Promising R&R-- what about other interested agents?

SheWritesIt

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Hello! Earlier this year I completed a R&R for an agent annnnnnnnnd.... receieved crickets in response so far. I took the advice of posters here and queried widely. That was great advice and I have a few agents who have my full material and are seriously interested. I spoke with one agent, we really clicked and I'd love to work with her. But she wants a R&R before officially signing. She made it clear it was pretty typical for her to request revision before signing. Even though it takes the project in a different direction and it's definitely more work, I agree with her and am open to the R&R.

BUT, I have other agents interested. I know if I were to receieve an official offer I would notify them. (And the R&R agent requested I let her know if I receieve an offer) But should I nudge the other agents now? I want to be as courteous and respectful of everyone's time as possible. So I'd love some direction on what's most appropriate. Thank you!
 

lamensa

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Congrats on all the interest! It sounds really promising. One question - is the new R&R offer an exclusive one? Unless it is, I don't think it's necessary to let agents know about it. From what I understand, unless you have an offer in hand, or an offer for an exclusive R&R, there's no need to inform others. That said, if the other agents have had your full manuscript for more than 3 months, you can definitely nudge. I just wouldn't mention the R&R (unless it's exclusive).

On a positive note - I just finished an exclusive R&R for an agent, which worked out in the end and now I have an agent, so there's definitely reason to pursue them!! It's absolutely a sign that they are VERY interested in your writing and manuscript.
 

Aggy B.

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Which version of the MS do the other agents have? Because there are a couple of different ways you can approach this.

1) Let the other agents know you have an updated version of the MS and ask if they're interested in seeing it, but then if you do another round of revision you'd have to let them know you've got a second update.

2) Work on the new revision, and once it's finished you let the other agents know that you have an updated version of the MS (based on agent feedback) and ask if they would like to see it.

Some of this depends on how long you anticipate the revisions taking. Some of it depends on whether or not you find the new direction of the revisions to continue to be of interest. (On occasion we try something and then realize it isn't going to work the way we thought.)

I would, however, let those other agents know sooner rather than later that you have a new version of the MS available if you haven't done that already. (It's really an offer you can only make once so if you think this new set of revisions is the thing, then wait until it's ready to go.) But don't wait indefinitely for them to get back to you either if you have what you feel is a better version on hand.
 

Aggy B.

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Congrats on all the interest! :)
I wouldn't bother to let them know about the R&R request, but I would if I received a solid offer.

There's no need to let them know you've received a request, but if you revise the MS, you should let agents who are actually looking at the full MS know that you have a newer version.
 

SheWritesIt

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Thank you all so much for the responses and encouragement.

I don't believe it's exclusive. The R&R agent didn't request an exclusive, but did say she usually does revisions like this prior to officially offering rep. I did tell her I have other agents interested, she said she figured and told me to let her know if I get any other offers.

It's a NF proposal. The R&R takes it in a slightly different direction, which I do agree with, but can see that could be subjective. So I guess my concerns are that other agents may not believe that vision is the stronger version.

The revision notes are quite detailed and the R&R agent clearly put a lot of work and thought into it. Even though it's not explicitily an exclusive, it would seem a bit unfair to her if I did the R&R, got an offer, potentially got another offer and went with that one. High hopes, but do you know what I mean? I really, really wish she gave me a solid offer so I could go ahead and notify the other agents and move forward.

I want to protect myself while being fair to everyone else involved.
 

Atlantic12

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Sounds very exciting!

How long do you think the R&R will take? If you're doing a nonfiction proposal, are we talking about you just tweaking the proposal, or writing the whole book according to the agent's notes? That would obviously be 2 very different time frames.

I'm always for being open and honest with agents (ok, people in general). So if other agents get back to you, talk to them about your/their vision for the project and see if they might be an even better fit. Handle each agent individually, as a potential business partner. At this point you don't have a responsibility to anyone, not even the R&R agent ---- *who has not signed you* and *didn't request an exclusive.* IF you feel the new direction is great for your project, then pursue it. But your options remain totally open.

A wise author once told me sometimes the agent you thought was the right fit isn't, and someone totally off your radar ends up being perfect. You never know. . . .
 

SheWritesIt

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I think it could take a month. Just tweaking the proposal and possibly adding another chapter.

I love that wise author's advice! That's excellent. Thank you.
 

cool pop

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No, you don't have to nudge anyone. You didn't receive an offer just an R&R which is no guarantee of anything. R&Rs are extremely normal and unfortunately you can't tell how they will turn out but good luck that it works out if that's the agent you really want.

Also make sure you keep all your versions. No need to tell others you've made changes unless they ask. They will most likely want their own revisions and not something based off another agent's opinion.

Once again, good luck!