Excerpted from Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author. Here’s a question I get fairly often and my response:
It is perfectly okay to send out query letters to numbers of publishers at once. Some publishers even sanction sending a book proposal to more than one publisher at a time. I usually send my initial query letter to my first choice of publishers only. I he or she isn’t interested in my project, I start sending out simultaneous query submissions.
Do not, however, send your manuscript to more than one publisher simultaneously. An exception to this rule is when a publisher holds your manuscript for a long time without responding. If you can’t elicit a response after a reasonable waiting period, write or call and let that publisher know that you will be sending the manuscript to another publisher who has requested it. And then tell the new publisher that the manuscript is also being considered by XYZ Publishing House.
Tomorrow “How Long Should You Wait for a Response?”
In the meantime, check out the book this was excepted from, Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author at amazon.com or http://www.matilijapress.com/PublishYourBook.html