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The Confusing Publishing Timetable

Occasionally I get questions from other writers like: How long should I expect to wait before I hear back from an agent who has a query or requested material? How long does it take an agent to get a book deal? Or how long does it take for a publication committee to come to a decision about a proposal?

These are all great questions. The publishing timetable is often very confusing. And as usual, I can only answer these questions out of my own experience and what I’ve learned by observing the journeys of other writers.

How long does it take to hear back from an agent who has a query or a requested partial or full manuscript?

I always encourage other writers to think in terms of weeks, even months, especially before following up. Keep your expectations low, and then consider yourself lucky if you hear back sooner.

Most of my rejections came fairly quickly, within a month or two. When Rachelle requested a full, my manuscript sat in her slush pile for nine months before my contest final brought it to her attention. I followed up a couple of times during those months, but also realized that I just needed to move on to my next project while I waited and not put all my hope in the one book.

How long does it typically take an agent to get a book deal?

Once a writer acquires an agent, the agent may request that the writer make edits or sometimes even major rewrites before beginning the process of submitting to publishing houses.

If a book is polished and ready to go, the agent and/or writer will then put together a proposal to help “sell” the book to publishing houses.

After the proposal is completed, the agent can actively begin sending it out to the various publishing houses she believes are appropriate for the book.

My agent sent out my proposal in June of 2009. She decided specifically on Bethany House because she had previously spoken to the senior acquisitions editor at a writer’s conference about my book. She sent my proposal to him for a thirty day exclusive—meaning she was holding off on sending it to anyone else until Bethany House made a decision. They liked it, and after negotiating back and forth, I finally signed a three book deal in early September of 2009.

From the day I got my agent call to the day I signed my book deal, approximately four months elapsed. Four months is much quicker than average. But it’s just like querying, plan on the process taking months, maybe even a year or more. If it happens sooner than that, then consider yourself fortunate.

How long does it take for a publication committee to come to a decision about a proposal?

Once our books garner the interest of an editor or publishing house, we’re in for another long stretch of waiting. Publication committees meet once or twice a month. Sometimes committee meetings get pushed back or rescheduled especially around holidays.

The committee, made up of editors, sales, marketing, and other VIPs, will analyze every facet of the book. The bottom line is that taking on a new author is a huge risk and investment. As I mentioned in a previous post, traditional publishing houses spend an incredible amount of money in edits, cover, promotion, etc. all before the debut author has brought in a dime.

Because of all those initial start up costs, the committee must choose their projects ever so carefully, and that translates into a slow, meticulous process of weighing the pros and cons of each proposal.

I liked what agent, Chip MacGregor said about publication committees in a recent post: A publishing house has all those filters in place so that they can do the easy thing and say "no" to you. (Really.) The purpose of the process is to say "no" to most everything. Therefore create proposals they can't say "no" to.

For the author waiting on a decision, the process may seem tortuously unbearable, but ultimately when we finally get the affirmative, we’ll know we’ve gotten a huge compliment and the affirmation that all our hard work is finally beginning to pay off.

What do you think about the publishing timetable? What experiences have you had with waiting? Does anything confuse or discourage you about the inevitable waiting? I’d love to hear your experiences or questions!

40 comments:

  1. I understand that all this takes time, but in the same breath, I realise that writing is the only profession in which it takes years to get paid for your work.
    Which other industry expects a worker to be happy to wait years for any payment for services completed?
    We're mad, us writers. We do it only because we love it and would be lost without it.

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  2. What a timely post!! I'm trying not to go insane right now as I wait to hear from Rachelle. My expectations are low as far as when I will hear anything...just like you advised. I keep telling myself this takes a loooong time. But at the same time, in the back of my head I know that it could be any time now....so my heart spikes a little when my phone rings these days and checking my email has officially become torturous (I'm afraid to see an email from Rachelle, which is funny, because usually I LOVE getting emails from Rachelle) :)

    Thanks for this post, Jody. Very applicable for me this morning!

    And yes, your timetable is CRAZY fast. Still doesn't take away from the torture of those three months you had to wait though. It's like when I had Brogan - I had a really quick labor, and everybody would say, "Oh, I'd love to have an easy labor like you!" And I kept thinking, "Easy?! Nothing was easy about that!" Quick doesn't mean it was any less painful. ;)

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  3. Katie makes a good point about quick not meaning painful! LOL

    Waiting is almost always hard, I think, but not necessarily discouraging.

