So I have a question about partials and agents and editing that I hope someone can answer...or at least shed some light on for me.
How reluctant are agents to submit a partial to a publisher?
For example, when my first work made the rounds at publishers I got a lot of positive comments but no deals - they were all interested, however, in my second WIP. In fact, several publishers asked to see a partial. I sent the first 50 pages to my agent, but she refused to send a partial, saying it would narrow our chances and that partials were extremely difficult to sell because it was much easier for an editor to reject a partial than a full. She insisted I make her suggested changes to it, finish it, and then send the full because it would build up the anticipation in editors who are waiting to see it. (I'm not sure I believe that, but what do I know?) And, of course, it causes me physical pain each time I see a PARTIAL sold on Publishers Weekly because someone out there is buying them, right?
And the same thing happened to a critique partner. Her agent refused to send a partial of book one in a series and overviews of subsequent books to an editor. She said she wanted to see the whole series before she pitched it - and, of course, we all know a series can take YEARS to write. So even though my partner is previously published, and the first book of the series is written and the overviews complete, the agent is balking. She gave her some amorphous comments about "fixing it," and said that they would push off any possible submissions until January.
So I guess my question is: Is this normal? Do agents not want to pitch partials? Or is it possible that the agents have fallen out of love with the ideas?
I sometimes feel like a hamster on a wheel, running and running but never getting anywhere.
How reluctant are agents to submit a partial to a publisher?
For example, when my first work made the rounds at publishers I got a lot of positive comments but no deals - they were all interested, however, in my second WIP. In fact, several publishers asked to see a partial. I sent the first 50 pages to my agent, but she refused to send a partial, saying it would narrow our chances and that partials were extremely difficult to sell because it was much easier for an editor to reject a partial than a full. She insisted I make her suggested changes to it, finish it, and then send the full because it would build up the anticipation in editors who are waiting to see it. (I'm not sure I believe that, but what do I know?) And, of course, it causes me physical pain each time I see a PARTIAL sold on Publishers Weekly because someone out there is buying them, right?
And the same thing happened to a critique partner. Her agent refused to send a partial of book one in a series and overviews of subsequent books to an editor. She said she wanted to see the whole series before she pitched it - and, of course, we all know a series can take YEARS to write. So even though my partner is previously published, and the first book of the series is written and the overviews complete, the agent is balking. She gave her some amorphous comments about "fixing it," and said that they would push off any possible submissions until January.
So I guess my question is: Is this normal? Do agents not want to pitch partials? Or is it possible that the agents have fallen out of love with the ideas?
I sometimes feel like a hamster on a wheel, running and running but never getting anywhere.
Definitely sounds like forward progress.