THE ONE THAT’S A TIMELINE
Cat/genre: YA SFF
Auction.
I remember thinking that word was magic. It didn’t just mean big money, but speed. And speed was important to me because I’d been on a long sub before (18+ months with a different book) and let me tell you, it’s the circle of hell even Dante couldn’t dream up.
But having now sold at auction (yay me), I’ve learned that, really, ‘auction’ is just a fancy way of saying ‘multiple houses bid’, and that unless you’re one of those super buzzy books that sells huge in a heartbeat, it doesn’t necessarily mean things will move fast.
So for anyone wondering how slow things can go (even when there’s lots of interest and an offer on the table), here is my timeline.
DAY 01: Submissions go out
DAY 16: Interest publisher 1
DAY 22: Call with publisher 1
DAY 28: Publisher 1 confirms intent to take to acquisitions
This was a hugely nerve wracking milestone for me as I’d experienced the pain of dying at acquisitions 3 times before with my previous book. But fourth time’s the charm, right? At this stage, we nudged other editors with interest, but not a deadline as there was no guarantee of an offer. We were also informed that the acquisitions meeting we were headed to wasn’t until day 45. So yeah, rip my insides.
DAY 31: Interest publisher 2
DAY 38: Interest publisher 3
DAY 41: Interest publisher 4
DAY 43: Interest publisher 5
I guess nudging with interest works! And for those wondering what ‘interest’ means in this context, it means we got a note from the considering editor to say they were reading and loving, sharing with their team, going to second reads etc.
DAY 50: First offer – publisher 1
DAY 50: Deadline set for all publishers to express serious interest (day 62)
Ahhhhhh less than two months on sub and we were basically done, right? RIGHT??? Worth noting that my agent set a fairly generous deadline because the pandemic was making things slow and tricky. The deadline was also for first offers OR serious expressions of interest. So if an editor was truly interested but needed more time, they could ask for it.
DAY 50: Publisher 3 passes
DAY 51: Publisher 2 passes
Ooof deadlines breed rejections :(
DAY 52: Publisher 4 confirms intent to offer
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!
DAY 55: Second offer – publisher 4
Double ahhhhhhhhhhhh!
DAY 55: Interest publisher 6
DAY 62: Deadline for all interest
DAY 62: Publisher 6 asks for more time
DAY 62: Deadline extended (day 79)
Okay, so I knew this was a possibility, and the publisher who asked for more time was great, so I was actually quite zen about the extension. For those keeping track, we had two offers in hand at this stage (publishers 1+4) and two still seriously considering (publishers 5+6).
DAY 79: Extended deadline for all interest
DAY 79: Publishers 5+6 ask for more time again
DAY 79: Deadline extended (day 86)
Yeah… less zen about this extension… by this point I am dead but my deadlines are clearly not.
DAY 86: Publisher 6 out
Argh!
But…
DAY 86: Third offer — publisher 5
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! And a dream house, too. Well worth the wait! At this point, we officially closed the bidding to others and set a deadline for all our offering parties to give us their best bids.
DAY 92: Deadline for best offers
DAY 93: Offer of publication accepted – publisher 5
So yeah, though the actual sub time — about 3 months total — is not on the long side for selling a book (not by a mile), it was definitely longer than I expected things to take once there was firm interest and offers on the table. But it does go to show that ‘first in’ doesn’t always = ‘best fit’. My best offer literally came on the very last day — and it was an offer worth waiting for. Which is why I’m so thankful that my agent worked so hard to keep all our options open for as long as possible.
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The stories on this blog are posted anonymously so that authors can speak candidly about their experience. If you have a sub story you’d like to share, drop me an email at: katedylanbooks@gmail.com
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