(no subject)

[intothewood]

A few questions for discussion re: manuscript submissions -

Following up on submissions - yea or nay? Benefits, drawbacks?
If yes, when and how?

I've found very little advice on this topic, and would like to know what your opinions are.

Comments

[nightsfury]

The submission guidelines usually give some indication of how long it might be before you hear anything (yes or no) concerning a submission. Some will flat out tell you not to query before six weeks (for example). Some friends of mine are professional writers and their advice has always been to wait until after the specified time before sending a query. So, if a publication says they ususally get back to people in eight weeks, wait till after those eight weeks are up before sending one. Of course, you can send it the day after those eight weeks, but doing it before is considered bad form.

Duotrope.com (a listing of markets) keeps track of the average turnaround time between submission and when the author is notified for many pulications. It's a good ref to check out to get an idea of how long the 'real' turnaround time is, which can vary greatly. Some like Tor.com can take as long as a year before you hear anything. Others, like Asimov's, let you know in less than a week.

As to how, I've been advised that a simple query along the lines of "I was wondering about the status of my (insert story title) submitted on (insert date). Thank you for your time." Or something like that.

Hope this is useful.

[analect]

Duotrope thirded! ;)

I've found that it's courtesy and friendliness that's key. I'm not sure following up ever negatively affects the result, unless the writer is the type of PITA who seems to think they deserve a contract 48 hours after submission and won't stop poking (yes, they're out there).

However, if you're finding you're consistently waiting ridiculously long times for responses, one thing that can be handy is always contacting with a query email/letter in the first instance. If you have an actual person's name in the submissions dept. you can contact directly - not just 'Submissions' or whoever's listed as gen. ed. - it does help, and you'll also have shown yourself willing to properly investigate their submission policies (as long as you're not just contacting to ask about something already covered in the guidelines). Also, if they do then reject your piece, you still have a name you can go back to and say 'I tried this, it wasn't what you looking for, would you like to see this new thing I have?'

If you can do it without making a pain of yourself - and bearing in mind the sheer volume of subs and emails most readers have to contend with in the average - I have found it's helpful.