Exclusive Revise & Resubmit?!

First, congratulations! Second, I've never been offered an exclusive R&R, but I have been offered publication while my full manuscript was also with some other small publishers. If I were in your shoes, I'd handle this as an offer. I'd contact the agents who have your full, let them know you've been offered an exclusive R&R, and invite them to get back to you in 7 to 10 days if they also have interest in the manuscript. Meanwhile, I'd make sure I had all the information I needed from the agent offering an exclusive, so that I could make an educated judgment about whether I could do the revision the agent wants in a way that would satisfy us both.

I will be curious what more experienced authors have to say. Listen to them, not me, if their advice differs...

If other agents already have the full, I wouldn't pull it from them as you were under no obligation when you sent it to them. I would say to the agent offering the exclusive R&R that other agents already have the full but that you will not query anyone else during the exclusive period, and will absolutely let them know if an agent who already has the full should make an offer.

Did the agent asking for an exclusive R&R specifically request that you pull your MS from other agents who have it?

My reply, above, was based on the thought that an agent might not want to put the time into making detailed notes for, and possibly emailing back and forth with, an author who might then end up signing with another agent who'd received (another version of) the full. But I guess I'm thinking about this wrong.

Anna Iguana said:

My reply, above, was based on the thought that an agent might not want to put the time into making detailed notes for, and possibly emailing back and forth with, an author who might then end up signing with another agent who'd received (another version of) the full. But I guess I'm thinking about this wrong.

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Sure, but the agent also might not care for the revised deal -- the author would be doing all the work of revising for an agent who might reject anyway -- the author might decide to go another way regardless . Price of doing business. I wouldn't force the others with fulls, but would say to the R&R that it's already been requested X times, but you will refrain from further submissions for Y period.

The others have give you great advice already, so I'll echo that. Absolutely do not pull the fulls or you risk shooting yourself in the foot.

Ha! I think I know what agency this is, because I had a similar experience. And yes, they wanted me to pull the other fulls. As I was pretty far down on my querying and only had one other full out I pulled it.

I did the revisions - exactly to spec - they complimented me on how accurately I'd kept to their notes in their feedback notes... however, they'd wanted me to go even further. I realised later it was a test. In short, they wanted me to bring new ideas to the revision. I think this is quite common with R&Rs - they want to see how well you take their notes and develop the story further. So they rejected the revisions and I didn't get a chance to resubmit. Frankly, revising it further in the direction they hinted at (they clearly had more ideas but had wanted to see if I had them too) would have pushed the ms too far out of what I'd have felt comfortable with. So, although it hurt (and ouch it did!), I consoled myself with the fact that I didn't want to get in to an agent relationship (again!!) with someone who didn't actually get my work.

I wouldn't pull the fulls yet. Or as everyone else said, see if they'll give you their notes without you having to pull the fulls? It could be a different agency, after all. But I think there are very few out there who operate like this anymore. And frankly, I do think it's unfair to hold an author to an exclusive R&R... From what I read afterwards, most R&Rs don't work out. Your call.

The following is how I would handle a similar situation so grain of salt/YMMV/etc.

If you are confident the suggested changes will result in a better book, then make those revisions. Also, contact the agent in question and explain to them that 1) X number of agents are already looking at the MS, 2) you are willing to make revisions and allow them X number of weeks (2-4) to look at them and you will refrain from further queries in the meantime, 3) your projected timeline for finishing those revisions <insert timeframe here - make certain you know how long it will take you to make said revisions, then add a couple of weeks to be safe>.

Be polite. If they refuse, move on. If they accept, do your revisions and submit. If you don't get an offer at the end of the proposed review period, ping the other agents who have a full and tell them you have made revisions regarding Element D and Character G on the suggestion of agent feedback and ask if they would like to review the updated MS. And start querying with the new MS again.

It's a fine line between realizing you have the product the agent needs to sell and thinking one is the best thing since sliced bread. There's no need to be hurt over a rejection, but also, you are the content provider so you don't have to bend over backward to please an agent.

Best of luck.

I'll just chime in to reiterate the importance of setting a time frame for the exclusivity! Good luck!

Oh gosh, don't pull the fulls! That could end up making a very bad impression on those six other agents, and there's no guarantee that the R&R will pan out. Best of luck with this! If you've got this level of interest so early on, there's a very good chance somebody else might offer rep.