[hannah-lieberman Posts: 2 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

I've received a contract for my picture book (and I am super excited!!) ...how long can I wait to sign? I've sent it to a lot of other publishers, and I have heard some can take up to 6 months!! Is it rude to wait a long time? I would think that publishers may be a little more patient since we are in a pandemic. Thanks for the advice!! - Hannah 

[Debbie Vilardi Posts: 5,952 Status: Offline Language is so cool! WWW]

The proper procedure is to tell other publishers you have interest and give them a time frame, usually a week or two, to get back to you. But think carefully about who you really want to work with and make sure their vision for the final book suits your vision. Don't keep the publisher that sent the contract waiting too long.

And, most importantly, happy sales to you!

[dkshumaker Posts: 1,153 Status: Offline WWW]

First, congrats! Being offered a contract is a big deal!

But I agree with what Debbie said. Be certain this is a publisher you want to work with. Do they publish good quality books? Are they asking you for any money?  (If so, run. That is not a traditional publisher.)

If this is a publisher you do want to work with, send the other publishers an email with "OFFER on NAME OF BOOK" in the subject line. Then give them a deadline to respond to you, a week or two is normal. If they don't respond, consider it a NO and go ahead and sign the contract you have! You do not want to wait too long.

(If you are 100% certain that this is the publisher you want to work with, even if the other publishers offer, too, you could just sign the contract now and send an email withdrawing your submission.)

[HaroldU Posts: 724 Status: Offline WWW]

It's too late now, but for future reference, you should let any other potentially interested parties know *before* you receive a contract from a publisher.  Contact them as soon as you get a firm expression of interest. Publishers usually do not create contracts until after they've expressed interest AND heard back from the author that the author wants to go ahead....

[hannah-lieberman Posts: 2 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Thanks every one! Super helpful. I think I will do the email to the other publishers tmw, letting them know. Thank you!!
Hannah

[Sarah Peetz Posts: 36 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Hannah, I am interested to know what you decided and how the process went for you. Also, congrats!