Out of the Slush Pile

The agent search continueth! A few close calls (in a good way), but no takers yet. At the same time that I'm sending queries out by the bucket-load, I'm also shopping my novels around with various publishers, one of which I've never submitted anything to before: Baen Books.

According to listed response times around the interwebs, I knew better than to think the Baen bunch would respond quickly. Estimates are nine to twelve months -- if they respond at all. According to Ralan's Webstravaganza, "Don't expect an answer."

So I was obviously surprised by the following response six months after subbing BackTracker:

Thank you for your patience as we keep your novel under consideration. Your novel was selected out of the slush pile for closer examination. Due to the volume of manuscripts ahead of yours, and the press of other business, this process may take some time.

That's right, folks. My work was plucked out of the slush pile like a sooty chipmunk from a raging brush fire. Or something like that. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, of course. Landing a deal with Baen Books would be freakin' amazing; but even if their final answer is NO, I'll always have this moment to remember fondly. And I'm 100% sure I'll be subbing to them again.
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