Green Knight said:
Do you really imagine that if a publisher comes across something they think could make them a profit, that they would pass it up just because it had been offered to more than one market? Especially in those circumstances, come to think of it. "Oh no, I'll just drop this one so my bitter rival and competitor can publish it instead."
Yes, I do imagine that. For one thing, taking on a new writer is a huge risk, and they don't expect to make much of a profit when they do -- which is why they offer such miniscule advances. They're not about to let themselves be manuevered into paying extra (and risk not even breaking even) out of their burning desire to prevent another editor from acquiring that book and getting that meager return (if any) on their investment. For another thing, for every first time author they pick up, there will be several others they would have liked to take a chance on but had to turn down because they don't have that many slots for new authors. So if they lose the chance to publish one new author, they can
easily fill their place with another. As you said, it's a business, and until we
start making them money we aren't precisely unique or valuable commodities.
Also, I can't speak for the situation in the UK, because I've only met one British editor, but I have worked with several editors at major NY houses and met many more, and I never detected any tiniest indication of that bitter rivalry you believe in so strongly. Quite the opposite. And truly, it wouldn't make much sense. The way editors move from house to house during their career, today's implacable foe could be next month's coworker -- or a close associate six months back. That bitterness you mention could be a real inconvenience when it came time to settle in at a new job and make friends with the people you have to collaborate with (genre publishing being a very collaborative business).
And yes, I have learned to be patient. It's not some kind of race, he who gets there first wins. As you have said yourself, success is largely a matter of luck and timing, and you never know when your most advantageous moment is going to be. So what is the big hurry? Moreover, once your book is accepted, everything moves at a snail's pace as you go through the production process. A habit of patience is going to be invaluable then.
Besides, the time you spend waiting to hear from a publisher should be time you put to good use; you shouldn't be just sitting on your hands. You can revise what you've already written (you should certainly be doing that anyway after a handful of rejections), you can write something new. You can be
polishing your craft. All those terribly successful books you hear about that are rejected by numerous houses before finally being picked up and published to enormous sales -- have you ever thought to ask how many rewrites they might have gone through in the interim? The book that fourteen publishers rejected may be substantially different from the book the fifteenth publisher accepted.
Buy since we are going into detail here, let's examine your assumption that you can send in your book, receive multiple offers, and accept the best one. How is that supposed to work? Say that an editor at House X gets back to you after three months with an offer on your book. It isn't much, and you rather hoped that you would get more. Do you take that offer, only to learn two months later after you've signed the contract that an editor at House Y was interested too -- and House Y usually offers slightly bigger advances? Do you turn down House X hoping to hear from House Y or Z, even though they've expressed no interest as yet? Do you call up House Y and Z (as an agent can do) and say, "That book I sent you. House X just made an offer. You need to read the book now and get back to me?" (Gee, that wouldn't look pretentious or anything.) Or do you tell House X, "I'm sorry, you'll have to wait until I hear back from some of the other houses I submitted to -- but haven't heard a word from as yet -- before I can make an decision." Do you imagine they'll hang around for two, three, or four months waiting for you to get another offer?
It seems to me that the only sensible alternative would be to accept the first offer you get. Which is
exactly what you would do submitting to one place at a time. Except that submitting to one house at a time doesn't leave you open to finding out later that you accepted less money than you might have received elsewhere (had you shown a little of that underrated quality known as patience), you haven't risked alienating several editors, and you've had time to revise and improve your book.
