Keep Cranking Out Those Proposals

I know it's tempting. You've pitched your novel, you've pitched your how-to book, you've pitched your article, you've pitched your brains out. All to no avail. So why go on pitching?

Here's one reason: because you're a writer.

Here's another: because editors are editors. And that's not always a good thing.

My agent pitched an editor with a financial book proposal I worked up more than a year ago. Nada. Nothing. No word. No interest? No, not so.

The editor whom she pitched e-mailed her the other day and asked if the property was still available because, if so, she wanted to take a closer look at it. Which is, of course, the very first step toward landing a contract.

Was I pleased? Are you kidding??? Was I upset that it had taken the editor so long to get around to requesting a look at the manuscript? Are you kidding???

But, while slow responses to seemingly timely proposals (a year ago, you'll remember, is just about when the financial crap hit the economic fan) are frustrating, they are nonetheless part of the editorial process. For every twelve book ideas we pitch, eleven will come back positive or negative within a couple of weeks. One will come back six months or more later. Don't ask me why.

The bottom line: Keep on plugging. Sooner or later, someone is going to find something you're pitching of enough value to offer you a contract on it. That's the good news. The bad? You'll never know when it's going to happen...until it happens.

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