In my recent post, “Impressive Small Presses,” I mentioned some publishers who had caught my eye (thanks to the tip-off from Poets & Writers, of course). Well, here I’ve been sitting on a complete manuscript for almost three months now without bothering to send it round. At first I blamed my procrastination on the move, the easiest of many cop-out options. After further thought I realized that I had no viable excuse at all. I have a wonderfully expensive printer — a wedding present from the in-laws — and had discovered two excellent independent presses. What was I waiting for?, a handout?, a sign from some celestial being? No — it was probably simple laziness that stood in my way. That, and a need to maintain financial stability for my home in “Animal Crossing,” by catching exotic fish, digging up valuable fossils, and selling them to a raccoon named Tom Nook. (For anyone who hasn’t played the real-time RPG on Nintendo’s Gamecube, I offer this warning: Stay away, unless you really feel the need to trade in real life for communing with anamorphic friends and long days of running their petty errands. It might not sound addictive, but it’s surprisingly life-consuming.)
That said, I promptly said goodbye to the fictional town of Norville — I would’ve called it “Northingtown” if they’d allowed for more letters in the name — and set to work in the real world. I developed my synopsis, formatted the sample chapters, and submitted. Hotel St. George Press only accepts manuscripts through snailmail, and I must say I felt more like a real writer at the sight of a fat manila envelope, the words “Print Submissions” boldly written in magic marker across its middle. (Hard-copy submissions are pleasing to the eye, I’ve found, and email submissions too ephemeral for gratification.) Dzanc Books, on the other hand, accept manuscripts in email attachments, and thus it was far simpler to click a few buttons, write a cover letter in the body of the email, and send it on its way. But what follows alarmed me to no end.
Only two hours (or less) after I sent out my submission to Dzanc, I received a response. Now often there will be an automated response that reads something like, “Soandso Publishers thank you for your submission. At the moment it is taking us 8 to 12 weeks to respond to authors,” and so on. But what I found was nothing of the sort. This was no form letter, and certainly not generated from some robotic source in the publishing house basement — and I know the difference; I’ve read enough of those to fill a filing cabinet. This was an email from the executive director himself, and it was surprisingly conversational and warm.
My point is this: For all of us out there who long to be taken seriously by those in the publishing world, Dzanc Books is the place. And sure, my work may not appeal to them, but that’s what we have to brace ourselves for no matter what. But the simple fact is that they were genuinely thankful for my submission. This sort of reception — just a mere note from a real person saying, “Hey, buddy, thanks” — is what separates these guys from the others.
It actually makes the wait bearable.
