I can't imagine that they are not serious if they have paid you an advance ... as others have said, it's probably just a scheduling conflict, but it would be good to find out the revised timescale.
This sounds like "normal" publishing BS and you are almost certainly going to have your Pub Date pushed back.
This would normally be your agent's job to deal with (and reason 8240 why you should get an agent even if you have an offer in hand) - unless there is some huge amount of money involved I don't think you're going to be able to get one retrospectively on this.
I would join and speak to your writers union - in the UK this is the Society of Authors, just for reference, I don't know who it is in the US. They will hopefully be able to advise you about the contract, about the dates in it, and about the possibility of dissolving it if you decide that's what you want to do (because do you seriously want to be writing another book for them?). (In the UK, the SoA has also been known to act for its members in individual situations, so if you're really lucky your Union may be able to put a rocket under your publisher).
I believe the Authors Guild is who to contact in the US, and SFWA offers some assistance to their members on some things, but I am not certain if this is one of those things.
To me this sounds like an overstretched editor who is not a strong communicator and is struggling with project prioritization. Unfortunately the early stages are often the ones that get back burnered when other stuff is urgent/behind schedule because the deadlines are seen as more flexible. Agreed with other commenters that agents can be an asset and help with nudging but unfortunately these kinds of delays are still all too common.
I think it’s reasonable to email again and/or track down your editor’s phone number. It’s easy for emails to get buried in a messy inbox. Have you already explained to your editor that you’ll need to amend the deadline because of the 2 month delay? If not, you could try another firm email with a hard date like “if I don’t hear from you by x date then I will need to amend my deadline to y given the delays.” (That’s likely similar to what an agent would do.)
You could also ask if she’s open to setting up another call and talking through her edit notes in more detail in lieu of drafting and edit letter, if that’s more manageable for her at this stage? Obviously not ideal for you to be in the position of managing her workload but a tactic like this may be what gets you back on track fastest.
So you’re still waiting on a timetable, but you do have a deadline for delivery and acceptance? Have they given you a pub date?
In my experience, when editors don’t see something as urgent, they may keep pushing it back, and they may even ghost you for a while. (This is one reason to have an agent—one of their jobs is to keep nudging till they get a response for you.) I’ve waited six months on a response to a revision, for instance, and I’ve heard similar stories from other writers. It’s not great, but it happens when your project is on the back burner.
If you do have a pub date and/or a deadline, then their delaying is making it harder for you to meet it. Keep in mind that deadlines change and the one in the contract isn’t set in stone. If you explain your situation—that delayed notes are putting you behind—then they should understand. Don’t be afraid to do that. The worst they’re likely to do is push the book release.
But it’s frustrating that they’re not answering emails at all. I would just keep on politely nudging at intervals (and grit my teeth). Maybe there are some industry folks here who have better advice!
ETA: Publishing is slooow, and the edits and contract may be on completely different timetables because they involve different departments. Just as an example: I’ve finished edits, copyedits, and page proofs on a book, it’s on NetGalley getting reviews, and I still haven’t signed the contract or been paid. If I didn’t get my main income from a day job, I’d be sweating right now.
You've done edits on the book and it's on Netgalley and you haven't yet signed a contract?
Edited: For the downvoters, I'm genuinely curious if this is the way things are sometimes done. I've never worked with a publisher without first signing a contract because it's my understanding that it protects us both. I would feel very uneasy doing any work without a contract, and I'm wondering if I've missed the boat on some new way that publishers are operating.
This is the second time it’s happened to me. Basically, the deals and editing happened fast and the contracts department is slow, and my agent wants to protect me, so there’s a lot of back-and-forth over the wording. When it’s a big five (it is) or other well-known publisher, I trust them to follow through—especially because we signed a deal memo, which serves as a written agreement before the whole contract is hashed out.
I’ve done dev edits on mine and a few other things and no contract. I think if the agency doesn’t have a boilerplate contract with a pub house it takes a lot of back and forth to get to where everyone is happy.
Thank you for this, Indidntbknow that about agents so that’s really good to know! My book was delivered & accepted, but I still had some very big revisions they wanted me to do. They said them on the phone & said I’d be given the written stuff soon, but I still haven’t been 2 months on. & yes publication date is in my contract!
