Dark Dimensions #9

Kim's Corner

So, this month, I jumped off a cliff - metaphorically, anyway. I caught wind that Harper Voyager had opened up their unsolicited submissions for the first time in ten years. 

Let me just start by saying that Harper Voyager is a sister company to Harper Collins, one of the "Big Six." For those of you unfamiliar with that term, "Big Six" are part of the who's who of the publishing world. Landing a book deal through any one of them (or an under company) would be the equivalent of winning the jackpot in the lottery - twice.

When I first saw they had opened the submissions, I debated for a long time. By long time, I knew I couldn't think of it for too long since the submissions were closing the next day. For one thing, my submission wasn't even close to being polished or even edited as much as I would have liked. For another, it was shorter by 30,000 words than they wanted. After spending two hours hastily trying to write a synopsis and query, it was 11:01 PM and I was about to take the stupid, blind leap of faith with one pathetic click of the mouse. So, I took a deep breath and did it. "We're sorry, but the submission portal is now closed."

Uh... Excuse me?

Apparently, the portal closed a full 24 hours sooner than it should have. At first, I thought that maybe it was some sort of sign - though I admittedly don't believe in things like that. But I was thinking that it was for the best since it wasn't ready, I hadn't edited it, and it wasn't even long enough. Then, there was a posting that said they were at the New York Comicon (wouldn't that be nice?) and they would put up the submission portal as soon as they were back. So, I tried to edit as much of the manuscript that I could, but I didn't feel comfortable when I finally submitted. There was a notice that popped up after it was done and stated that it could take several months to receive a reply, that there could be some that did not receive a response due to high volume of submission. 

Well, if I don't hear back, I don't hear back. I guess there's not much else I can do. I can't expect them to recognize my "literary masterpiece" if I don't try (note the sarcasm on the "literary masterpiece" bit). I have read a lot of things that have stated that you should not submit if it's not ready and not what they're asking for. Unfortunately, I didn't want to miss my opportunity to get it in. Anyone else ever take a foolish leap of faith?