Jimmer, I think that you've misunderstood what I'm saying and you're conflating the submission process to agents with the submission process to editors, when there are subtle differences as to what you can reasonably expect.
My original comment was in response to this:
Jimmer:
In a perfect world, the full request would only come from genuinely interested readers (or actual editors!) who could guarantee you a decent evalutaion of strengths and weaknesses. We'd probably all be happy to offer an exclsuive under those terms.
Focusing in on submission to
agents for a moment, when you are submitting a manuscript to an agent, you are looking for a yes or a no. That yes or no may come as follows:
1. no without suggestions or further comment - in which case, you pick yourself up and move on to the next agent.
2. no with suggestions - the suggestions are gravy and any author who totally disregards such comments is a fool (IMSHO), but it's still a no and you still have to pick yourself up and move on.
3. yes without suggestions - this does happen as I know of two authors represented by respected agents whose manuscripts were accepted and then shopped and sold without comments or amendments suggested by the agent.
4. yes with suggestions, in which case you decide whether you're prepared to make those revisions and you go on and sign the contract (or don't sign the contract if you don't want to make those changes). Again, I know an author who's just signed with an agent on this basis - both signed the contract acknowledging that amendments needed to be made, the author made them and the manuscript was shopped and sold.
The situation is slightly different to when you're submitting to
editors (whether through an agent or directly) because from what I know (and anyone with different experience is free to step in) the
yes without suggestions scenario I set out above is really rare. Certainly the authors I know with sales have all had to make amendments based on editors comments (which is part and parcel of the publishing business) and from reading agent blogs, it is not uncommon for an editor to say no but offer to take another look if certain amendments are made (sometimes this results in a sale, sometimes not).
Jimmer:
If you think you will send in a perfect ms into an agent/publisher and that agent/publisher will love your writing and send you a contract you are setting yourself up for a let down.
Any process whereby you are submitting something for a third party to make a decision on is an invitation to be let down. I think we all go into that knowing we're going to get a yes or a no and hoping that the work and craftsmanship we've put into our work is good enough to get a yes (whether qualified or unqualified).
Jimmer:
No one (almost no one) gets an acceptance letter off an initial submission.
I disagree.
Jimmer:
You will edit that book under the guidance of an agent or editor until it barely resembles what you began writing months earlier.
I don't dispute that at all. However, the agent or editor will accept and contract with you
on the basis of that initial manuscript.
Jimmer:
I mentioned an evaluation of strengths and weaknesses...a foot in the door...a chance to slip through the slush and into the lime light. A chance to revise and resubmit. The editors that make such requests want to find out if they can work with you and if you can revise like a professional. They will be most unlikely to offer an advance before they know that much. If you knew you would receive this sort of reaction from a requested full ms submission, then I think a limited exclusive is warranted.
An exclusive is not being asked for so that an agent can find out if they can work with you. An exclusive is asked for so that the agent knows that no-one else is reading that manuscript. They haven't made a judgment on that manuscript. They're not promising to make comments on that manuscript. In fact they're not even promising to read all of that manuscript. They're simply trying to make sure that no one else in the market is looking at that manuscript at that time. You could sign an exclusive, wait 3 months and still get a straight, unqualified, no at the end of it.
Now it could be that the agent making the request is your Number 1 All Time Must Have Agent. In which case, you might think that it's worth taking that chance. But you should be under no mistake that you
are taking a chance because there is absolutely no risk at all from the agent's side of this. He's not the one making a promise - you are. And the simple truth is,
you don't know what's going to happen at the end of it.
You mention editors in the same context of exclusives. I don't know whether publishing editors ask for exclusives on manuscripts before making a decision whether to buy a book - it's certainly not something I've heard of before so perhaps someone else can chime in. I know that an editor may want further changes before making a decision on whether to buy (in which case, that's a matter for you and your agent (if relevant) to decide and obviously editors will usually want changes after they buy, but I've never come across an editor who wants an exclusive as a condition to making a decision.
MM