Submissions Pet Peeve

I have a pet peeve – I know, I have many. I promise to make it short. As a new author trying to get my work to a publisher, I find myself scouring the listings of publishers that will still accept un-agented submissions. My heart skips a beat when I find one, since most publishers these days do not want to have to wade through all the paperwork themselves. What publisher would want to? When agents can do most of that work, why spend the time and resources on tackling the daunting task of telling authors they don't want the project they had spent days and sometimes years on creating?

Excited, I start reading the submission policies. Usually a huge listing of requirements ranging from typeset all the way to how you seal the envelope. OK, that last part is a bit extreme and I made it up. There are a lot of requirements though. Some publishers are easier going – especially the ebook publishers because there is less to lose then going to print.

I read each requirement carefully, checking them off as I go. Then I see the waiting time to expect a response if I'm lucky enough to get one at all. Usually around 6-12 months. Yikes! My hope fades as I think to myself, "Great. More waiting", followed by, "Oh, stop being a whiny ass and do it." I take a deep breath and read further.

There it is. The part that peeves me the most. It's not the fact that a response could take a year or that I may not even get a response. It's the part where they will not accept submissions that another publisher may be reviewing as well. No wonder it can take years for a book to be published! Not all publishers list this requirement, but I am finding that many do. I find myself wondering how they could possibly know anyway. Still there is always the off chance that an editor may talk to another editor and the subject of the story that had been submitted to both publishers comes up. I guess at that point, the author will look pretty stupid.

I understand why publishers put this requirement out there. They are flooded with submissions and it is inconvenient for them to spend time on a story that may have been accepted by another publisher down the street a day before. But isn't the game we all play? The early bird gets the worm, right?

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012Original content here is published under these license terms: X License Type:1License Summary: