On ghosting in publishing…

When publishers don't reply, and what the reasons might be...

Hi everyone,

I’ve had a fair few messages from readers of this Substack, asking me to talk a little about the subject of ‘ghosting’ within the publishing industry. When I delved further into what readers meant by that, they said, broadly - agents or editors not getting back to authors within a reasonable timeframe (i.e. not getting back at all) or authors not getting back to other authors.

I will start by saying I don’t have a concrete answer for why this can happen or any data about how prevalent it is, so the below are basically just my thoughts, and I’m happy to be given more information by anyone who would like to share it! I also asked Sam Eades about ghosting in her recent Honest Editor interview, so do click the link to see her thoughts too, some of which chime with mine.

So, let’s begin with the basics. As an editor, part of my role is to respond, usually via email, to literary agents who send me submissions, (read more about the submissions process here), agents who I already share authors with, or agents who email asking questions (maybe about upcoming new projects, backlist authors, or to arrange a meeting). Another part of my role is regular contact with my list of authors - updating them on the publishing processes, showing them their covers, copy, early reader reviews, and of course editorial notes. Then, of course, I email my team and colleagues about day to day things (all in all it’s a lot of email traffic! As a side note I think we all need to carve out time to be creative when it comes to our publishing - it can be so easy to spend all our time emailing, which is a bit depressing!)

Where do the problems arise? I really do try hard to be responsive via email, and I think overall I am fairly good at doing this, and I believe that the vast majority of people are trying their best. There is a high volume of emails, and sometimes, things do slip through the net, as in all industries I am sure - I flag emails to come back to them and write endless to-do lists (in my notebook, like a dinosaur! I think other people use online platforms, lol). So I never mind being chased within a reasonable timeframe (a few days) and I do always try to acknowledge receipt of important emails, even if I can’t come back with full answers until I’ve had more in-house conversations. I do think it’s really important to acknowledge receipt of full manuscripts if an author has been editing, as this is a LOT of work that someone has poured in, and it’s not nice to receive silence in return!

So what are the reasons someone might not reply? I suppose they are: that person is overstretched and hasn’t got the capacity to keep up with the volume, which is a problem of the company/industry, not a problem created by authors (though please do try not to be the person that emails seven times a day with different things: condense your questions into one email, please and thank you) . Secondly, there can be a time delay in replying to emails because publishers also have a lot of meetings, sometimes all day back-to-back, so emails are fit in around that. But no-one should be completely un-responded to! Thirdly, and this is one that people have mentioned in my DMs, is there a culture in which publishers do not or do not want to give authors or agents bad news? I don’t know. It certainly isn’t something (in my experience) that we are trained to do (i.e. we are not told deliberately NOT to update authors)! I have given many people bad news over the course of my career (and given lots of lovely good news too!) and of course, it’s not exactly fun. Sometimes, you do get emotional responses, but I believe that within reason we have to deal with those (I have had abusive responses, too, which I do not think anyone should have to deal with. Thankfully, these are not a regular occurrence). Are we babying authors? Are we conditioned to tell authors only what we think they want to hear? These are questions I am genuinely putting out there in the hopes of encouraging conversation, as I don’t have all the answers.

One thing I do think is probably beneficial is the idea of asking authors how much communication / detail they would like. Some writers don’t actually want to see poor sales figures; some would rather know the truth. I think it’s the same with agents and authors - when my own book was on submission I chatted to my agent about this as I wanted to know each time a publisher turned it down (lots did!) whereas she had planned to wait and send any and all rejections in one go, once she had more clarity. So do have those conversations - I think they could help! Some authors are published in so many territories to such success that too many email updates can clog up their inboxes and go unanswered anyway (ideally these authors have assistants or teams who can help with this though).

Does sending bad news to an author prompt more work/questions? Well, yes, sometimes. But is that a reason not to do it? Not in my mind. If sales are low, then inevitably, an agent or author might ask what can be done to boost them. Sometimes, editors feel a bit stuck because they might want to do things that marketing or the publisher in general does not have the budget for, e.g. more advertising, a new strategy, etc. With large lists, not all books have the same level of budget allocated, which I think is not a shock to readers of this Substack, (though some places e.g. Bookouture do do equal marketing spend a lot) and so it does mean that we can’t always action requests (otherwise of course all authors would want all of the advertising and it just can’t work that way). We do want to listen to readers and the market pull, though, so if a book is gaining traction, most publishers will absolutely then increase advertising. Anyway, this is going off point!

When news is bad, I do think we as publishers need to be able to relay it as for me authors are running small businesses and therefore it’s good to have the information - so maybe one of the solutions is empowering editors to deliver ‘bad’ news confidently and coherently and those editors knowing they have the support of the team behind them if a reaction is difficult to deal with. I do also believe that the more transparent things are, the less likely it is that reactions will be ‘difficult’ - because we are all ultimately on the same side and we all want to get books into readers’ hands! I agree with some of the readers who have written in that ghosting can feel unfair, can make one feel helpless and can negatively affect authors’ mental health, and is, basically, rude - but I do think it’s good to talk about it and to remind each other that we can take things into our control if needed. If someone really is not getting back to you, email them again! If they still don’t reply after months, email their boss. I would want to know if a member of my team was regularly ghosting authors or agents (I don’t mean the odd time, I mean regularly) because I’d want to check that staff member was ok. If someone is struggling with mental health, I think their manager needs to know so that we can help. No one should be made to feel alone or that they are drowning every day in an unmanageable job (I don’t think that necessarily is the case, but it can occasionally be). Or, if someone simply isn’t responsive, then again, a manager needs to know so that they can help put in place training to ensure that person knows and understands how to reasonably respond. If you are with a publishing team that regularly and consistently ghosts you, you should move and try to find a new publisher, in my opinion! Likewise with agents.

So then onto other reasons - publishers dealing with a very large volume of reading. Is the answer to have auto-replies after a set period of time, like some agencies have? Would that be better? Or does that risk projects being missed out on? My first book took quite a long time to sell, but obviously I am so glad it did! Most submission reading is done out of hours, so editors are reading outside of the office, and some readers are slower than others naturally, so it can be difficult to set an appropriate timeframe. It is true that some teams are stretched, but I think this probably taps into a wider issue about the industry in general (it is an industry I love, so I am not intending to knock it, just interested in it) - i.e. do people need to have clearer/easier access to working in publishing, and do we need better pay to encourage and retain junior staff (yes).

In terms of authors ignoring other authors, I guess this might mean with blurb requests. I do think these can sometimes slip through if authors get a lot of social media messages, and sometimes authors might feel uncomfortable if they read and didn’t enjoy a book (I understand not wanting to attach your name to a book you don’t believe in!) In that case, authors could be in touch with the publisher and say it wasn’t for them or that they have too many proofs to look at (this is fine!) Some authors have proof policies, where they will always receive books, but will only quote if they like them, and don’t want to be chased up; others ‘close’ to proofs at busier times in their schedules, and some quote often and generously. It is up to you as a writer how you do this, and the main thing I’d say is to be authentic to yourself, and to recognise that quotes are often requested, that one can’t always quote for everything, but that they are always well-received (and that you might be on the other side of the asking at some point too). But do remember you don’t HAVE to quote for every book that is sent your way, and it is fine to politely say you don’t currently have the capacity, or to happily receive the novel and post about it online to support the author, but not get round to providing a quote (this is often what I do).

Anyway, though this article is long and rambling and doesn’t really provide answers, I hope it helps a little bit and I’d love to hear what you think. Are there certain things publishers could do to help with the ghosting problem? Are there things authors and agents could do? Is there anything you want to share or add in the comments below? Let’s talk about it!

As a final note, I wanted to let all of you lovely readers know about a very special new writing prize. My fabulous former colleague Emma Knight has helped coordinate the new Hilary Mantel Prize - you can read all about it on their website and on Instagram and they are really keen for people to enter! So if you have a book in you and you’ve been wanting an opportunity, now is your time. What are you waiting for?!

Key info:

The Hilary Mantel Prize will be open to unpublished and unagented writers living in the UK and Ireland. Entry will be online and open from 22 September to 31 December 2025. Candidates are invited to submit 15,000 words of their novel, a 1,000-word precis, and a short biographical statement.

The first Hilary Mantel Prize will be awarded in early spring 2026. The winner and runner-up will each receive a cash prize and personal mentoring from an agent at A M Heath and an editor at John Murray. The winner will also receive a place on an Arvon residential writing course. The runner-up will receive a place on an Arvon masterclass.

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Phoebe x