When to Submit a Manuscript?
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008A writer with a book manuscript finished and ready to market asked:
QUESTION:
What are your personal thoughts about submitting a ms anywhere at the present time (considering the financial situation)? I was going to wait until after the election for sure. Life might be more settled then, for better or worse, but at least some questions would be answered. What would you do if you had a book to submit?
ANSWER:
For any year, I would NOT submit towards the end of the year, meaning from mid-November on. I’d wait until after January 1st. Traditionally the publishing world comes to a screeching halt twice a year: in August (publishers flee for vacations from the too-hot NY publishing world) and year end. They are only half staffed Thanksgiving through Jan 1 for the Holiday season.
For this particular year, with the financial world seemingly coming to a crashing halt, nearly every industry is in the “hold” mode. In the publishing world, they already have committments for months in advance, so will likely hesitate to committ for anything much further out until some stability is felt in the markets overall. So from September to the end of 2008, I’d say it’s a bust just for the reasons you give. Sorry about that.
But … if I ALREADY had the right connections within the industry and an introduction either you made with a publisher previously or through your networking, I would NOT put it off. I’d proceed with any contacts in a business-as-usual fashion. Holidays slow-downs and financial woes aside, they are still in business so they will respect any contacts already started. And at the least, you would be firmly in their minds once the world starts to turn again.
PS: I answered this writer prior to the 2008 elections and prior to financial situations only deepening. If you already submitted something to a publisher during this difficult time and find responses slower than expected, these are likely the reasons. So don’t be discouraged. Just keep in mind that it will take a while before new committments will be made in any sector … and keep on honing your writing skills in the meantime.