No reply from publisher :(

[rhd]

One of my shorts got accepted by an online magazine. They said they loved it and want to publish it and they'd be back 'shortly'. I remember replying to them asking them if they're okay with a revised version. It's been a little more than two months and they haven't replied. I did a bit of searching and they seemed legit and they pay too, so I don't know what happened. Is there some sort of publishing etiquette I've crossed by asking for a revision? Also I want to send the story to someone else I'm pretty sick of waiting but nobody really accepts simultaneous submissions, so I want to ask them if they intend to publish at all, if not then I need to move on. Or may be it's just how this publishing thing works? This is the first time I've ever had any of my stories accepted. Do I need to just be patient and wait?

 

[Steerpike]

Send a query asking them the status. That's perfectly appropriate at this point.

 

[rhd]

Thanks. How do I word it? I don't want to sound like an ass :/

 

[stephenspower]

Dear X:

Thank you again for accepting my story Y on xx/xx/xx. I was wondering if it's been scheduled for publication yet and, if so, for when. I look forward to seeing it.

Z


It's not unusual to not hear back re an acceptance. Some places have months-long backlogs of material.

As for revisions, how major were they? You don't want to be offering them a much different story. A few word changes are probably OK. What does their site says about their process?

In any event, congrats!

 

[rhd]

That's perfect. Thank you! I figured I'd wait a while, but they publish their magazine every two months and have a cut off date, and have a waiting period for about that long, so I assumed they'd reply within 2 months after accepting. My revisions are minor, and there was nothing about not accepting revisions, although I have seen that on another sites and thought it was some sort of unofficial rule.

 

[rhd]

It's published.

Thank you again!