[Bedazzled Posts: 19 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Hello all! For those of you who’ve been lucky enough to get an offer from a publisher, how long did it take to get your contract agreed? And how long after that was the official announcement made? Thanks so much in advance!

[Anne Marie Posts: 2,855 Status: Offline VAMPIRINA season 3 is on Disney Junior now! WWW]

It totally depends on the house and the circumstances. I've gotten contracts in two months and published a year later and contracts in 8 months and published three years later (my agency was renegotiating the boilerplate).

[Vijaya Posts: 7,326 Status: Offline Encourage WWW]

It's highly variable, from weeks to many months after acceptance, within a year typically. I've never had an official announcement made but often you can see that books are slated a couple of years from the date of the announcement. For PBs it's probably longer because they also have to have an artist on board who's available. It's an exciting time; enjoy every bit.

[dkshumaker Posts: 1,502 Status: Offline WWW]

Yes, the answers will vary greatly. For my first, offer was in January 2019, signed contract in March, announcement in November. For my second, offer in July 2020, contract signed in August, announcement a few weeks later. The big difference between them was for the 2nd, they had an illustrator on board when the offer was made to me. For the first, they didn't find an illustrator until October of that year. 

I had an agent negotiating for both.

Oh, the one offered in January 2019 comes out in May 2021, the one offered in July of 2020 will come out Fall 2021. Again, big difference  between both houses. (And the fact the illustrator was on board immediately for the 2nd.)

[Laurel Gale Posts: 58 Status: Offline I write middle grade fantasy. WWW]

If you're negotiating the contract, it can take a few months.  My most recent contract took several months, and this was partially because of negotiations and partially because of other stuff that was going on.

Announcements for novels tend to come pretty quickly after the contract is signed, at least in my limited experience. Announcements for picture books may be delayed while an illustrator is found.  One of my contracts never got a book deal announcement.