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[Agency] Writers House

EagerReader

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Yay! Annarkie! Very exciting news. Congratulations!
 
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Ruth2

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Yay, Annarkie!!! Well done!!!

EagerReader: Hugs to you. I wrote a friend and said I was so tempted to withdraw my full just so I wouldn't get rejected.
 

EagerReader

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Keeping my fingers crossed for you, Ruth2. Don't talk foolishness! Nothing ventured, nothing gained. And I could probably find at least another dozen cliches to throw at you! Good luck!
 

Ryan_Sullivan

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Unless other agents are hinting at how much work it would be (or you're only getting form rejections on your other requests) I wouldn't worry too much about this yet. Sometimes one agent just has a different idea of a book from the query and doesn't get it.

Now when you get a bunch that say something like that (or many of my favorite phrase, "This is a great concept but...."), it's time to think about whether the novel needs more work.

And, that's actually not a bad place to be. If your concept is the problem, that's a good thing--it's easier to write a new novel/find a new concept than to change your entire writing style completely. By getting this far, it shows that your writing is working, now you can take the next step (if the concept doesn't work for somebody else) to boost that.

Good luck, all!
 

Ruth2

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Keeping my fingers crossed for you, Ruth2. Don't talk foolishness! Nothing ventured, nothing gained. And I could probably find at least another dozen cliches to throw at you! Good luck!

Hey EagerReader! LOL! I didn't say I was going to do it-- just that I thought about it. <g> Thanks!
 

Annarkie

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Thanks for the encouragement, guys! I've been working all day on revisions while wracking myself with self-doubt on whether I'm doing them right. Although...one scene I wrote today was a lot of fun.
I hope to have the MS ready for her by Monday morning. One good thing about being unemployed is at least I have time... when the man and kids aren't being a nuisance.
 

Ryan_Sullivan

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Btw, what are reputation points? Are they good or nefarious?

Just figured out what those were a few days ago. From what I can tell, they just post little comments on the "User CP" page thing, and other people can't see them. But, I'm new to this, so not sure.
 

kaitlin008

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Btw, what are reputation points? Are they good or nefarious?

If you click on that little scale symbol beneath people's avatars (between the circle and the triangle with the exclamation mark), a little window thing comes up and you can leave someone a message, and it gives them a reputation point. If someone has given YOU one, you'll see it when you click on User CP. :)
 

Ruth2

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If you click on that little scale symbol beneath people's avatars (between the circle and the triangle with the exclamation mark), a little window thing comes up and you can leave someone a message, and it gives them a reputation point. If someone has given YOU one, you'll see it when you click on User CP. :)

That's a scale??? I thought it was a snow flake!!!! (Gotta get new glasses for sure...)
 

Annarkie

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For those of you that have received requests to revise and resubmit, how long did it take on the revisions? I've heard that if you send the revisions in too quick, they think you didn't try. But if you take too long, then the book's not as fresh in their minds....
Argh! I've been working on the revisions for 12 hours a day for the last 2 days. I think I'll be done by Monday, but what if I do em wrong? What if.....
Pardon my insomnial ramblings, LOL.
 

EagerReader

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Annarkie, I had the same anxiety. I was given a broad (cryptic, to my mind) suggestion and it took me about a week to think about what was needed, then about two days to write it. I spent another few days stewing, is it ok? is it what they meant? Should I do more? Then my mom was diagnosed with cancer and I just hit the send button.

So, two weeks total.

My changes were obviously not on the mark at all, since they very nicely said, uhm, no thanks.

Although I was initially crushed, now, I really think they liked my writing, just not my story. Which isn't so horrible and now I move on.

I wish you the best of luck! My experience is just one where it didn't quite work out, but there are so many successes out there! So stay confident, write what feels right and you'll get a better book and an agent out of it!

Go, Annarkie, go! Yay!
 

Beckstah

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I'm so sorry about your mom, EagerReader! Best of luck to her with her treatment!

