You can wait for months after sending off a manuscript to a publisher before you receive that longed for 'We're pleased to inform you....' or the disappointing rejection slip.
What exactly happens to your manuscript when it gets to the publishing house, and why does it take so long for them to make a decision?
Arriving at the Publisher
When your manuscript arrives in the publisher’s post box it is logged in by the office manager. He or she will then write you a letter or e-mail confirming it has arrived. The letter will probably tell you that it takes up to three months to get accepted or rejected.
In reality, it often takes far longer. One writer actually sent his manuscript a birthday card when he hadn’t heard from the publisher a full year after submission.
Sitting in the Slush Pile
The manuscript then gets added to what is known as the 'slush pile.' It sits there until one of the editorial staff has time to go through the thousands of unsolicited submissions.
The Covering Letter
Finally your script reaches the top of the pile. The reader will first glance through your covering letter. If it is flowery, self promoting, littered with grammatical or spelling errors, or claims that children aged 2-12 will love this story and you have a whole series in the making, they may not bother to read further.
But a well-written letter will entice them to read on.
The Reader’s Report
If the Inhouse reader likes what they see, the manuscript will be sent to the commissioning editor, who will take a look at it. If she thinks it shows promise she may read it herself, but if time is short she’ll be more likely to send it out to a professional reader to give a report on whether or not they think it should be published.
Concept Meeting
If the reader’s report is positive, the commissioning editor will take the manuscript to a concept meeting. At these meetings, the publisher, editors, sales and marketing teams discuss the books that they would like to publish in the next cycle.
They will assess whether your manuscript fits current trends, if the sales teams predict it will make money, if competing publishing houses have published anything similar recently, and whether this is a book that they feel really strongly about.
The Budget
The editor will have prepared a budget and this will be discussed too. Can the publisher afford to publish your book? Picture books in particular are very expensive to produce because of the full colour illustrations and high quality paper required. They have to make sure they will make a profit on their investment.
If your manuscript passes all these hurdles you will finally get the letter with those longed for words: ‘We are pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been accepted for publication’. Read what happens to your manuscript next in the second article in this series.
You can learn about ways to cope with the pain of rejection letters here.
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