[Publisher] Milkweed Editions

I mean, seriously. Particularly with the absolute lack of communication. Good for you for getting in touch with them. I'd like to see them make better use of their submission manager to keep us updated.

susanfishy said:

Their goal is to respond to all submissions received last summer by July 1.

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And now their goal is September 1? Wow. Unacceptable. Going to sim sub this like crazy. I can't afford to throw a year and a quarter away on this book (even if I've thrown away over 10 months on it). Ugh. Thanks for the heads-up. We appreciate the info!

Duotrope shows 9 pending responses now instead of 11. Since there aren't any new responses marked, I suppose those must be withdrawals? Who knows. At this point I'm just making conversation, lol.

I got a rejection after 10 months. This is a completely unacceptable response time so I'm glad they rejected me.

I am sorry to hear about the rejection and yes, agree that this seems absurd to wait this long. All the best with your forthcoming book.

I'm now on Day 304.

Relative to other literary unsolicited sub pools, I'll admit it's not really out of the ordinary, but typically submission managers are used to give the author a better idea of their progress - so finding out they'd changed the "deadline" to get back to us *and* that the in-progress means basically nothing does make the eye twitch a bit.

Vandal said:

I got a rejection after 10 months. This is a completely unacceptable response time so I'm glad they rejected me.

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Sorry to hear, Vandal, but at least you're free to sub it someplace perhaps more accommodating.

May I ask if the rejection was form or personal? I'd hope after 10 months, they'd at least bother to give you reasons why they passed.

truantoranje said:

Sorry to hear, Vandal, but at least you're free to sub it someplace perhaps more accommodating.

May I ask if the rejection was form or personal? I'd hope after 10 months, they'd at least bother to give you reasons why they passed.

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Nope. It was a form:

Thank you very much for giving us the opportunity to consider Good Golly Miss Molly, but it's not right for Milkweed Editions.

Please know that we have read your work, and we understand how important it is to you. We mold our small list from the enormous number of manuscripts we receive every year and, regrettably, there isn't time to write the personal response that each one deserves.

We appreciate your interest in Milkweed Editions and your patience in awaiting a reply.

Best of luck in placing your work elsewhere.

Sincerely,

The Editors of Milkweed Editions


This book was accepted a few weeks later by another press and will coming out in September under its new title.

Congratulations, Vandal!!

Congrats on the accept!

I was happy to find this message board and to see that there are other people frequently/obsessively checking their statuses. Any updates out there? Mine is still under consideration.

330 days. No updates for me.

I'm at 340 days.

352 days here. I submitted on July 1st last year (the first day they reopened to submissions). Still listed as Under Consideration on their submission manager. *sigh*

I actually called again and the person I talked to this time said Under Consideration means it is in an editor's inbox AND is unread. As soon as a ms is read, it will either be listed as Full MS Requested or something like Declined.

I'm on day 325 and still Under Consideration...

Anyone have any Duotrope updates?

Duotrope has 9 fiction subs pending and no responses since April 2nd.

338 and still UC.

Misery loves company. Thanks for the updates. I submitted on July 1 as well. Now knowing that UC means it remains unread, I'm curious as to how they choose what to read.

susanfishy said:

I actually called again and the person I talked to this time said Under Consideration means it is in an editor's inbox AND is unread. As soon as a ms is read, it will either be listed as Full MS Requested or something like Declined.

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Um, do they read from the back of the pile or something? Starting to think submitting here was a mistake.

I've been hearing from various publishers and agents in the last year that they are receiving an increasing number of submissions, the vast majority of which are not the type of books they even consider. It's made me think about the problem of the ease of electronic submissions--part of what is taking Milkweed so long is that they have to slog through stuff that is not a fit.

I'm curious to hear from my fellow wait-ers: why did you submit to Milkweed? is it a really good fit for your book? What past titles might it in some way resemble? is it your first choice of a publisher?

And I will happily go first. Milkweed is indeed my first choice of a publisher because my novel has a strong environmental theme to it: it's about a woman whose husband drops dead and whose attempt to get her life back together gets entwined with the emerging anti-fracking movement in her Ivy League college town. The book has some overlap with Being Esther, published by Milkweed last year. I have the book under consideration with two other publishers, but this is the *one* I want to work with.

You?

Thanks to everyone for the information that you’ve passed along thus far. It has cleared up my questions regarding the wait.

My manuscript is for middle grade readers. It is a historical fiction novel based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin during World War II; the summer of 1944 more specifically. Baseball is woven. Heavy on the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Writing about baseball is my forte.

Milkweed is the only publisher I sent the manuscript to, but I’m going to be sending it to a few other in the next few months if nothing shakes out. Although I checked the status frequently, I’ve been able to put the manuscript out of my mind because I had a biography of a baseball player published in April 2013 (Burleigh Grimes) and am just finishing up another (Andy Pafko). My website is: www.joeniese.com.

Just received this from Milkweed Editions:

"Thank you for letting me hold onto <your book> for so long. It's been an incredibly busy year for us, and yet I've wanted to give this submission my undivided attention. I'm sorry that the result has been a delay in my response, and I appreciate your patience with us.

Thank you, as well, for letting us consider your work, which I've enjoyed reading. After much consideration, though, I'm afraid I don't think the book is quite right for Milkweed's list and must respectfully decline.

I hope you'll understand that we assemble our small list from the many submissions we receive each year, which necessitates difficult decisions. Often these decisions have less to do with the quality of your work, and more to do with the incredibly competitive climate surrounding manuscript review.

We wish you all the best in your continued literary endeavors, and thank you for thinking of Milkweed Editions."

Ironic since an agent requested the entire manuscript after seeing a partial... two hours previous. Strange, this writing biz we're in.

Good luck to all still waiting to hear!

Well I'm out, at exactly 365 days.

Good luck to those who are still waiting to hear from them.

truantoranje said:

Ironic since an agent requested the entire manuscript after seeing a partial... two hours previous. Strange, this writing biz we're in.

Good luck to all still waiting to hear!

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Agreed! How many times has that happened in this business - which is a good thing, I think! Never take one no as scripture!

Waiting at 355 days.

I got the rejection as well. Good luck to everyone with their writing!

I'm sorry to hear about the rejections. Carly -- did you withdraw or receive a letter from them?

Still waiting over here...