When your agent submits your novel to publishers...

[Vanta]

...what should you realistically expect? I was lucky enough to get signed by an agent a few weeks ago. I did so much work on the ms before she signed me that it was good to go out to publishing houses almost immediately. It's a commercial fiction/book club genre and it has gone out to around 14 editors. That was two weeks ago. So far I've had two (very nice) rejections and one editor who passed it to another colleague. For those of you who have gone through this process, how long do you normally wait before you are told one way or the other if it's going to sell or not? And how many editors does your book usually get submitted to? I'm trying to control my expectations. Is submitting to publishers similar to submitting to an agent - in that most manuscripts never ever sell? Or is it quite rare not to sell your manuscript if a reputable agent is submitting it? Do you normally wait weeks or months to hear news? What has been your experience please if you don't mind sharing? I have asked my agent a few questions but I don't want to clog up her email with needy messages so I'm doing it here! Thanks in advance.

Not me (my agent and publishing deal kind of arrived at the same time) but it can take a while. Even if an editor likes it they have to get everyone on board like the marketing and sales people before they can offer. And sometimes they ask for it to be edited before they offer. An author friend waited about 6 months but that was including an edit and it was right in the middle of last year's lockdown.

Waiting for agents and editors to email is the worst thing, a person could get an RSI from checking their inbox so you have my sympathy!

Congratulations on signing with your agent and on going out to publishers! I’m in the sub boat currently- been out since September and still have 7 or so yet to reply. Have had lots of lovely comments and been shared with marketing and sales a few times but to date they have all said no.

The one thing I’ve taken from it is that nothing is normal at the moment. My agent says that publishers are being extra cautious, in certain areas, cause of the uncertainty of the times, and they can take much longer than usual to reply in the first place. I am still getting replies after 6 months. But then other books are still getting snapped up in multi-way auctions days after submission. Anything could happen, and it’s not necessarily a reflection on your book if it doesn’t sell. And if it doesn’t, that doesn’t mean it won’t in the future.

So basically, hope for the best, plan for the worst, and KEEP WRITING. It’s the best way to distract yourself from the agony of submission. Good luck!

Yes I am writing away in case I need to submit a different novel or (unlikely I know) get a two book deal. A friend of mine had this happen and they had an awful time trying to pull a fresh book out in six months to fulfil their contract while trying to edit and promote the one coming out AND hold down an actual paid job. I want to write as much as I can without an editor breathing down my neck. So September CakeRage - that's interesting. My agent said she had an author wait for two months last year and then it went to a three way auction and she also cited strange COVID times as the culprit of all this unpredictability. I would love for some agents to be on this thread. Or editors at publishing houses. It's quite hard getting perspective from behind the curtain. I asked my agent if I could have a look at her submission letter and she said I was the first author to ask her this which floored me. Or maybe I'm nosier than most. I find the whole process absolutely fascinating. Cake were you given constructive reasons for the rejections or just a "we are being cautious right now"? Did they give you a clue as to how the market is looking at the moment?

The market in my genre (uplit/romance) is tricky - sales are up but they’re more focused on big names. I was told debuts in the genre were a tough sell at the mo. Tough, but not impossible. It depends what’s already on their lists and what the gaps are. If you fill it and they love your work, game on!

No useful feedback unfortunately, I’ve had two ‘loved it but just bought something with similar themes’, a ‘loved it but we already have established authors filling the slots’ two ‘editorial loved but marketing said it was too quiet/not hooky enough’ and a few ‘really liked but didn’t fall in love with it’. Standard.

Surprised no one’s asked your agent to look at the submission pack before. I would have, but was sent it to read up front. You definitely want to be able to have your say on it, don’t you? Not that I changed anything, I bowed to my agent’s superior knowledge of the industry

I write in the same genre (book club fiction/commercial fiction) and my agent sent me the list of editors/publishers she was submitting to (around 15, I think) and asked whether I wanted her to let me know the ins and outs of all the replies, or whether I preferred to be kept out of the loop until she had some definite news. I chose the latter, but I guess that reflects my head-in-the-sand personality! This was 3-4 years ago and I think it took about 3 or 4 weeks to get an offer, but as people have said above, it clearly varies a lot especially in current times. I wish you lots of luck with it.

Thanks to everyone who replied to my thread. I am still waiting for a few more editors to read, but I received an offer from Amazon publishing (two-book deal) which I am torn in two over because they are obviously amazing at digital marketing and have an understanding of algorithms that traditional publishers don't have. The downside is I will never see my book in a book shop. The deal covers paperback, digital and audio but obviously, Amazon and Waterstones don't get on. Does anybody out there have APub as their publishing house and what is their experience, please? If I don't get another offer it will be an easy decision, but if I do I don't know much about the pros and cons of Amazon compared to trad publishing houses. All the stuff online refers to self-publishing, which this isn't.

In my experience you have a fair idea within around 16 weeks. That’s over a 15-year period with three agents. If it drags on more than that it has usually meant a lack of enthusiasm or not fitting some market perception. It’s the same internally with submitting to my current publisher, although that’s because I have a longish publication history. If it drags on, it’s not usually good news because they’re looking at existing sales.