    My wait times have varied but it seems that three months is the magic number when it came to a certain editor I subbed to a few times. With agents, around two to eight weeks. It's annoying to wait, :-), but that's why I work on new stuff, just like you did. If one book doesn't work...well, I have more percolating! *grin*

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  4. Especially, hearing back from agents, there seems to be a lot of information out there on how long they usually take, so we have something to go by. That helps.

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  5. I think I was an exception to the waiting time for an agent. I submitted to Rachelle in March and received an offer of representation a week later! I expected to wait months so I was shocked to hear from her so quickly. Of course, we may wait months to hear from the publishing house she is submitting to.

    Great post, Jody! Thanks for sharing your insights. :)

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  6. Awesome post again, Jody! I love reading your blogs because they're so informative. I've been on submission with my agent for over a month and I've found myself getting antsy. This has given my less patient side a kick in the butt and reminded me that patience is a virtue. :) Thank you!

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  7. I have always heard it is best to wait until you get a response from a query. However at a recent conference I heard an agent on a panel say that after four months if she does not receive a follow up on a query she assumes the author has sold it elsewhere or is not interested in pursuing it further. I thought it was interesting that they expect authors to follow up.

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  8. This is a unique business. My mind is still trying to consume all the protocol and wait scenerios.

    When the time comes, I pray that I can withstand the gnawing anxiety that waiting can ensue. I've always been ready to get what I want when I want it. Writing will break that pattern I'm sure!

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  9. Funny, I just did the math, and it was four months from agent call to book deal for me, too.

    The wait is agonizing. I am not patient. Still, when you finally talk to editors and learn your work has been discussed at editorial meetings...it's easier to invision what happens during the wait.

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  10. Rachelle read my entry in a contest this past fall and requested the full, which I sent December 18. On December 19, Gwynly and I came home from our anniversary dinner, and I discovered an email from Rachelle with words I'll never forget: "I'd like to discuss the possibility of representation." Four l-o-n-g days later, we spoke by phone, and I received the best Christmas present ever.

    That part of my story is way cool and still gives me a thrill every time I think about it. However, six weeks after that call I received the revision notes I knew were coming. Now Rachelle is waiting for me to rewrite a major portion of my story based upon those notes. While I was disappointed to learn my story wasn't ready to submit, I'd much rather have heard that from Rachelle than from a publisher in a rejection letter. I'm blessed to have Rachelle's expert guidance as I work to improve my story.

    Having worked as an assistant editor for a small textbook publishing company, I saw firsthand how much work goes into getting a book ready to print. When I embarked on my journey to publication, I told myself not to expect much to happen the first five years. I focused on learning craft and writing one story after another so I could implement what I was learning. I received Rachelle's offer of representation after writing six manuscripts and performing four complete rewrites--close to 1,000,000 words and over 10,000 hours. When Rachelle sells my first book, I'll laugh if anyone calls me "an overnight success." :D

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  11. Thanks Jody, for sharing your publishing journey. Yes, it gets extremely frustrating when editors take 8 to 9 months(in India, we don't have literary agents) to get back.
    I have realized that the best thing to do is work on another manuscript, or atleast start planning it.
    The wait is extremely frustrating, filled as it is with insecurities and doubts. Is my Manuscript good? Will it meet the editorial team's approval? Will it ever get published?
    Rachna's Scriptorium

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  12. The waiting is the hardest part. I'm singing that song in my head. The best advice I've ever gotten is, write it, submit it, then focus on something new because you need to keep writing and not put all your hopes and dreams on one work. Thanks for your journey story!

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  13. The whole process is definitely a lesson in patience! I sometimes wonder if God is allowing me to write simply so He can work on me.

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  14. I'm not anywhere close to having an agent, but this is a helpful post for when that does happen (eventually). Thanks for the heads up!

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  15. Oh, the waiting...it's certainly the most difficult part of writing. Sometimes I think the waiting game is more difficult than editing! :-)

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  16. Publishing is a waiting game. As writers we've got to accept it and move on. Write another book in the meantime.

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  17. The publishing game is definitely not for the impatient. I've decided to enjoy every moment instead of focusing on the end result.

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  18. I'm not at this stage yet, but I have a friend who can really use this post right now. She has been waiting to hear back from her favorite agent for a few weeks. Sending this over to her now!

