Over the past 6 months I have sent out queries on 3 different novels that I wrote over the course of the last two years. One agent, a pretty well known one, responded back to one query that he/she felt the premise would have sold back in the 70's but not in today's market. When I submitted queries on the other two (mind you, no sample chapters or entire mansucripts) I received an answer back that this person felt the writing was not strong enough to compete in today's market and suggested that I might benefit by hiring an editorial service.
Ok - my question is, can an agent really tell if your "voice" isn't strong enough just from your query? Also, what constitutes a "strong" voice. I would really like to know the answer, as it would save me embarassment in the future. After reading this agent's remarks, I seriously began to doubt my writing ability.
Ok - my question is, can an agent really tell if your "voice" isn't strong enough just from your query? Also, what constitutes a "strong" voice. I would really like to know the answer, as it would save me embarassment in the future. After reading this agent's remarks, I seriously began to doubt my writing ability.