Should I tell them about changes I've made?

Sakura-chan

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Hi. I need some advice.
I have a manuscript that's being looked at by an agent. It's a novel that's part of a trilogy--what I call book one--but can stand on its own. This was a manuscript I had gotten some feedback on from another agent who ultimately passed on it, but, because of that feedback, I rethought my approach to this trilogy and came up with a whole new book one (though, once again, it can stand on its own). I think it's a stronger book and addresses some issues that I saw in my previous manuscript. My question is, should I let this agent know about these changes? Or should I wait to find out their decision before letting them know? Thanks in advance for your help.

~S
 

popmuze

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I'm confused by your post. Have you written and completed the new book while you were waiting for the agent to respond? If so, either you're exceptionally fast or the agent is exceptionally slow.
I would leave the first agent alone. Revising or rewriting an entire book so fast is generally not a good sign.
Just pitch the new book to new agents.

(By the way, not wanting to derail your thread, I have posted a question on a similar topic).
 

KingM

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I didn't get any sense of speed from the OP, but read that she'd gotten some feedback and decided to write a different, but similar novel based on the original concept. Based on that, I can't see any harm in sending a query to the agency, asking if they'd be interested in seeing your new novel. If they took the time to provide detailed comments, they had some interest and would probably be happy to see something new from the same writer.
 

Sakura-chan

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Sorry if I wasn't clear. The new book that I've completed was something that was in the works for about a year now. It was supposed to be the second book of the trilogy, but because of the comments I received on the first manuscript (what was supposed to be the first book in the series), I changed the order of the titles. By doing this change, I feel that it would make the series as a whole lot stronger, but this change also means that one character has emerged as the main protagonist rather than the three I had planned.

I have resubmitted to the agent who gave the comments, but I was wondering if I should let the agent who is currently reading my manuscript know of the changes I have made or if I should wait on their response before acting.

Thanks for the replies.
 
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Theo81

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If the agent with the novel came back and said they wanted to rep it and get it published, what would your response be? Go back to your original plan with that as book 1, or tell them you have a better structure now and would prefer them to look at your new Book 1?
 

Sakura-chan

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If the agent with the novel came back and said they wanted to rep it and get it published, what would your response be? Go back to your original plan with that as book 1, or tell them you have a better structure now and would prefer them to look at your new Book 1?

That is a very good question. So good that I think I had an "ah-ha" moment. I do think that the new Book 1 is much stronger and would in turn make the trilogy better. If they came to me with an offer of representation, I would definitely discuss it with them and hear what they have to say. However...

I WANT AN AGENT!
*flailing around and banging my fists on the ground*

I'm more than likely to ask where do I sign if they offered representation. Screw writer's pride. I'll make everything work out.

*breathes out*

So ends my ah-ha moment.

Thanks for the response. This does make things clearer for me.
 

KingM

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It sounds like a tricky situation. My suggestion is to not write the second book in the series, but work on something totally different in the meanwhile. Oops, too late. :)

ETA: That sounded snarkier than I meant it. It just sounds like you got swept up in the moment, and to be honest, that's when writers do their best work. Hopefully, you'll be forced to make this decision because that will be a good sign.
 
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Sakura-chan

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It sounds like a tricky situation. My suggestion is to not write the second book in the series, but work on something totally different in the meanwhile. Oops, too late. :)

ETA: That sounded snarkier than I meant it. It just sounds like you got swept up in the moment, and to be honest, that's when writers do their best work. Hopefully, you'll be forced to make this decision because that will be a good sign.

No worries. Funny thing was, I was working on a different piece at the time, but that second book kept haunting me. [insert lame joke about ghosts here]