respond at all.
But the point is, it can take a long, long, long, long time to hear back and some agents/pubs never respond at all.
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Any suggestions for the wording of such an email if I do send one? Basically, how do you nudge politely, inform them there's an offer on the table, but not piss them off? Oh and not sound desperate (when clearly I am)? LOL.
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If I were you, I would use gentle wording like “If you’re still interested in the ms., I hope to hear from you soon.” Or possibly “I hope to hear from you by the end of the month” or however long you gave the small press. They will correctly interpret “I hope” as “I need an answer from you relatively soon because I don’t want to end up with no offer, but I’m willing to do some reasonable waiting.”
IMHO, their request to “keep me in the loop” justifies polite nudging. I would not name the small press unless it has a great reputation.
An agent would know better about this, though. Agents are aces at navigating these types of situations.
IMHO, their request to “keep me in the loop” justifies polite nudging. I would not name the small press unless it has a great reputation.
An agent would know better about this, though. Agents are aces at navigating these types of situations.
Thank you for this advice. It's very good. I agree - gentle wording.
I might hold off another day or two, maybe even a week.
Would you refer to the other publisher as "another publisher" or "a small press"? (And I agree with not naming them, though if they ask, I might have to.)
I would just say “another publisher” or “I’ve had another offer.” If they asked, I’d tell them which.
Are the publishers in the Bewares and Backgrounds section? Since you're anonymous, you mind sharing names? We could help you to further evaluate them (if you want) if we knew who they are. Others might have had experiences with them and it might help you evaluate whether or not either is worth your time to pursue. Especially the small press. If you don't wanna share, course that's your choice. But, do all the research you can before signing with anyone.
Disclaimer: not an agent here! But I think I would cut the middle two sentences in your first paragraph. Possibly substitute “I intend/hope/would like to make a decision by the end of the month.” I don’t know, what do others think?
They know that once you have an offer, time is limited. If they’re still interested, they may ask about the time frame, but I would wait and let them ask. And don’t say anything about what you’re telling or hope to hear from the other publisher; they don’t need to know.
Cool pop makes great points about researching. Forgive me if you already mentioned this, but how is the small press’s distribution? And the midsize publisher’s, for that matter? (“Midsize” can mean a lot of things. I’ve seen my publisher described as “midsize” because it’s not Big Five; it puts books on shelves worldwide. I’ve also seen much smaller pubs with less reach described that way.)
They know that once you have an offer, time is limited. If they’re still interested, they may ask about the time frame, but I would wait and let them ask. And don’t say anything about what you’re telling or hope to hear from the other publisher; they don’t need to know.
Cool pop makes great points about researching. Forgive me if you already mentioned this, but how is the small press’s distribution? And the midsize publisher’s, for that matter? (“Midsize” can mean a lot of things. I’ve seen my publisher described as “midsize” because it’s not Big Five; it puts books on shelves worldwide. I’ve also seen much smaller pubs with less reach described that way.)
Thanks for the advice, Fuchsia. I deleted the posts I made with the email templates. And I didn't name them on here because I thought that would be unprofessional, but have researched.
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This probably isn't very helpful at this stage, but for future reference... the optimal time to nudge the mid-sized publisher would be have been after receiving the offer from the small press, not before when there was just "interest". An offer from another publisher is concrete and could have a direct bearing on their decision-making process. I'm not sure where you are with your process, but wishing you good luck!