Multiple & Simultaneous Submissions

Let’s have a word about multiple and simultaneous submissions. The only instance when it’s permissible to make multiple submissions is for poetry, when editors will often request that

writers send up to six poems at a time. Send two or three unsolicited short stories or articles in the same envelope and they will probably go straight in the bin.

The question of simultaneous submissions is a lot more complex, so let’s use an analogy before we start. Just suppose a market gardener was told that he could only sell one box of lettuce to Tesco or Wal-Mart at a time; and that these would have to be sold and eaten before he could sell another box to another supermarket chain. It wouldn’t make for good business and his stock would be well past its sell-by date by the time he could offer it elsewhere. The same applies to writers’ submissions. Some editors state quite openly that it can take between 3-6 months before they will give a decision, so what are our options?

• All submissions should be tailored-made for the appropriate market and shouldn’t automatically suit another editor’s requirements. All typescripts would need some tinkering before being sent to another editor, so simultaneous submissions are not a good idea from the writer’s point of view.

• By rule of thumb, give short stories, poems and articles a month before offering them elsewhere. Novels and nonfiction book proposals should be given between six to eight weeks before sending them off to the next publisher/agent on your list. Give them the courtesy of another six weeks to

respond.

• A ‘perhaps’ ‘later’ ‘maybe’ response is no good to a writer. Keep your options open by all means, but a piece isn’t sold until you have a formal confirmation.

The ‘no simultaneous submissions’ rule was put in place over two decades ago by publishers and editors, and has become another of those urban myths within the creative writing industry. It’s dog in the manger stuff and if you’ve been waiting for weeks, or even months, for a reply, then it’s hardly ‘simultaneous’ if you decide to submit to someone else after a reasonable delay. If your submission is accepted, do send a polite letter to any editor who’s ‘kept it on file’ and explain that the piece has now been sold. And thank them for their time. You never know when you want to submit to them again.  One response I’ve noticed that it relatively new is: “If you have a request from another agent/publisher for the full manuscript, please email us and let us know.”  In other words, we might have overlooked something good and it gives us the opportunity to steal a march on the other agent/publisher who might not realise there’s competition in the offing!

The only real no-no for simultaneous submissions is when submitting material for a writing competition. Because there is often a 3-6 month lapse between the competition being announced and the closing date, be prepared for your entry to be on-hold until after the judging process has taken place. Generally speaking, however, material entered for competition, particularly short stories, would not be the sort of fiction normally written for commercial publication, since it tends to be more adventurous and non-genre specific.

Every submission should be tailor-made for its intended market.