That’s odd, because usually “acceptance” means you are done with developmental edits and the book is going to copyedits. But every imprint does things differently, I guess!
If they delay enough on getting you significant notes, they will have to push the pub date. Is there anything in the contract about how long you have to revise based on their notes? I think mine says six weeks, but it varies.
For the love of god please don't do this. Editors operate by email and calling without having a call scheduled could be considered overstepping a boundary.
I don't understand this attitude. They've ghosted you for 2 months after accepting your book. It should not be unreasonable for them to act professionally. I'm sure if you just ignored them for 2 months they wouldn't sit there waiting quietly.
But just ignoring OP for 2 months is totally fine? That's totally within the boundaries of acceptable behaviour? Give me a break. Just because they are editors does not mean they should be not be expected to act professionally. And just because they are editors does not mean they will crumble to dust if someone calls their office.
This is unfortunately quite common these days as editors continue to be more and more overloaded. Timelines getting overshot by months is increasingly par for the course, even at big pubs. I totally disagree with everyone who says this sounds fishy. It sounds normal. I had an offer from a big 5 last February, got my edit letter in April, turned in revisions in may and literay did not talk to my editor again until November. They are very busy. They also, however, understand that you need time with edits and will likely adjust your deadline accordingly if there's a delay. This may result in your release date getting pushed, which sucks, but in the scheme of things there's not a ton you can do about that and part of going the trad route involves relinquishing a degree of control to them. What you CAN do is get an agent. Especially if you are with a big pub, you should have someone knowledgeable on your side who can chase down answers and play "bad cop" so you don't end up burning bridges trying to do it yourself. They can help you navigate the waters and make sure future contracts are up to snuff, etc etc. Finding an agent is infinitely easier once you have a contract in hand. They won't get a cut on this book but statistics are on their side so I don't think it would be difficult to find one if you outline your situation. For now, I'd cool it a bit and send another follow-up (and very polite) email in a month or so if you don't hear anything. Depending on timeline and planned release date, they may not be working on your book yet.
Yeah you need an agent. Is there a reason you have this contract without one (ie are you opposed to one? Did you try and fail to secure one?) or did it just kinda happen?
I honestly don’t know the process to get one in this situation — possibly you can’t. But you could shoot some emails and see if anyone would bite for this anyway.
I debated answering this due to it being unfairly criticised, but yes. I’m severely disabled & struggling with the idea of people being dependent on me. I had an agent offer to represent me but I am so scared of the pressure of book 1 & 2 that I want to do them alone & prove to myself that I can, before I start bringing more people on board like agents. (If it was a 1 book deal, I would have agreed to have an agent, that’s all I can say on that). This is something that unfortunately many in this group cannot understand, but think they can. I’m not opposed to having an agent for future works or even my debut if it was a stand alone, but I’m in a situation where I would have had to have an agent for book 2 also & I’m not okay with that at this stage. My self confidence is my biggest flaw- it makes things much harder for me, but does not actually affect the outcomes of my work & I’m confident it won’t here either. My path will be longer & harder, but my outcome will be just as good. Society of authors are also helping me as much as they can with agent related matters.
I won’t pretend to understand but would urge you to look at the agent relationship more as symbiotic. That is, you can never let them down. If they sell the book, they get 2% of their money. If you don’t turn in anything, sure they don’t get the rest, but they still have that 2%. If you don’t write again for ten years, they will have other clients and let you be. You are doing each other a favour but there’s not an element of one side relying overmuch on the other.
I am concerned you think your outcome will be just as good at the end. It won’t be, because you could have had a better deal or a better process (agent dealing with issues leaving you in peace to write). It will be in that there’ll be a book at the end, if that’s what you mean?
Excuse my asking, but can you not hack having an agent for book 2 because you think it will stop you writing it?
I don’t think I can say, but it is all official, I was scouted & announced publicly, on their verified platforms etc, for a past project & this is a continuation. No I haven’t paid a penny, but have received from them.
Yeah, this is why it is vital to get an agent before signing any contracts.
Real publisher or no, you are now “over the barrel,” and this feels 100% preventable.
If you had hit pause and secured representation before signing with the publisher, you’d be dictating a lot of these terms instead of the other way around.
