Over the weekend I got word from a publisher that they had snagged one of my novels out of their slush pile for “further consideration.” They also advised me to be patient.
Obviously, I appreciated the contributing editor letting me know what was going on. The book had been sitting on their slush pile since February, well within their predicted time-frame for a response according to their website. So I hadn’t been expecting to hear anything for awhile, anyhow.
It is unusual to get pulled from the slush pile, so I need to be pleased with this development. It’s certainly a step in the right direction. My odds of getting anything other than a quick rejection were high. Maybe one percent of the manuscripts in the slush pile make it out to move up the ladder toward other editors. So I’ve taken the first step.
The odds are still not in my favor. I’ve gotten further than this before on other projects. Five times I’ve had a book please editors enough for them to take it into a pub board meeting, only to see it shot down by the marketing people, despite the enthusiasm of the editor. Things happen. Of course, four times I’ve had books actually published, so it’s not all been bad.
The contributing editor, who pulled my manuscript from the slush pile, told me it would be awhile before I heard anything more, yay or nay. I don’t mind waiting. I’m kind of used to it now.