11 Full MS rejections and counting

Sorry to hear about all the rejections. There must be something to your novel or you wouldn't have had all those requests for fulls. I've had my fulls rejected before but then I gave up submitting the novel after about six. Good luck.

That's an impressive number of fulls you have out. How many queries did you send? I had a lot of fulls requested also before getting an offer. I say this all the time, but the best thing you can do while you wait (on pins and needles, I know) is work on your next book. Let us know how it turns out!

Nevermind, I misread your last post.

Unfortunately, a good query does not mean there's a good novel behind it. While I think the dumbest thing any writer can do is pull a manuscript from submission, ever, for any reason, it probably is time you took a serious look at making some changes to the manuscript.

Do not take it out of submission. Doing so almost guarantees you'll fail as a writer. But do start looking for ways to change it. There's probably something seriously wrong, or, at the very least, you should be getting some serious and detailed requests for rewrites/revisions by now.

Just my two cent.

If this is happening this many times I would sit back and find several really good beta readers that are willing to point out the areas that need the work. There has to be something that does not ring right. Your query must be great or you would not be getting the requests, so don't mess with it. Again, this is only my two cents. Much success.

Jamesaritchie said:

Unfortunately, a good query does not mean there's a good novel behind it. While I think the dumbest thing any writer can do is pull a manuscript from submission, ever, for any reason, it probably is time you took a serious look at making some changes to the manuscript.

Do not take it out of submission. Doing so almost guarantees you'll fail as a writer. But do start looking for ways to change it. There's probably something seriously wrong, or, at the very least, you should be getting some serious and detailed requests for rewrites/revisions by now.

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See, this is what I had originally said as well, more or less, but it looked like she said the reasons were all kind of scattered and there wasn't any one thing everyone was hitting on. Maybe a section in SYW to see what people here think? If everyone gives different reasons, though, that makes it a little hard to see what the actual problem is, don't you think?

CACTUSWENDY said:

Just my two cent.

If this is happening this many times I would sit back and find several really good beta readers that are willing to point out the areas that need the work. There has to be something that does not ring right. Your query must be great or you would not be getting the requests, so don't mess with it. Again, this is only my two cents. Much success.

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This is what I was thinking also.

Given the conflicting advice/comments you've received on the MS from agents, it doesn't make much sense to change anything just yet.

Someone on AW once said that it can take 10-15 full requests before getting an offer. After reading through the posts here and the stories from writers with agents, this doesn't seem to be rare. But, it's hard to compare your stats to others, because there are too many variables. If all the agents were saying the same thing about the MS, like, I don't think the stakes are high enough for the MC, then you might think about taking another look at your MC and revising. But...

Since the agents who have rejected it don't seem to agree on what needs to be fixed, you should put it aside for a while and wait for responses on the other fulls you have out. Sometimes stepping away from it can offer you a more objective point of view, allowing you to see what needs to be changed, if indeed it does need revisions. Who knows? Maybe an agent will contact you to say that it's great as it is, or will say, "I'd like to represent this. Can we talk about revisions?" That, tutter, is when you buckle down and start to take things seriously.

Hey, it's a sales game. Simply a matter of subjective opinion in most cases. Especially if you have out a ton of fulls. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

kaitie said:

See, this is what I had originally said as well, more or less, but it looked like she said the reasons were all kind of scattered and there wasn't any one thing everyone was hitting on. Maybe a section in SYW to see what people here think? If everyone gives different reasons, though, that makes it a little hard to see what the actual problem is, don't you think?

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Yes, but something is definitely wrong. No one ever said figuring out what it is would be easy, but that's the writers job.

This many rejects on a query means nothing, but this many rejects on a full always means something is wrong, or the feedback would be a lot better, and a lot more specific.

I had this happen several years ago. As others have said, you may wish to reconsider the novel, possibly even pull it from submission if you have some great feedback and can/will revise extensively. But congrats on what must be a great query and premise!

... slightly similar boat. Two fulls out. One rejected last week, by an assistant no less. And it was a form rejection to boot. Felt like thowing in the towel right then and there. But of course I didn't. Will wait and see what happens with the other full. It's been out 6 weeks. May nudge in another two. G'luck. You've gotten some good advice up above. May use it myself.

Jamesaritchie said:

Yes, but something is definitely wrong. No one ever said figuring out what it is would be easy, but that's the writers job.

This many rejects on a query means nothing, but this many rejects on a full always means something is wrong, or the feedback would be a lot better, and a lot more specific.

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Or it could mean that the book is just an unusual one that the agent isn't certain of how they would sell it, or doesn't fit their tastes. I do agree that it strikes me as unusual, but if the responses are all over the place and it's already been beta read and what not, it might just be a matter of finding someone the work clicks with.

Don't pull your novel from submission, don't revise, don't do anything but WAIT.

Right now, your mind is probably spinning and you've gotten a lot of feedback from agents and a lot of advice from people here. This is NOT the time to start overhauling your MS. This is the time to take a step back, review all the information that has been presented to you, and let it settle out in order for you to have a clearer picture of what you need to do.

You've got crazy interest in your book, and I think it just hasn't hit home yet with the right person. Only you know what needs to be done, only you know how to fix your story (if it needs it), and the only way for you to see how to accomplish this is by listening to yourself.

If you are in the middle of revising for an agent who hasn't offered you anything, maybe take a week off from it and see what happens. Maybe you'll find that you don't agree with the suggestions? Try and find your own voice, and listen to it.

If it's any help I asked Jennifer on Ask the Agent about the hit rate for MS requests. She told me she ends up representing 1-2% of the work she requests. I'm hoping that means she'd LIKE to represent 5-10% or so but they get picked up by other agents instead. I can't really say for sure though.