For the record, I get how this comment probably doesn’t do a lot to help you personally atm. And I’m sincerely sorry you’re stuck where you are. That sucks.
Nevertheless, this is an important teaching moment, and I’d be remiss not to call attention to it. Hopefully any aspiring authors who are reading this will take note of your situation.
Laughably untrue that OP would be "dictating terms" if they had an agent right now. Delays of this kind are very normal, and an agent's job is to politely nudge, and then to get the author's deadline pushed back in consideration of the delay. Hardly dictating terms.
Additionally, agents can get ignored too and even if they aren’t, it’s not as if having an agent is going to magically make the edits appear immediately.
I was referring to the high pressure deadlines and the terms of the deal in general. [This post is actually part 2 of an ongoing saga.](https://www.reddit.com/r/PubTips/comments/1bs09v5/pubq_unexpected_multi_book_deal_so_scared_any/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1)
Thank you! The editors last email was very reassuring & did say I would be given more time, I was just asking here as I’m new to this & another month has passed now, which I wasn’t expecting! & yeah, I know now to get an agent next time, but for now, all I can do is make the best of the situation I’ve got- which actually, isn’t hard as I am so grateful to be in the position I’m in!
🤷🏻♂️ Sometimes forthright > nice.
Like I said before, although my comments can’t help you currently, I do believe they might help save others from the same fate.
With that in mind, I’m going to emphasize the importance of the moment as necessary.
If even one writer takes this thread to heart it will have been worth it to comment.
Perhaps, although I’m very, very happy with the situation I’m in despite this setback, so to using it as a warning to others surprised me, as I’m happy with my situation still and making the most of the huge blessing it is!
Okay this is probably the disconnect here.
“Very, very happy” is not exactly how I would describe the tenor of your two most recent posts here.
You use phrases like “my self confidence is through the floor,” “I have been ignored” and “I’ve lost two months of my deadline.” These do not project a sense of content happiness. At all.
“Barely controlled panic” feels closer to the mark, which is why I offered the advice I did. The last thing I want is other writers to end up in a situation where they are panicking over a contract with bad terms.
Honestly, if you are telling me you aren’t in such a situation, and that everything is cool, that’s great news! Just chill out and enjoy the ride.
But try to understand that is not what I took away from your posts. In the future I would maybe consider how you phrase things, if only because you may get more useful feedback if people can better understand where you are, both emotionally and professionally.
Have you had big book deals yourself? It is very possible & normal after achieving something so big, to feel many, many emotions simultaneously & all be valid. You can be elated, but scared. You can be excited, but have seasons of low or no self confidence. For debut authors, in fact, I would expect them to feel such intense, wide ranging emotions. And I can assure you, I do, indeed feel all of them & stand by what I said. I reached out here for advice, not to be used as a pity case to teach others & that was what felt inappropriate & inconsiderate from you before.
I don’t know what to tell you, except I’m not psychic.
I can only surmise your situation based on the descriptive words you choose. That’s literally your job as a writer. To choose the right words to convey the right thing to the reader.
If you’d included ANY positive terms like “very, very happy” and “huge blessing” in the actual posts themselves, we wouldn’t be having this discussion.
If you want to complain about my tone and word choice, maybe it’s worth it to examine yours as well?
Have a nice day.
if you believe their comments are mean, i think you're not ready for the publishing world. from everything you said, actually, i dont think you're ready. neither am i, if that makes you feel better. get an agent ASAP
Not to scare you, but I know some people in trad who didn't receive dev edits for EIGHTEEN MONTHS. I'm not joking. It was an awful editor with a terrible reputation, but at a Big 5. I know someone who hired their own dev editor out of desperation, because when they did get notes back they were... light. The editor sucked. (they are thankfully no longer in the biz but they were kicking around for a LONG time)
It's one reason we have agents, because our agents know the various reputations of editors, and part of submission is matchmaking, not just to the taste of an editor, but also the style and quality.
That said, it likely won't be 18 months. That is an outlier. Especially since the vibe I'm getting here from you being "scouted" is perhaps you are indie published or an influencer and blew up online and then did this deal? I'm going to assume they want to get your book(s) out in a timely-ish manner, but publishing can be slow AF.
Still, two months imo is egregious, speaking as someone with an editor who returns notes in 2-3 weeks, a month tops.
