I think it’s unprofessional when an editor sits on a manuscript and doesn’t respond to queries.  Fortunately for me, this hasn’t happened often, but one publication (that will remain nameless) is doing just this to me now.  They’ve had one of my manuscripts for nearly seven months, which in the grand scheme of traditional publishing isn’t that bad, but with the advent of electronic submissions is piss-poor, in my opinion.  Their guidelines say to query after 90 days.  I’ve queried twice since July, and received no reply to either.  Grrrrr. 

I’ve considered submitting the story elsewhere without bothering to withdraw it–if they’re not considerate enough to respond, why should I bother–but then I realized that two unprofessional acts don’t make a right.  I’m going to withdraw my story today and sent it to another publication, one I know will act professionally and will respond if I query.

The take home message?  Just because a place pays professional rates, doesn’t mean they are a professional outfit.  Writing and publishing is difficult enough; I don’t need the aggravation of dealing with unprofessional editors on top of it.