Last Word on Cogito

I never chronicled exactly what happened with Cogito, and how and why I terminated that contract for THE VASE. I had signed a contract with them last June 1st and by the end of June, I had finished with the first round of edits with their editor-in-chief. But after I sent my edited version back to them, the editor never got back to me. I waited... and waited. The whole summer passed and nothing.

Then, in September, their acquisitions manager emailed me to advise me that she had quit the company. Besides my editor, she was my only contact with them, since the Cogito “president” had never communicated with me, not even to welcome me aboard. He never even sent me a counter-signed copy of the contract!

By November, there was still no word from my editor. I had emailed her a couple times asking what's next and when will we be going through the second round of edits, but she never replied. It was like, WTF?

Finally, I emailed her at her personal email address, and this time she replied, but only to tell me that she had quit the company several months ago. I was thinking, “Well, why didn't she tell me?” She just left me hanging. Talk about inconsiderate and unprofessional.

So I emailed the "president" and asked for the status of THE VASE and if he was even planning on still publishing it. But he never replied. Again, just leaves me hanging!

Sheesh, a simple “Yes, but bear with us, because we’re having some problems right now…” would have been enough to convince me to stay with them. Or something like, “Sorry, but due to whatever, we won’t be publishing THE VASE anymore…” would have been cool, too. But he didn’t reply at all. That was very unprofessional, and needless to say, inconsiderate, also.

At this point, I wanted no more to do with them, and I invoked the part in their contract that said if they didn't send me a notice IN WRITING, within sixty days of returning the edited version, telling me that it was acceptable or needed more revisions, then I could terminate the contract. Obviously, they were undergoing some kind of internal turmoil with two of their top people quitting, but they just left me hanging. No word. Nothing.

Like I said, it's November at this point, so I sent them emails and a written notice saying that, according to their contract, they had fifteen business days to respond and keep the contract from being voided. But they did not respond. And since it's now March, those fifteen business days have long passed.

So right now, THE VASE is free and clear of any contract, and open to anyone who wants it. I learned from that experience and I will be careful not to let it happen again.

But let me say I've had only wonderful experiences with Melange Books. KILLER OF KILLERS will be my debut novel, and not THE VASE. That's OK. I wrote that one first, anyway. Still, I look forward to THE VASE being published. It's a special story and it needs to be told. Stay tuned.