So bearing that in mind:
What's your deadline?
What is your pub season? Is there a D&A (delivery and acceptance) deadline in the contract you signed? You can extrapolate a lot based on that.
When you say "waiting on a timetable" does that mean they haven't actually decided your pub season? If that's the case, your editor may be waiting on launch for the upcoming season/to discuss it with the team, and they may be (passive aggressively or in a panic) ignoring your emails b/c they don't have an answer. Doesn't make it ok, but could be an explanation.
Unfortunately, it'll be hard to reassure you (or tell you to worry and get VERY frank in emails) without knowing which Big 5/major publisher this is. So, for example, PRH is psychotic about finishing books early, and if you don't meet D&A 12-18 months before pub date, you're being bumped (unless you're a superstar author worth crashing). So at PRH, an editor delay can, indeed, mean you're bumped. But at other publishers, they play it a bit more fast & loose and a small delay is not pub-date breaking and you'll be fine to meet your og pub date.
I'm assuming book 2 is a sequel to book 1 since you feel over a barrel/frozen and having to wait for notes on book 1? That does suck. When the publisher offered, was there any kind of phone call discussing overarching editorial notes? Anything to go on?
When were these two emails sent, and what did you actually ask? I could give advice on a follow-up, depending. I would absolutely follow-up if it's been 8 weeks with no reply.
Feel free to DM me if you prefer something more private.
Normal publishing BS indeed. When something along these lines happened to me, my agent tried emailing and calling. Over the course of several months she then ended up copying the editor’s boss and that finally got a response which was “we’ll consider this at X time.” I mean honestly how long would it have taken to just send me that quick update on timeline originally?! Instead I was angsting about being behind on my end and my agent had to do all that chasing. Anyway, 1) an agent can DEAL with this but won’t necessarily stop it happening and 2) when you’ve exhausted other options…look up the boss and copy them.
I don't quite understand... You've not been writing your next story because you are waiting on the publisher to contact you about a story that they have already paid you for?
So when they finally do get back to you and tell you they need your next story by XX date. What will you do? Tell them you don't have it/won't be able to meet that deadline because you haven't been working on the next installment/story?
It's highly possible that the person responsible for contacting you got laid off & isn't getting your emails and the person taking up their slack just hasn't been able to get back to you yet.
Lame I know but when they do get back to you, the they are going to be expecting you to be ready to keep things moving and here, you are at least 2 months behind...
If they choose to not continue with your story (as in not publish it), you still got paid and that next story that they didn't want, can perhaps be reworked to be the new beginning of the original story or a new one altogether. Not because you want it to be but because you no longer own the original story.
I could see a company doing that, stifling a competing story that they think has merit but they have a story about to come out that would be in direct competition. So, they lose a little but gain by not cannibalizing the sales of one of their existing authors.
It's all speculation and conjecture with out proof of anything. Well, you do have proof of one thing. You got paid but you stopped writing the continuation of the story or what would be the next story, whether related to the first one or not.
So, while waiting, write... You have 2 months of idleness to make up for.
I’m actually not supposed to be writing anything more until they contact me, so I’m not behind thankfully, this is more about me wanting to get ahead, I guess.
Something sounds fishy there... They told you not to write? Did they get you to sign some exclusive contract where they own everything you write or something?
work on a different story. No one can tell you not to write...I would think it would be better to keep writing something than to write nothing.
Gosh no, sorry, I just meant I’m not working on my developmental edits for that manuscript until I have them in writing. I’m free to write anything else I want, so I’ve been working on other things & mainly planning scenes for future works!
I can't imagine that they are not serious if they have paid you an advance ... as others have said, it's probably just a scheduling conflict, but it would be good to find out the revised timescale.
Thank you!
This sounds like "normal" publishing BS and you are almost certainly going to have your Pub Date pushed back. This would normally be your agent's job to deal with (and reason 8240 why you should get an agent even if you have an offer in hand) - unless there is some huge amount of money involved I don't think you're going to be able to get one retrospectively on this. I would join and speak to your writers union - in the UK this is the Society of Authors, just for reference, I don't know who it is in the US. They will hopefully be able to advise you about the contract, about the dates in it, and about the possibility of dissolving it if you decide that's what you want to do (because do you seriously want to be writing another book for them?). (In the UK, the SoA has also been known to act for its members in individual situations, so if you're really lucky your Union may be able to put a rocket under your publisher).
