A Word on Submissions
- By: Jessica Faust | Date: Mar 03 2015
I know not every agent works this way, not even in our office, but I want to put it out there that if I send you a helpful rejection I am alway happy to see the material again should you make dramatic changes based on my suggestions.
In fact, my guess would be that most agents would rather see a query again than hear later how the book sold, with another agent, based on the suggestions she made.
So even if I fail to ask you send the book to me again, the door is open. Because I hate to lose out on something I liked enough to give revision suggestions on.
–jhf
Thanks for this! It's so hard to know where the line between a resilient and determined submitter, and obnoxious doing-it-wrong submitter lies.
I have to agree with Artemis, there's a fine line knowing what to do and it's different for each agent. Thank you for letting us know where you stand.
Thanks for the tip!!
This is another of those areas where the lack of industry standards leaves us fidgety woodland creatures confused and/or in error. See also: Janet Reid's recent "nope, that ship sailed" post
https://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/2015/02/query-question-responding-to.html
Between this and the definition of synopses varying from one paragraph to five pages, to include word count or not include word count, to personalize or not personalize … I end an evening's queries with little more than the question, To drink or not to drink? 🙂
Jessica: Good to know. Thanks for putting that out there. 🙂
Diane: Unlike the "to personalize or not to personalize" question, "to drink or not to drink" is a no-brainer. I wish all query conundrums were that easy. 🙂
The last time I queried my novels to you it was 2011. After numerous rewrites and a couple of queries that have been put through the wringer, be on the lookout, my work and I have changed. It's better and I'm grayer.