Checksum: 24918
Path: utzoo!utgpu!tomwest
From: tomwest@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca (Tom West)
Date: Fri, 21-Apr-89 11:48:14 EDT
Message-ID: <1989Apr21.114814.9296@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca>
Organization: University of Toronto Computing Services
Newsgroups: ont.sf-lovers
Subject: Publishing Times
References: <315@hcr.UUCP> <3859@geaclib.UUCP>
Reply-To: tomwest@gpu.utcs.UUCP (Tom West)
Distribution: ont.sf-lovers

In article <3859@geaclib.UUCP> rae@alias.uucp (Reid Ellis) writes:
> Two friends of mine are involved in 'making' books -- one is an
> artist, and the other a fantasy writer [but one day she might get
> into science fiction, I don't know].  The artist has managed to be
> published three times by Anik Press.  Meanwhile, the writer has
> submitted her story billions of times and has yet to be published,
> even thought the second book is almost finished [it's a long wait
> while editors read your first work, I guess :)].
> 
> It *seems* that the artist was published much more quickly than
> the writer, so I would ask -- is this generally true?  I haven't
> read any of the writer's work yet [she won't let me until it's
> published :)] so I can't comment on the relative quality of the
> two of them -- besides, I value my life!  And how would you
> compare visual art with written art?
> 
> Still rambling..
> 					Reid

  Actually, the speed of publishing time relates to how large the companies
involved are.  In the case of the artist, it is a much smaller company and
they give a contract before commissioning the artist the first time.  In the
case of the author, it has been over 1.5 years, however, most of this time
was spent waiting for a reply from the publisher involved.  (Because of the
time lag, it might seems that it has been resubmitted many times, but it
has only been resubmitted once (to the same company).  The timing can often
look like this:

Author writes masterpiece :-)  					6 months
Author submits outline and first 3 chapter (unsolicited)
Submission sits on "slush pile"					2-3 years(!)
Reader likes it, asks for rest of manuscript.
Author jumps for joy submits manuscript.
Submission sits on editors "must do" pile.			4-8 months
Editor likes it with reservations, ask for rewrites
Author smiles for joy, does rewrites				1-3 months
Author resubmits it.
Submission sits on editor's "must do" pile			4-8 months
Editor read it and likes it.  Passes to editor-in-chief
Submission sits on editor-in-chiefs "must do" pile		3-6 months
Editor-in-chief has reservations, asks for rewrites
Author groans for joy, does rewrites				1-3 months
Author resubmits it.
Submission sits on editor's "pass it on immediately" pile	1-2 months
Submission sits on editor-in-chief's "msut do" pile		3-6 months
Editor-in-chief likes it offers contract.
Author dies of heart-attack.

Approximately one year later, the book will actually be on the shelves.

(By the way, those who have been published seem to dislike the term
"author" being used for someone who has not yet been published.  In fact
the term "writer" is reserved for those who have been published, while
the term "author" is reserved for those who have
published 5 books or more!  THe term "author" is used above in the 
uneducated way that some poor slob like me would use it to mean someone
who has written something.)

  In general, most writers who have been published will say that a five year
period from inception to contract it about the norm.  However, much of this can
be avoided by avoiding the "slush pile".  Interestingly enough, this only means
that you need a connection.  Any connection.  A writer who is already published
will do (with the same publisher!).  Although, no writer who wants to keep
his or her publisher will recommend something s/he doesn't think his/her editor
will like.  After all, keeping in an editor's good books in *really* important.
In the case of the above mentioned would-be-writer (the proper term for the
unpublished masses, apparently :-)) managed to avoid it by meeting an editor
for the company at the CBA!  This is perhaps the most blatantly unfair part of
the business, but that, unfortunately, is how the business runs.

-- 
				Tom West

BITNET:         tomwest@utorgpu.bitnet, tomwest@gpu.utcs.utoronto
Internet:       tomwest@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu 
UUCP:           tomwest@utgpu 

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