Do I say it's been revised after a prior rejection

[Brigid Barry]

This is a little niche (I think) but a couple of years ago I queried an agent who either CNRed me or sent me a form. Since then I have done significant revisions to both the query and the manuscript.

The submission guidelines do specifically say if significant revisions have been made and it's been longer than six months that it's okay to resubmit.

My question: do I say "I submitted this to you in 2020 and I have since revised it" or leave it alone? I don't want to seem like I'm trying to be sneaky but also don't want to remind her that she didn't like it before.

Thoughts?

 

[Janine R]

This is a little niche (I think) but a couple of years ago I queried an agent who either CNRed me or sent me a form. Since then I have done significant revisions to both the query and the manuscript.

The submission guidelines do specifically say if significant revisions have been made and it's been longer than six months that it's okay to resubmit.

My question: do I say "I submitted this to you in 2020 and I have since revised it" or leave it alone? I don't want to seem like I'm trying to be sneaky but also don't want to remind her that she didn't like it before.

Thoughts?

Could you simply say the manuscript has recently undergone major revisions?

 

[owlion]

I've generally seen agents say to declare it's been sent previously, though you can be as specific or non-specific as you'd like (from exact day to just the year). Saying it's undergone major revisions or has been significantly reworked should be fine, I think.

 

[Brigid Barry]

I can, I just wasn't sure if I should.

 

[Janine R]

I can, I just wasn't sure if I should.

I think owlion is right. It's a good idea to say it has been significantly reworked since it was submitted some years ago. Otherwise, the agent may recognize something in it and ditch it without giving the new version a fair shot.

 

[Brigid Barry]

Thank you both!

 

[LucindaLynx]

Could you simply say the manuscript has recently undergone major revisions?

If this concerned me, I'd say that.