RSVP

When you send your children off whether it is to summer camp, college, or elsewhere, you expect to get some sort of an update from time to time.  Well, it is the same with your manuscript.  Any writer will agree that a manuscript is like one of your children.  You nurture it, develop it, and then you send it off into the world.  As with any child, you'd like to know how it's doing.  Is it sitting in a slush pile somewhere? Does it have any shot at all at publication?

The question which always plagues me is, how long are you supposed to wait for a reply?  Now I understand that publishers are busy and are often inundated with submissions.  However, isn't everyone entitled to a timely response? 

One of my past mistakes was to submit MURDEROUS DESCENT to several publishers.  Even though some of them specifically stated that they did not accept simultaneous submissions, I figured, what are the odds?  Well, apparently pretty good because shortly after I accepted a contract from PublishAmerica, I received an e-mail from another publisher who was interested in my book.  In retrospect, the second offer would have been the better one, but they had been sitting on my manuscript for almost a year.

When I started to resubmit my newest endeavor, I decided to choose carefully and do one at a time.  It did not take long to encounter a familar problem.  This is what I find to be the most frustrating aspect of writing.  I'm a former writing teacher and you pretty much know the difference between a paper that has potential and one that completely missed the mark right away.  Why does it take so long for a publisher to reply?  If you hate it, send it back.  If you love it, let the author know.  If there's potential, but it needs more work, say so.

Perhaps what the publishing world needs is an Emily Post refresher course.  All of your contact information is a click away.  We're not asking for the moon, just an occasional update so you know how your baby is doing.