A small literary press has expressed interest in my novel, after I submitted the opening couple of chapters and a synopsis and bio about 2 months ago. Normally, I would expect them to ask for the remainder of the MS and then wait until I heard back from them. But strangely, they want another smallish portion of the MS (not the whole thing), plus a more detailed bio and synopsis than I already gave them. This feels a bit off. They promise to get back to me in 7 business days. I'm thinking of contacting one or two of their published authors to ask about their experiences. Is it considered acceptable to do so?
That sounds like a tepid second date to me. Like they maybe want to jump in bed on date three but think a better option might reveal itself in the interim. Just my opinion. As for contacting the other authors, that could blow either way. What if they report back to the publisher that you were expressing concerns? Might be a big deal or it might not be. I guess I'd ask what information you're hoping to glean from them.
" I guess I'd ask what information you're hoping to glean from them." Really, just to ask if they had a similar experience, because my own experience strikes me as unusual. If they say yes, then I'll know this is a usual procedure for them.
Ive had a query require the first 10 pages. Then the agent expressed interest and asked for 20pages after a few months. That ultimately resulted in a "great premise, not right for me at this time" rejection. I dont see it as suspicious. Just them being thorough. Maybe they didnt get what they needed from your first sample and want more of the story to really make a decision
That would make sense. As for contacting their other authors, I got that idea from another writers' forum. Some of the people on there do contact a publisher's author(s) if they get some interest from the publisher. I haven't heard of any negative repercussions from doing so.
Just my opinion here, but asking other authors about their experience working with the publisher, is little more than due diligence. I would keep it very general.
I don't think you should contact this publisher's authors to ask anything about the submission process. When you could (more appropriately) contact the publisher's authors is when you get a book deal. You do not have an offer, right? If you have questions about the pubmission process, those should be directed to the publisher. Sorry, but if I was one of these authors and got contacted by someone with a partial requester from my publisher, it would piss me off. And I definitely never would contact an author if I hadn't read their books. Even if an author comes your way, I think you should really think what the point of your questions will be. I don't think this is common. You should have faith in and have already done your homework on this publisher before you submit your work. And that does not include contacting other authors in such an early stage of the process. I wish you luck, and I hope this works out for you.
Update. An interesting situation developing, which may be good for me, but I'm not entirely sure. First of all, I want to stress this is a typical small press. It's NOT a vanity or hybrid press. I know this because they just sent me a contract, and they are not asking me to pay anything at any stage. No advance, but the royalty terms are generous. That said, there are still some strange things about it. I had to wait a long time "in the queue" while they finished another project. Then they sent me a contract based on my sample, not on the full MS. They reserve the right to reject the MS if it turns out they don't like it after all. I don't know why they didn't ask for the full MS first, before sending the contract, but I guess that's how they work. The other thing that sets off an alarm is the clause "Option on next work." It stipulates that if I write another novel, I have to submit it to them before approaching other publishers. I have never seen anything like this before; it's easy to imagine the potential problems it could cause. I think I should get a lawyer to look over this point. Another question: What if another publisher accepts my MS while the current house is still considering it, and I already signed a contract with them? I did point out that this is a simultaneous submission, so they should know how to handle that.
That is very weird. I’ve never heard of anyone offering a contract after a just sample/partial. Not for short fiction and not for novels. Every publisher I’ve ever dealt with wants to see the full manuscript before they commit. So this is something that would make me wary, if only because it’s a deviation from standard procedure. These clauses—also called “right of first refusal”—aren’t universal, but they aren’t abnormal on their own. If they’re narrow, they’re not necessarily a bad thing. However, broader ones can be predatory; I recall one web publisher covered by Writer Beware who sought right of first refusal not just for the next work but for everything written in the next year, and they’d never refuse; they’d sign the author to a new contract with the exact same clause. Rinse and repeat every year. Definitely make sure this clause only applies to your next work/next novel, if it can’t be negotiated away entirely. And I wholeheartedly recommend having a lawyer specialized in this field look over the contract.
The first refusal clause is a narrow one, and I will see if we can negotiate it away. Thanks for your perspective. But the idea of signing a contract before they've read the whole MS is indeed weird. My understanding is that this is fairly common for non-fiction but not for fiction. Although it might happen with a well-known writer, which I am not. I have made it clear to them that this is a simultaneous sub, though I may have to reiterate that. While they are an acceptable publisher from my POV, others might be better. What if I get a better offer after I've signed the contract, but before they confirm publication will go ahead? What a screwy situation.
Contact the editor and ask him or her these questions. If a straight forward approach to a professional situation causes the publisher to reject the book, one might suspect a speeding bullet has been dodged.
That makes no sense, acceptance without the full MS. I'd be wary, especially since they can still refuse, which is shady as fuck. That's like me hiring 10 people, offering them a binding contract knowing full well I'm only going to hire 3 of them, thereby preventing them from exploring other options. It would be one thing if you also could back out if you get a better deal, but it doesn't sound like that's the case?
Contact a lawyer that specializes in contracts like this. And spend the money for the consult. During the consult, ask the lawyer about the publishers reputation in the industry.
Update to the update. Well, everything's fine. The book was accepted, we did final edits and formatting and so on, and it was published last month. No weirdness or funny business involved. Of course, this being a small lit press means that I have to do most of the promo myself, but that's expected in this kind of situation. I don't know if there are any lessons here, except to say that maybe small presses are more eccentric in their way of doing things. But I'm going from a sample of one. A strange situation, but I got through it OK.