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  19. The timeline for magazine submissions, from query to submission to publication, is usually much shorter. For me it's a little like juggling store inventories where the buyer has to be more than a season ahead of the calendar. I send out a query for one article, read through another just published, deposit the cheque for yet another, and work on the writing of another, often all in the same week.

    I track everything on a spreadsheet, checking periodically to see what might need following up. But mostly I just keep writing. There isn't time to dwell on those insecurities and doubts that Rachna mentions if I keep working ahead.

    ::Taking a deep breath here:: BUT it's much harder to project the same attitude onto the expanded noveling timeline. When the weeks become months, the waiting is definitely harder. However, I think keeping busy with other writing -- focusing on the potential of new work -- is still the answer to maintaining sanity.

    Thanks for sharing your experience, Jody. Knowing what your journey has been like, and that of those who comment here, helps immensely.

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  20. The waiting is brutal. All I can do is try to find more writing to do to keep my mind off it!

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  21. It's funny how I keep finding posts that are so applicable to what I'm going through or getting ready for. Nothing like the waiting game. I promise not to have any expectations about timelines. Thanks for the post.

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  22. I'm trying to get a book of Communion meditations published and it's taking what seems like forever. Your newest follower.

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  23. Great post! The timing seems to vary from house to house, from market condition to market condition, and so on and so forth. Waiting seems to be the big name of the game. And then pow!! Everything changes...or at least a few things!

    Patti

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  24. Patience is not my virtue, so being in this business constantly challenges me, but I'm dealing. :) My full has been with my publisher of choice for 4 months now (they told me the wait would be 3-5 months in the full request, so I'm still in that time frame.)

    But I have won a contest and recently sent a follow-up (with another editor at the company's referral) so I'll keep my fingers crossed that I have as much success as you with that second push. :)

    Great post, as usual!

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  25. Yup, as we all know, this is a business of waiting. ;)

    Great post.

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  26. Thanks for this info. I am no where near this process but it's good to read.

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  27. What a wonderfully thorough post. Thank you for addressing virtually every aspect of the process and laying it out so clearly.

    Congratulations on your debut novel and thank you for putting so much time and thought into blogging for other writers on the journey.

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  28. There's so much waiting, it's unbelievable. I queried for 8 months, and my agent had my full for six of those before offering.

    I did revisions over two months. Waited a month for her to read the revisions. We went out on submission....

    And I'm waiting. Still.

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  29. Thanks for breaking down the different areas of waiting. It's interesting to read about the different processes.

    I'm used to waiting now, and it bothers me less each time I query. Probably because I send it and get right back to work on my current project.

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  30. I always enjoy your posts and how you share your experiences with us.

    Wow, 9 months in the slush pile, that is long.

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  31. Jody, learning that waiting is part of this business is important. I think the hardest waiting I've experienced is when kids at schools have asked when my next book is coming out when I'm not under contract for one. They don't understand that not every author is spewing out sequels ever six months, though it would be nice. :) So, I've had to learn to be patient with myself, most of all, and use those moments as an opportunity to teach kids (and others) about the realities of the writing business. Thanks for the good thoughts, Jody. BTW, I hope you will check out my new blog, Post Garden Writer, which launched today, when you have a chance. :)

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  32. WOW! Great insight to the other side of this mountain for those of us still climbing. I hope to follow in your footsteps someday soon. Lord please give me patience. =)

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  33. Thanks Jody, and thank you Kirsten for sending this over to me. =)

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  34. Thanks for explaining your process and what you know in such detail.

    Cynthia Lord, the author of Rules got her agent and book deal pretty quickly. But then Scholastic sat on it for nearly two years after the final edit. She thought they'd never release it, and had to keep explaining to people that her book wasn't out yet.

    Then she won the Newbery Award.

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  35. I always love the glimpse into the real publishing world! Thanks for sharing your journey!!!!

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  36. I once heard that 80% of all books lose money or break even. Given that every book is thought to be profitable before it's put out, it's amazing that all of the experts are still four out of evey five books doesn't make it.

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  37. I think I've finally accepted that it just takes A LONG TIME. Patience is the name of the game. I wish I'd realized this a year ago!

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  38. Thank you for taking the time to demystify the process for those of us in the earlier stages. Very helpful.

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  39. I don't think I've ever met someone who enjoys waiting. Patience is a difficult trait to master. lol I assume that the time span is different for everyone. Regardless of how long, it seems as though waiting is just part of the package.

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  40. I have all this to look forward to. Patience is going to be a word pasted around my home. :)

    Informative and interesting post. Thanks Jody.

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