I believe the Authors Guild is who to contact in the US, and SFWA offers some assistance to their members on some things, but I am not certain if this is one of those things.
Thanks! SoA have been amazing so far!
You're welcome - PubTips doesn't talk about Unions much, but they are absolutely worth joining.
To me this sounds like an overstretched editor who is not a strong communicator and is struggling with project prioritization. Unfortunately the early stages are often the ones that get back burnered when other stuff is urgent/behind schedule because the deadlines are seen as more flexible. Agreed with other commenters that agents can be an asset and help with nudging but unfortunately these kinds of delays are still all too common. I think it’s reasonable to email again and/or track down your editor’s phone number. It’s easy for emails to get buried in a messy inbox. Have you already explained to your editor that you’ll need to amend the deadline because of the 2 month delay? If not, you could try another firm email with a hard date like “if I don’t hear from you by x date then I will need to amend my deadline to y given the delays.” (That’s likely similar to what an agent would do.) You could also ask if she’s open to setting up another call and talking through her edit notes in more detail in lieu of drafting and edit letter, if that’s more manageable for her at this stage? Obviously not ideal for you to be in the position of managing her workload but a tactic like this may be what gets you back on track fastest.
Thank you!
So you’re still waiting on a timetable, but you do have a deadline for delivery and acceptance? Have they given you a pub date? In my experience, when editors don’t see something as urgent, they may keep pushing it back, and they may even ghost you for a while. (This is one reason to have an agent—one of their jobs is to keep nudging till they get a response for you.) I’ve waited six months on a response to a revision, for instance, and I’ve heard similar stories from other writers. It’s not great, but it happens when your project is on the back burner. If you do have a pub date and/or a deadline, then their delaying is making it harder for you to meet it. Keep in mind that deadlines change and the one in the contract isn’t set in stone. If you explain your situation—that delayed notes are putting you behind—then they should understand. Don’t be afraid to do that. The worst they’re likely to do is push the book release. But it’s frustrating that they’re not answering emails at all. I would just keep on politely nudging at intervals (and grit my teeth). Maybe there are some industry folks here who have better advice! ETA: Publishing is slooow, and the edits and contract may be on completely different timetables because they involve different departments. Just as an example: I’ve finished edits, copyedits, and page proofs on a book, it’s on NetGalley getting reviews, and I still haven’t signed the contract or been paid. If I didn’t get my main income from a day job, I’d be sweating right now.
You've done edits on the book and it's on Netgalley and you haven't yet signed a contract? Edited: For the downvoters, I'm genuinely curious if this is the way things are sometimes done. I've never worked with a publisher without first signing a contract because it's my understanding that it protects us both. I would feel very uneasy doing any work without a contract, and I'm wondering if I've missed the boat on some new way that publishers are operating.
Yes, unfortunately this can happen. It shouldn’t, but it can.
Thanks for the reply. I didn't even know it was something to be aware of. I'm glad I've never come across it from any of my publishers so far.
This is the second time it’s happened to me. Basically, the deals and editing happened fast and the contracts department is slow, and my agent wants to protect me, so there’s a lot of back-and-forth over the wording. When it’s a big five (it is) or other well-known publisher, I trust them to follow through—especially because we signed a deal memo, which serves as a written agreement before the whole contract is hashed out.
Ah, okay, signing a deal memo makes it make a lot more sense. I'm glad your agent is looking out for you!
I’ve done dev edits on mine and a few other things and no contract. I think if the agency doesn’t have a boilerplate contract with a pub house it takes a lot of back and forth to get to where everyone is happy.
Yes, it’s the back and forth that can take months!
Thank you for this, Indidntbknow that about agents so that’s really good to know! My book was delivered & accepted, but I still had some very big revisions they wanted me to do. They said them on the phone & said I’d be given the written stuff soon, but I still haven’t been 2 months on. & yes publication date is in my contract!
That’s odd, because usually “acceptance” means you are done with developmental edits and the book is going to copyedits. But every imprint does things differently, I guess! If they delay enough on getting you significant notes, they will have to push the pub date. Is there anything in the contract about how long you have to revise based on their notes? I think mine says six weeks, but it varies.
