Suspect publisher has ghosted me and feel embarrassed

[MegsDancer]

Embarrassed for telling people I was going to get a book published. I wish I'd held off until it was 100% happening.

Last year I got an offer from an indie publisher who has their authors books in all the main UK bookstores - I was so excited. The editors went through my manuscript and requested a number of changes.

Unfortunately, my close relative became terminally ill and I had to postpone the edits until after her death. The publisher was very understanding about my request for a postponement and reacted positively when I submitted the updated manuscript reflecting the changes a couple of months later. In late May, they apologised for the delay and said they were just about to get started on working through my next draft. And then...crickets.

So I feel like I've been ghosted. I haven't followed up because it seems obvious that they would be back in touch if they still wanted to publish. Any advice?

Why haven't you followed this up with at least one phone call asking where you stand. Maybe they've gone bust or got new staff. But you need to know. But you delayed the edit by two months although it wasn't your fault. So they've had another 4 months. Doesn't seem that long to me.

Oh no!

Are you sure they’re not just taking their time with the edits?

Have they just not been in touch at all?

I’m also being published by a small indie. I handed in my final edits in July and they still haven’t got back to me with notes. Often things drag in publishing.

Four months is nothing in publishing terms. Email again today, cc’ing everyone you’ve had contact with there, or Google for some other email addresses if you only know your editor, as they may have left or gone on parental leave. If you don’t get a reply, phone on Monday.

It’s more likely they’ve just decided they don’t have space for it in publishing list imminently, so it’s not an immediate priority as will now be published in 2027 or something. Even the Indy’s mostly work on a longer lead time than most people would expect.

What sort of contract is it - did you get first part of advance on signing, or is it royalty only?

This is why writers (almost always) should have an agent. But you probably need to work out what’s happening with this MS before querying agents.

It isn’t long. They will presumably have bumped the book from its original place in their schedule, so other projects are taking priority. But it’s unfathomable to me that the OP didn’t send an email checking on progress and timescales rather than deciding it must all be over.

Ring, ask to speak to the person you most recently dealt with, and just breezily say you wanted to touch base (or similar, I know that phrase is a bit irritating). It’s reasonable to want an update at this stage, but I would keep it light and positive if you can.

Follow it up a couple of times before assuming anything.

@PurpleChrayn no, they haven't been in touch at all.

It would be a shame if it came to naught because I worked so hard on the edits.

I'm not usually this passive but I think with the bereavement, which also lead to stopping going to my writing group, I've felt quite isolated and lost confidence. I will email them today - thank you for the support.

But you have a contract, presumably? I mean, they're not publishing your book out of the goodness of their hearts!

Just contact them and ask what the situation is. Publishing a book can take years. So the time you've waited doesn't necessarily mean it's a waste of time or you've been rejected.

You say they're legit, so the feedback they gave you must still be valuable. Even if they don't publish they have given you ways to improve it and were interested to an extent. So just take it somewhere else. Rejection is par for the course I think in this field.

Contact them. Publishing assistants generally have huge workloads and probably just haven’t got to it. If you have a contract (you really should) check and see if it commits them to publishing within a timeframe, not all publishers include it.