Tired of Being in Limbo, Seeking Contract Closure

This post was about a problem that seemed serious at the time but has since been solved. It is no longer relevant. 

OK, I’m naive, stupid and ignorant. But I’ve learned a lot.

The most important being  a recent installment in conversation with an experienced illustrator whom will remain nameless.  I owe a lot to her. To start with I told this illustrator that the illustrator I had a contract with hadn’t replied to my emails in ten days and her portfolio for my children’s book was due in two weeks. My nerves had been on edge from previous laxness in communication with this teen illustrator. I have feared the worst, from a computer breakdown to her having a nervous breakdown. But why wouldn’t her mother call me or why wouldn’t she reply to my email when I shared my fears? After all, the mother co signed the contract since my illustrator was a minor. Thankfully no money has exchanged hands. I only have my disappointment.

So in making this long story short, I’ll tell what I learned from the experienced  illustrator I found when I  went looking after  it became clear to me that I didn’t have a contract with my teen  illustrator for “Annie’s Special Day”. When my calls to her cell phone came back with “voice mail box full”, I started getting really  nervous.

With this experienced illustrator we started talking about payment installments and it came about that I read her my contract with my publishing house. We got to the part about my royalties and I realized I may be disclosing too much.

Yep, I had.And this is when it began to be really strange.

As it turned out it was lucky that I had because she had experience in contracts and knew my royalties weren’t  adding up; that the percentages were too large.  And not only that, I also haven’t heard from my publishing house in a month. I never got my signed contract back. So I don’t think we even have a contract. (Yes, I’ve looked in my scam folder). I sent my contract to them June 11 and haven’t heard back about it with their signatures or an answer to my question about what the dimensions were going to be on the children’s book. I needed to know that to give it to my illustrator so she’d know how large to do the art. And here it is July 17^th. My more experienced illustrator told my she needed to know book dimensions before she could even start on the art for my book. What if my teen illustrator had insisted on that, too. For all I know that’s why she broke communication with me. Though I think other wise.

What are your experiences with emails for professional writers and illustrators? What are your experiences with friends and family? What do you do when you don’t want to do business with someone, not reply at all or reply saying your business relationship is over?