Strategy: agent or editor?

I'm wondering what to do right now.

Back in April, I sent my ms to an editor from a big publishing house. She had been recommended to me by a writer friend, who is a best-selling British author. This author had loved my first book (and written a comment for the cover) and she told me that this editor, who used to be HER editor before she moved house, would be perfect for me, they like the same sort of books and she would like my writing, they were good friends and always discussed books and had discussed me, etc etc etc.


So I wrote ms. editor, sent her a partial and synopsis, and forgot about it. A few weeks later she wrote back, very friendly, said she really liked the partial and please send her the full. I sent it. This was my first submission EVER; I'd decided to begin with what I knew, and it was good having a personal contact to her.

But about a month after sending it I had an inspiration and began a major overhaul of the ms. That included cutting out most of the partial she had read and starting later in the story, which much improves the whole thing, AND making major improvements to the plot. So I wrote that editor and said hold it, please don't read yet, revisions under way. She did not reply to that mail and I thought maybe she was pissed off. I more or less wrote her off; I'd made a bad beginning and decided to concentrate now on finding an agent.

At the moment I have a few agents lined up with requests for full or partials. The trouble is, I have no idea what they are like. I don't know which one to try first - knowing that if any one says yes, I'll take her. But which order to go about it? To me they are just names.

Yesterday I mailed Ms. editor and asked her tentatively what her position was - if she had read my ms at all.

She said that on getting my mail months ago asking her not to read it she had put it on hold, and would still be happy to receive the full.

So that's my quandary. Should I send it in to her, and risk refusal and closing that door? Or tell her I'm looking for an agent first, and will get back to her when I've found one? If I do send it to her and she refuses it, can it be resubmitted to another editor at the same house by an agent, or is that pub.house now completely closed to me, along with all its imprints? I admit that I'd love to have an editor first and then choose an agent - but should I take the risk?

Thanks, Garpy, and congratulations on your Orion deal!

I guess I've been coy with naming names for fear that one of them might be lurking here (fat chance!) and mightn't want to see themselves discussed! But I might as well.

The interested agents on my list are:

Vivien Green, of Sheil Land
Annette Green, of Annette Green Agency
Judith Murray, of Greene and Heaton

(notice the recurrence of the name Green!)

and Veronique Baxter, of David Higham Associates

in the US,
Stephanie Lee of ManusLit and Rashena Wilson of Peter Muir have both asked for partials

I guess I am afraid to go forward with Ms Editor (she is Harriet Evans of Headline) because I just got rejected by my very favourite agent and I am still very sad because of that. She is Vivienne Schuster of Curtis Brown, and she had called me up and spoken to me and asked me to wait till she came back from holidays and everything; and now it's a no.

She sent me a lovely mail saying WHY it's a no and they are problems I can and will fix - I see it clearly now. She also said "I am sorry to disappoint you. I myself am disappointed. I really wanted this to work. "

So you see, I was so very near this last weekend. If only...
I was thinking if I fixed the problems, and I managed to snag Harriette, maybe I could ask Vivienne again. So many ifs...

brinkett said:

I agree with everyone else. You have an interested editor--send her the manuscript.

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Thanks everyone - I feel so much better now!

Kasey Mackenzie said:

I would definitely send the full to the interested editor for the reasons many already mentioned. Normally I would recommend the opposite (i.e. submitting to agents first so you don't lower the number of places THEY can submit), but in this situation you had a personal contact with the editor and it's just one publisher so it's not like you're negatively impacting your future agent's chances of finding a house for you if this one doesn't work out.

Good luck with both editor and agent!

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Thanks to you too, Kasey. My quibbles and hesitation must seem really silly to you all, when it seems so obvious. But I am one of those people who would rather spend forever working on a ms, than send it in; and then the moment I send it in, I'm convinced it needs about two months more work. OK, I promise to make the changes VS recommended and then send it in to HE. I promise I promise.

Jamesaritchie said:

If this is a pubishing house where you'd really like your novel to find a home, you'd be mad not to send the editor the manuscript.

But on the other side of the coin, one way to land an agent is to tell them a big editor is eager to see the manuscript. You don;t necessarily have to have an offer before an agent gets interested. Just knowing that an editor really wants to see a manuscript can be enough to bring an agent onboard.

And while breaking rules is seldom a good idea, sometimes calling an agent works. Time sound slike a factor here, and it might be time to call an agent, tell her that so and so editor really wants to see your full manuscript, and ask if she'd like to see it first.

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Thanks, James.
Interestingly, today I got a mail from someone on my agent list; I had told her that the ms was being read and that she'd get it later on.
She suggested that I give the agent who is reading it a week's deadline and if I put her second onthe list she promises to give an answer in a few days. I think that's what I'll do, in a combination with your suggestion.
Headline (hodderheadline) is an excellent publishing house, and I'd be very happy if Harriet took me on.