- Joined
- Sep 12, 2010
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After finishing the third draft of a novel, I thought I'd find a few beta readers, do another draft, then try to find an agent. However, there was an online pitch session through my local RWA chapter, and I submitted on a whim. The editor liked my query, requested the full, and said she loved it and would take it to the acquisitions board. The editor works for a publisher that is not Big 5, but a significant independent publisher in the genre, and it pays advances and is not digital first. So I put the beta reading plan on hold. Unfortunately, today I finally heard that the publisher will not be offering me a contract. Although the editor and other people at the publisher love the book, they are not convinced it has enough mainstream appeal to sell a lot of copies. Which isn't terribly surprising because it's a rather bizarre book. An affectionate parody of the romance genre, I suppose you could say.
So I don't know what to do now. Should I assume, given that editor's response to the manuscript, even though they didn't ultimately make an offer, that the book is strong enough to query? Or should I get beta readers and see what they say, then make more changes? It could be useful to see what people think and try to make it better. But I'm a little worried that this might tempt me to tinker with it unnecessarily, or mess with it a lot and potentially make it worse. Plus it's time-consuming, both for beta readers and for me. (And maybe this project is too damn weird to get any major publishers interested anyway, and I would be better off spending time on something that might not be impossible to market? I'm trying not to think about that.)
Thoughts?
So I don't know what to do now. Should I assume, given that editor's response to the manuscript, even though they didn't ultimately make an offer, that the book is strong enough to query? Or should I get beta readers and see what they say, then make more changes? It could be useful to see what people think and try to make it better. But I'm a little worried that this might tempt me to tinker with it unnecessarily, or mess with it a lot and potentially make it worse. Plus it's time-consuming, both for beta readers and for me. (And maybe this project is too damn weird to get any major publishers interested anyway, and I would be better off spending time on something that might not be impossible to market? I'm trying not to think about that.)
Thoughts?
