Jonathan Cape Open Submission Call

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Buffysquirrel

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You can see how hard I'm trying not to think about it. No, nothing, nada, zilch. Still, I did have to admit the novel wasn't finished*.



*still isn't
 

gothicangel

Toughen up.
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I'm polishing up my query and synopsis. I'm away on holiday next weekend, if I've not heard anything then I'm starting to submit to agents (think that I've given them a fair period for exclusivity.)
 

jogeo

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I've heard nothing. I'd love to know how many submissions they received.
 

waylander

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So here we are at the end of Sept which was referred to above as the realistic cutoff for responses. The lack of recent postings and the dearth of positive news tells its own story. Still, if you don't submit they won't sign you.
 

Lady MacBeth

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I've written this one off. Good luck to anyone who might still hear. Please post if you do. :)
 

Buffysquirrel

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Eh, unsurprisingly, they don't want it *pat pats novel*
 

OJCade

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Well, fair play to 'em. At least they give a "stop waiting" date so we know when to write it off.
 

kkbe

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Yeah, end of Sept., they said. I actually sent an email a while back asking if JC or Vintage planned to post news on twitter. No response. You know what, though? I give anybody who gave it whirl kudos. Nothing ventured, you guys. And maybe they haven't decided yet. . .

(I know, I know. :p)
 

waylander

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So did anyone anywhere hear of a writer who was contacted by Cape after this exercise?
 

Craig Gibson

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Hi folks, just in relation to the Cape open submissions. In August I received word from Alex Bowler, the editorial director at Cape, stating that he liked my fifty page sample and was keen to see more. In the weeks following that he contacted me several times via email and over the phone discussing the novel. Essentially he loved the first half and thought that the second needed thirty thousand words of surgery. He encouraged me to re-submit in lieu of significant changes. At the end of October I sent the book back to Mr. Bowler having made the fairly radical revisions. In November he told me that he would be looking the book over once again in the lead up to Christmas. It appears my work is on hold pending review of the changes. Lilliput Press in Dublin are also considering the manuscript over the holiday period.

I thought I should chip in on the discussion in light of my experience with Cape. Alex Bowler has been very helpful and encouraging (whilst utterly frank) with me.

The novel is a literary fiction piece set in Bellevue Hospital in New York in 1962. It is called Return of the Man that Never Came Back.

Thanks very much.
 
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Lady MacBeth

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Great news, Craig. Best of luck to you.
 

Craig Gibson

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Thank you all for your kind words; they are greatly appreciated. I'm a longtime listener, first time caller on the site so it was lovely to read your encouragement.

What will come of my submission is unclear at the this stage. In discussions the commercial viability always arises. Indeed Mr. Bowler described it as a small book (in terms of subject matter) which had the potential to grow via word of mouth. He actually recommended that I spend six months writing up a bigger book to release first via Cape and then to follow up with my original on the back of some commercial success. I didn't have another manuscript up my cuff so declined his suggestion.

Thanks for your generous comments.

Blessings this year.
 
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