Revision process with an agent

Hi KSA and welcome to the forum!

First off, I had a very similar experience. I queried, the agent emailed back immediately asking for a read, and a few days later called to tell me that she loved the manuscript, as well as all the things that needed to be fixed. I fixed them, sent it back, she asked for another set of revisions. I did. Then, she sent me a contract, and officially became my agent. After that, we did several more rounds of more thorough revisions before she started pitching it to editors.

So, yes, this sort of thing does happen, especially if your manuscript isn't polished (mine certainly was NOT). Sometimes an agent just wants to see what you are like to work with, how well you handle revisions, and so on. And no, she is not your agent until you have a signed contract, or at least, that's my understanding of the process.

Best of luck!

I worked with my agent, but she signed me before we started, so I'm not sure if this will help or not. When she called to make the offer she asked me about making revisions, I was open to them, thought she had great ideas, and we talked about it on the phone. After I accepted her offer, she then did a second read of the manuscript with an eye out for revisions. She emailed me the file about a month or two later. I made the changes and sent it back. We were close, but still not quite there and we discussed the ending again, and I did another pass at that. The whole process took about, four or five months I think.

A month to get back isn't that long, so don't fret. The agent could have had things to do for her existing clients and the manuscript got set aside for a bit. That's normal. It's okay to email her and see how it's going. Feel free to ask when you might hear back so you don't worry If she says she'll have it back in a month, don't email her every week. Wait the month and then check back. Unless she says she'll get it to you sooner, I think a monthly check in is probably fine.

I've had mixed experiences with this. My first agent had me do some revisions and she later told me it was mainly to see how flexible and easy to work with I'd be. It took us the better part of three months to do the back and forth but once it was done, she sold the book in a matter of weeks.

Several years later, after this agent retired and I was looking for a new one, I had an agent who started this back-and-forth revision and I agreed with it for the first few times. But by the fifth or sixth request, she was asking me to change things that I felt would seriously alter the work from what I wanted it to be. So we parted ways before ever signing.

It took me several more years and two more agents to finally sell that work but once I did, it sold virtually unchanged from the original. Then again, who knows? Maybe it would have sold back then, and for more money, if I'd kept going with her changes.

Don't hesitate to email the agent and ask what the status is and, as someone else suggested, to request a tentative time frame. Then avoid bugging them until that time frame is met.

Beth (aka Annelise Ryan)

If the book is excellent, they'll sign you as is, and sell it as is. That does happen. Certainly wasn't the case with me, as my manuscript was in bad shape. I think I got lucky. The agent liked my style of prose, and she liked the story. She was willing to do the work to make it complete, and wanted to see if I was willing to do the work too. I think what happens in most cases is somewhere in between on that spectrum... so, yes, your situation sounds totally legit. Give it a go, and good luck!

Here's my experience: An agent contacted me after reading my full. She said it needed polishing/editing. I did what I could on my own and found some betas. I sent it back to agent because she said I could. Agent sent me a contract about 6 weeks later, and we then spent a couple months going back and forth with additional revisions.

Keep in mind, your agent will be doing this with several other writers. It might take weeks for him/her to get back to you with more revisions/feedback. Even if this agent doesn't offer you a contract, and it sounds like she will, you get free help editing! So look on the bright side, be patient, and good luck! It sounds very promising.

You made extensive revisions, so it'll probably take the agent a lot of time to check on them. I suggest you just contact them to get a time frame. Calling or mailing every week is going to annoy them very soon - DON'T! If the agent can't give a time frame be patient and ask for updates about every 6-8 weeks.

People have already made some fantastic comments here but I just wanted to add - I've always been known among friends and family as being impatient but my god, this process has taught me the art of zen for sure ;-) Publishing, for most, takes a looooooooooooong time so if there's one major lesson you learn, it's patience. Danthia made particularly spot-on comments so good luck with it all and be patient

Though I'm not sure it would be a good idea to contact the agent asking about a time frame, the next time she contacts you, don't be afraid to ask, "Are you offering me representation?"

I got a letter with suggested revisions before I signed, but the wording was ambiguous (to me at least) as to whether it was an offer to help me make revisions, or an offer to represent me on the condition I was willing to make them. When I replied to the letter (via e-mail) I asked if this was an offer of representation. It was, and I saved myself a lot of anxiety by having the guts to ask.

Still, I don't know if I'd contact the agent just to ask that. I'm not quite that bold.

I have 2 stories:

The first: I got a R/R on my full. She couldn't say enough good things about it...but then she sent me a long list of notes. It was very ambiguous so I too asked if there was an offer. She told me she needed these changes to happen before we moved forward. I was sort of stunned. There were many things she wanted changed but nothing large or structural. To me, these were the types of things you'd go through together. I guess not. Anyway, I'm in the middle of those revisions and I'm going to send in 2 weeks.

My other revise was on a partial if you can believe that. (This was when I first started querying) She thought it had a lot of potential but needed to see some changes. One of them was pacing so it was a major change. I did the revise and sent it off. 6 weeks later she emailed asking for the full. She's had it for five weeks now. Waiting...

Since there's no indication she's going to be my agent, I'm twiddling my thumbs and hoping she gets back to me sooner than later.

I'm not sure how I feel about nudging when an agent hasn't expressed s/he's going to represent you. I'd still wait the standard 3 months on a full before nudging. For someone who is represented, I can see a nudge being fine.