Book proposal navigation

[mathofsorts]

I'm in the process of writing a textbook. I got to the stage where I contacted several editors about the project and submitted four proposals. Two editors seemed very interested and had some people review it. A third said they were going to pitch it at the acquisitions meeting. Today I heard that one of the other two is drafting a contract.

I am asking advice about navigating the negotiation stage. How much should I push to get multiple contracts to compare? How long can I hold off signing? Any words of wisdom? Any advice on emailing the remaining three and letting them know that I have a draft contract coming? I have told all of them that I submitted the proposal to multiple presses.


Thanks.

[Ruralguy]

I doubt there is much variation in what you'd get offered. You could just ask each of the companies what their offer would look like. Some have a standard contract available online.