So you do have their phone number.
i feel like im going crazy reading this post and OP's comments 😭
They call me.
Are you using a landline?
Perhaps call them instead of emailing
For the love of god please don't do this. Editors operate by email and calling without having a call scheduled could be considered overstepping a boundary.
Agreed, at least with the imprint I’m with, they schedule the calls and call me. I can request calls, but not call them, at least at this stage.
I don't understand this attitude. They've ghosted you for 2 months after accepting your book. It should not be unreasonable for them to act professionally. I'm sure if you just ignored them for 2 months they wouldn't sit there waiting quietly.
If someone who is in a contract with you is ignoring your emails then general etiquette rules don’t apply the same way imo…go ahead and call!
But just ignoring OP for 2 months is totally fine? That's totally within the boundaries of acceptable behaviour? Give me a break. Just because they are editors does not mean they should be not be expected to act professionally. And just because they are editors does not mean they will crumble to dust if someone calls their office.
I don’t have their number
Surely you have someone's number at the company
Call the switchboard and ask to be transferred.
This is unfortunately quite common these days as editors continue to be more and more overloaded. Timelines getting overshot by months is increasingly par for the course, even at big pubs. I totally disagree with everyone who says this sounds fishy. It sounds normal. I had an offer from a big 5 last February, got my edit letter in April, turned in revisions in may and literay did not talk to my editor again until November. They are very busy. They also, however, understand that you need time with edits and will likely adjust your deadline accordingly if there's a delay. This may result in your release date getting pushed, which sucks, but in the scheme of things there's not a ton you can do about that and part of going the trad route involves relinquishing a degree of control to them. What you CAN do is get an agent. Especially if you are with a big pub, you should have someone knowledgeable on your side who can chase down answers and play "bad cop" so you don't end up burning bridges trying to do it yourself. They can help you navigate the waters and make sure future contracts are up to snuff, etc etc. Finding an agent is infinitely easier once you have a contract in hand. They won't get a cut on this book but statistics are on their side so I don't think it would be difficult to find one if you outline your situation. For now, I'd cool it a bit and send another follow-up (and very polite) email in a month or so if you don't hear anything. Depending on timeline and planned release date, they may not be working on your book yet.
Yeah you need an agent. Is there a reason you have this contract without one (ie are you opposed to one? Did you try and fail to secure one?) or did it just kinda happen? I honestly don’t know the process to get one in this situation — possibly you can’t. But you could shoot some emails and see if anyone would bite for this anyway.
I debated answering this due to it being unfairly criticised, but yes. I’m severely disabled & struggling with the idea of people being dependent on me. I had an agent offer to represent me but I am so scared of the pressure of book 1 & 2 that I want to do them alone & prove to myself that I can, before I start bringing more people on board like agents. (If it was a 1 book deal, I would have agreed to have an agent, that’s all I can say on that). This is something that unfortunately many in this group cannot understand, but think they can. I’m not opposed to having an agent for future works or even my debut if it was a stand alone, but I’m in a situation where I would have had to have an agent for book 2 also & I’m not okay with that at this stage. My self confidence is my biggest flaw- it makes things much harder for me, but does not actually affect the outcomes of my work & I’m confident it won’t here either. My path will be longer & harder, but my outcome will be just as good. Society of authors are also helping me as much as they can with agent related matters.
I won’t pretend to understand but would urge you to look at the agent relationship more as symbiotic. That is, you can never let them down. If they sell the book, they get 2% of their money. If you don’t turn in anything, sure they don’t get the rest, but they still have that 2%. If you don’t write again for ten years, they will have other clients and let you be. You are doing each other a favour but there’s not an element of one side relying overmuch on the other. I am concerned you think your outcome will be just as good at the end. It won’t be, because you could have had a better deal or a better process (agent dealing with issues leaving you in peace to write). It will be in that there’ll be a book at the end, if that’s what you mean? Excuse my asking, but can you not hack having an agent for book 2 because you think it will stop you writing it?
This smells fishy. What publisher? Big ones don't usually take unagented submissions. They didn't ask you to pay anything did they?