I'm sure Steven and Alena liked your writing - they wouldn't have asked for the revisions otherwise. If you're still looking for an agent when your next book is finished and edited, I'm sure they'll be thrilled to hear from you.
 

honeysock

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Annarkie, my first R and R experience was almost identical to EagerReader's, and I came away from the rejection with a similar conclusion--that the requesting agent liked the writing, but wasn't sure about the genre (or lack thereof).

Save your original version of course. I just got another R and R request (what kind of glutton am I???) after I restored a scene agent #1 had me remove. Did this second agent ask for the same change? Of course not! So I'm glad I submitted the original in the first place, since #2 seemed to like it.

I've given myself a July 7 deadline for this revision--two weeks from start to finish. I think I waited too long the first time (six weeks): the agent changed agencies, I had to track her down to resubmit, and I think she lost interest. So yeah, it's kind of like playing Goldilocks . . .

Good luck! Life is exciting for you right now, huh?
 

Annarkie

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Sorry about your mom, EagerReader. I hope she gets better.

Thanks, Honeysock! Actually, I agree with all of the suggestions she made. Most were very specific and the one that wasn't, I asked about and got an answer right away. The majority of the changes are just adding to what is already there. I'm about a third of the way done, I think. I'm wondering if these recommendations were based on my word count being a tad too low.
 

Ryan_Sullivan

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For those of you that have received requests to revise and resubmit, how long did it take on the revisions? I've heard that if you send the revisions in too quick, they think you didn't try. But if you take too long, then the book's not as fresh in their minds....
Argh! I've been working on the revisions for 12 hours a day for the last 2 days. I think I'll be done by Monday, but what if I do em wrong? What if.....
Pardon my insomnial ramblings, LOL.

I'm not usually one for padding time, but I would say give it a week before turning it in. Beyond just making it seem longer, it will give you time to think over what you've done and fix anything you've forgotten, or change anything you need. This is your chance to sell them, so make sure you have the best manuscript you can. Take your time.
 

EagerReader

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I'm so sorry about your mom, EagerReader! Best of luck to her with her treatment!

I'm sure Steven and Alena liked your writing - they wouldn't have asked for the revisions otherwise. If you're still looking for an agent when your next book is finished and edited, I'm sure they'll be thrilled to hear from you.

How sweet you are! Thanks for the good thoughts.

And Annarkie, sure, take your time and be thoughtful, but most importantly, remember, you've gotten this far, so you must totally ROCK!

Throwing you some good zen!
 

eveningstar

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For those of you that have received requests to revise and resubmit, how long did it take on the revisions? I've heard that if you send the revisions in too quick, they think you didn't try. But if you take too long, then the book's not as fresh in their minds....
Argh! I've been working on the revisions for 12 hours a day for the last 2 days. I think I'll be done by Monday, but what if I do em wrong? What if.....
Pardon my insomnial ramblings, LOL.

Just to throw in an example: I did a major R&R, all told it took around 7 months. About a week and a half after I sent it back I was signed, so I wouldn't worry too much about taking your time. If an agent is truly interested, they'll stay interested.
 

Ruth2

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Alas, a kind and very detailed rejection from Stephen Barr and Daniel Lazar.

Queried June 20, full requested, June 21, rejection June 29.

C'est la vie.
 

EagerReader

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(big hugs) I'm sorry, Ruth2. I hope the R is helpful, I really do. This is a hard business, it is. Well, it's time for query revenge!
 

Ryan_Sullivan

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Hopefully the details help. Good luck as you query on! (And, wow, that was fast!)
 

Ruth2

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They were very fast. In the cold light of tomorrow I'll re-read it and glean what I can. Basically too much happened too fast ... ??? I think that's what was conveyed.
 

Ruth2

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Bummer, Ruth2 :( Well, at least if it's a case of too much too fast it should be an easy fix to draw things out longer. Better than stuff happening too slow.
Good luck with everything!

Thanks Annarkie. I'll look at it again and see if I agree. At least it's not too slow, as you say.

Good luck to you too!
 

Beckstah

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Awww Ruth2, I'm so sorry... I hope their feedback will be useful to you!