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[abacus]

Hello,

I submitted the first book manuscript to the fine university press under an advance contract. I sent the manuscript at the end of March yet I haven’t heard anything from the editor. I sent an inquiry email in September and received the reply back saying she is still waiting for the reviews. It has been almost 8 months. What should I do?  How long does it usually take for the book manuscript to be reviewed? Is it very common to wait this long?

Thanks

[seniorscholar]

I think that at this point you should telephone (rather than e-mail) the editor. It is true that reviews can take a long time -- but, on the other hand, I was once asked to do a review very quickly because the press's editor-in-chief had just realized that the acquisition editor who was on maternity leave had on her e-mail a stack of replies saying "Sorry, I won't be able to review the manuscript by your deadline [several months ago]" and the ms. had not even been sent out. Even very good university presses have fewer editors than most of us realize, and at the commercial/academic presses (such as Oxford), the people in junior positions rotate in and out very quickly (much like visiting assistant professors looking for better jobs). Thus the time spent trying to speak to a live person on the telephone at this point might give you information you need to know, and/or might let the live person know just how long it's been.

[abacus]

Thank you, seniorscholar. But the editor never answered the phone.  When I sent an email in September, there was no response.  So I left the message on the phone twice and then she finally sent me a line saying she hasn’t heard any from the reviewers. I don’t know what else I should do.  I hope she at least sent the ms out to the reviewers.

[hcx100]

Sometimes the publisher has to wait after the reviews come in, until the next publisher meeting (often only done quarterly), to decide if they really want to go ahead with a book. Be patient.

[cardamom]

I respectfully disagree with hcx100 and suggest you try contacting your press again. I don't know too many academic publishers who have boards that meet so rarely that an eight month lag time is the norm. Reviewers can be slow and eight months is not unheard of, but it's worth trying to get a better answer from your editor. Try calling again. Better yet, try calling the editor's or acquistions department's assistant. They're often in the best position to know where in the process your ms. is and also are generally charged with sending out and retrieving mss. They also are often easier to get in touch with and are more likely to talk to authors. Your ms. could well be lost in the shuffle for all kinds of non-devious reasons and politely inquiring about its status until you get a solid answer (i.e., we've contacted the reader and expect the review on X date) is perfectly reasonable.