# A Tad Late



## felix (Mar 13, 2012)

Just wanted to report a little something. 

I just got a rejection from the first batch of submission I made for my novel, which I sent sometime in October. Almost five month turnaround, just to get a no. I haven't been sending anything out just in case I got a yes.

Not big news, but this really brought home how long it can take to get published, and I thought I'd share. 

Anybody else had any ridiculous turn around times?


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## Sunny (Mar 14, 2012)

I just got a rejection from a query I sent out 7.5 months ago. I guess they're a tad busy with submissions. Lol.


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## Potty (Mar 14, 2012)

6 months for a no on a 2k word short story. This was last month! It was a seasonal story so now have to wait another year before I can send it out again.


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## Dave Karnes (Mar 17, 2012)

I haven't sent out a submission yet, but this is pretty depressing just to hear it.


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## Loulou (Mar 17, 2012)

Hey felix,

Times can vary so much.  Quickest rejection I ever had on a short story was a day - the longest over a year.  With my novels, the quickest no was perhaps a month - the longest about six.

Are you sending your novel to agents?  Sending out to publishing houses is mostly futile since you've to have an agent to even be considered by them.  Hate to be the bearer of bad news but it's a hellish procedure.  My novels have had, over the last three years or so, about forty to sixty rejections from agents.  The time varies so much too.  So I wouldn't wait for that yes before sending out more.  What's the worst that can happen if you get a yes while still waiting on responses from other people?  You have to turn them down.  That's all.  To be positive, I now have an agent.  But that's taken four years of learning my craft, writing a variety of newspaper columns for nothing, churning out short story after short story, and editing my novels over and over and over.  If you're getting no's your novel isn't ready.  Simple as that.  So rework before you send the next batch.  And again if need be.

Good luck!


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## dale (Mar 17, 2012)

felix said:


> Just wanted to report a little something.
> 
> I just got a rejection from the first batch of submission I made for my novel, which I sent sometime in October. Almost five month turnaround, just to get a no. I haven't been sending anything out just in case I got a yes.
> 
> ...



sorry to hear about this. i know it's common and i try not to let it discourage me when i hear these stories.
replies for short story submissions for me have varied anywhere from 1 day to 6 months, regardless of the publications
 decision on the work. i'm 20,000 words into a novel now, and each chapter is a bit like having a tooth pulled. I'm sure i'll
find the experience of submitting that manuscript far more frustrating than the short story process. i may be looking
forward to completing this bastard, but am so not looking forward to what you're going through now.


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## felix (Mar 17, 2012)

Loulou said:


> Hey felix,
> 
> Times can vary so much.  Quickest rejection I ever had on a short story was a day - the longest over a year.  With my novels, the quickest no was perhaps a month - the longest about six.
> 
> ...



Hi Loulou, thanks for the response. 

Yeah, my first batch was eight submissions to various agencies which I'd singled out as my 'primaries'. I got rejected by all of them, and this was the last of the batch, which I wanted to cross off entirely in order to send out a fresh batch. However, it's now painfully obvious that I was consumed by some kind of post-editing fever which drove me to submit incredibly prematurely, before I'd had time to let the manuscript mellow in my mind and allow me to see it afresh. So now I'm editing again, taking my time this time, and I'm looking forward to sending it out again in the late spring or early summer. In the mean time, I'm developing a long list of potential agencies, working on my cover letter, and doing some market research in order to flush out potential publishers. 

I've also written half a dozen short stories in the intervening months when I was twiddling my thumbs, waiting for my rejection letters, and so they're currently in the mail, so perhaps that will yield some publishing credit to tack onto my history. 

Again, as I said in your thread, hearing that it can all pay off is a real boost. 

Thanks again, always great to hear from you.


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## KTimmins (Apr 1, 2012)

This all seems like a very taxing endeavor. I am new to this forum, so it is very possible that this topic has already been discussed ad nauseam. My question is, why? Publishing companies are struggling to stay relevant in these changing times. Their over-inflated overhead costs guarantee that you are not going to get the compensation you deserve as the creator of the content they sell. So, my question is, in these changing times, why do you put yourselves through this torture? Why let them tell you what is valuable when you can have readers tell you? For the record, I am genuinely asking.


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## Potty (Apr 1, 2012)

KTimmins said:


> This all seems like a very taxing endeavor. I am new to this forum, so it is very possible that this topic has already been discussed ad nauseam. My question is, why? Publishing companies are struggling to stay relevant in these changing times. Their over-inflated overhead costs guarantee that you are not going to get the compensation you deserve as the creator of the content they sell. So, my question is, in these changing times, why do you put yourselves through this torture? Why let them tell you what is valuable when you can have readers tell you? For the record, I am genuinely asking.




This smacks of the e-book vs traditional argument. So I'm going to draw my line in the sand. I would rather have a publisher accept my book and publish it becuase when I tell someone I'm an author I would rather them say "Oh! Is it in water stones? can I have a signed copy?" than have them say "E-book format? Yea I'm writing one of those"


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