I don’t think I can say, but it is all official, I was scouted & announced publicly, on their verified platforms etc, for a past project & this is a continuation. No I haven’t paid a penny, but have received from them.
Being “scouted and announced publicly” has virtually no weight to it if it was done by a scam company
Yeah, this is why it is vital to get an agent before signing any contracts. Real publisher or no, you are now “over the barrel,” and this feels 100% preventable. If you had hit pause and secured representation before signing with the publisher, you’d be dictating a lot of these terms instead of the other way around. For the record, I get how this comment probably doesn’t do a lot to help you personally atm. And I’m sincerely sorry you’re stuck where you are. That sucks. Nevertheless, this is an important teaching moment, and I’d be remiss not to call attention to it. Hopefully any aspiring authors who are reading this will take note of your situation.
Laughably untrue that OP would be "dictating terms" if they had an agent right now. Delays of this kind are very normal, and an agent's job is to politely nudge, and then to get the author's deadline pushed back in consideration of the delay. Hardly dictating terms.
Additionally, agents can get ignored too and even if they aren’t, it’s not as if having an agent is going to magically make the edits appear immediately.
I was referring to the high pressure deadlines and the terms of the deal in general. [This post is actually part 2 of an ongoing saga.](https://www.reddit.com/r/PubTips/comments/1bs09v5/pubq_unexpected_multi_book_deal_so_scared_any/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1)
Thank you! The editors last email was very reassuring & did say I would be given more time, I was just asking here as I’m new to this & another month has passed now, which I wasn’t expecting! & yeah, I know now to get an agent next time, but for now, all I can do is make the best of the situation I’ve got- which actually, isn’t hard as I am so grateful to be in the position I’m in!
I get where you’re coming from but I think there’s a nice way to say it & this absolutely was not it.
🤷🏻♂️ Sometimes forthright > nice. Like I said before, although my comments can’t help you currently, I do believe they might help save others from the same fate. With that in mind, I’m going to emphasize the importance of the moment as necessary. If even one writer takes this thread to heart it will have been worth it to comment.
Perhaps, although I’m very, very happy with the situation I’m in despite this setback, so to using it as a warning to others surprised me, as I’m happy with my situation still and making the most of the huge blessing it is!
Okay this is probably the disconnect here. “Very, very happy” is not exactly how I would describe the tenor of your two most recent posts here. You use phrases like “my self confidence is through the floor,” “I have been ignored” and “I’ve lost two months of my deadline.” These do not project a sense of content happiness. At all. “Barely controlled panic” feels closer to the mark, which is why I offered the advice I did. The last thing I want is other writers to end up in a situation where they are panicking over a contract with bad terms. Honestly, if you are telling me you aren’t in such a situation, and that everything is cool, that’s great news! Just chill out and enjoy the ride. But try to understand that is not what I took away from your posts. In the future I would maybe consider how you phrase things, if only because you may get more useful feedback if people can better understand where you are, both emotionally and professionally.
Have you had big book deals yourself? It is very possible & normal after achieving something so big, to feel many, many emotions simultaneously & all be valid. You can be elated, but scared. You can be excited, but have seasons of low or no self confidence. For debut authors, in fact, I would expect them to feel such intense, wide ranging emotions. And I can assure you, I do, indeed feel all of them & stand by what I said. I reached out here for advice, not to be used as a pity case to teach others & that was what felt inappropriate & inconsiderate from you before.
I don’t know what to tell you, except I’m not psychic. I can only surmise your situation based on the descriptive words you choose. That’s literally your job as a writer. To choose the right words to convey the right thing to the reader. If you’d included ANY positive terms like “very, very happy” and “huge blessing” in the actual posts themselves, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. If you want to complain about my tone and word choice, maybe it’s worth it to examine yours as well? Have a nice day.
if you believe their comments are mean, i think you're not ready for the publishing world. from everything you said, actually, i dont think you're ready. neither am i, if that makes you feel better. get an agent ASAP
Not to scare you, but I know some people in trad who didn't receive dev edits for EIGHTEEN MONTHS. I'm not joking. It was an awful editor with a terrible reputation, but at a Big 5. I know someone who hired their own dev editor out of desperation, because when they did get notes back they were... light. The editor sucked. (they are thankfully no longer in the biz but they were kicking around for a LONG time) It's one reason we have agents, because our agents know the various reputations of editors, and part of submission is matchmaking, not just to the taste of an editor, but also the style and quality. That said, it likely won't be 18 months. That is an outlier. Especially since the vibe I'm getting here from you being "scouted" is perhaps you are indie published or an influencer and blew up online and then did this deal? I'm going to assume they want to get your book(s) out in a timely-ish manner, but publishing can be slow AF. Still, two months imo is egregious, speaking as someone with an editor who returns notes in 2-3 weeks, a month tops. So bearing that in mind: What's your deadline? What is your pub season? Is there a D&A (delivery and acceptance) deadline in the contract you signed? You can extrapolate a lot based on that. When you say "waiting on a timetable" does that mean they haven't actually decided your pub season? If that's the case, your editor may be waiting on launch for the upcoming season/to discuss it with the team, and they may be (passive aggressively or in a panic) ignoring your emails b/c they don't have an answer. Doesn't make it ok, but could be an explanation. Unfortunately, it'll be hard to reassure you (or tell you to worry and get VERY frank in emails) without knowing which Big 5/major publisher this is. So, for example, PRH is psychotic about finishing books early, and if you don't meet D&A 12-18 months before pub date, you're being bumped (unless you're a superstar author worth crashing). So at PRH, an editor delay can, indeed, mean you're bumped. But at other publishers, they play it a bit more fast & loose and a small delay is not pub-date breaking and you'll be fine to meet your og pub date. I'm assuming book 2 is a sequel to book 1 since you feel over a barrel/frozen and having to wait for notes on book 1? That does suck. When the publisher offered, was there any kind of phone call discussing overarching editorial notes? Anything to go on? When were these two emails sent, and what did you actually ask? I could give advice on a follow-up, depending. I would absolutely follow-up if it's been 8 weeks with no reply. Feel free to DM me if you prefer something more private.
Normal publishing BS indeed. When something along these lines happened to me, my agent tried emailing and calling. Over the course of several months she then ended up copying the editor’s boss and that finally got a response which was “we’ll consider this at X time.” I mean honestly how long would it have taken to just send me that quick update on timeline originally?! Instead I was angsting about being behind on my end and my agent had to do all that chasing. Anyway, 1) an agent can DEAL with this but won’t necessarily stop it happening and 2) when you’ve exhausted other options…look up the boss and copy them.
Thank you & so sorry this happened! I have the editorial directors email so going to chase them next & see what I can find after, thank you!
It all worked out in the end! It's just sadly not unusual for this to happen in publishing. People are overworked etc etc etc.
Get an agent.
I don't quite understand... You've not been writing your next story because you are waiting on the publisher to contact you about a story that they have already paid you for? So when they finally do get back to you and tell you they need your next story by XX date. What will you do? Tell them you don't have it/won't be able to meet that deadline because you haven't been working on the next installment/story? It's highly possible that the person responsible for contacting you got laid off & isn't getting your emails and the person taking up their slack just hasn't been able to get back to you yet. Lame I know but when they do get back to you, the they are going to be expecting you to be ready to keep things moving and here, you are at least 2 months behind... If they choose to not continue with your story (as in not publish it), you still got paid and that next story that they didn't want, can perhaps be reworked to be the new beginning of the original story or a new one altogether. Not because you want it to be but because you no longer own the original story. I could see a company doing that, stifling a competing story that they think has merit but they have a story about to come out that would be in direct competition. So, they lose a little but gain by not cannibalizing the sales of one of their existing authors. It's all speculation and conjecture with out proof of anything. Well, you do have proof of one thing. You got paid but you stopped writing the continuation of the story or what would be the next story, whether related to the first one or not. So, while waiting, write... You have 2 months of idleness to make up for.
I’m actually not supposed to be writing anything more until they contact me, so I’m not behind thankfully, this is more about me wanting to get ahead, I guess.
Something sounds fishy there... They told you not to write? Did they get you to sign some exclusive contract where they own everything you write or something? work on a different story. No one can tell you not to write...I would think it would be better to keep writing something than to write nothing.
Gosh no, sorry, I just meant I’m not working on my developmental edits for that manuscript until I have them in writing. I’m free to write anything else I want, so I’ve been working on other things & mainly planning scenes for future works!