Comments on: Resubmission Versus Requested Submission

By: Nichole Giles

Nichole Giles — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 02:05:07 +0000

Ah, the perils of being a professional.

If it makes you feel any better, I know a slew of writers, and I’m one of them, who–after being rejected by numerous agents–subscribe to all the blogs written by the very agents / publishers who have rejected them. The thing is, some of us want to succeed badly enough that we have a desire to know what you all want–even if it’s not our work.

Rejection happens to everyone. We learn to live with it, just as you learn to live with having to send those rejections. =) It’s the nature of the market.

Thanks for all the advice.

By: christine tripp

christine tripp — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 01:08:00 +0000

I remember, many years ago, contacting Ronnie at Herman and her taking the time to get back to me. We had a number of emails, and illustrations, go back and forth as she tried to see if I could change my “buggy eyed” children into something softer, like dots for eyes, or if I could draw more for the older child crowd. No matter what my mind said, my wrist just drew the way it always did and so we gave up and parted ways in a very friendly fashion. If I had continued to email and hound her, based on a small amount of her interest in my work, then it would be the same as an author, lightly turned down, resubmitting. Twisting either a kind rejection into an invitation to resub or worse yet, sneaking it in under the guise of a request.
It’s not done, it’s not professional and it’s not going to result in anything but rejection (and name recognition… not the good kind, if we have anything NEW to submit down the road)

By: Nancy Naigle

Nancy Naigle — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:54:06 +0000

The bad thing about those tricksters is they are trying to cut in line in front of the rule followers — daggone it. Don’t people realize lying is probably not the best foot to put forward -or- a good way to start a relationship!

Better luck with submissions now that this has been aired
Nancy

By: Linda Jo Martin

Linda Jo Martin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 04:48:17 +0000

I’d like to give the benefit of the doubt to at least some of these authors who may have thought their resubmission was being requested. I don’t like to think there’s a lot of writer scam-artists trying to misrepresent themselves. But that’s me… I like positive thinking and trying to understand someone’s mistake rather than just judging them harshly, especially when I’m not in the situation.

By: Dorine White

Dorine White — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 05:46:07 +0000

That feels like taking your life in your own hands. Trying to trick an agent or editor into reading your manuscript could give you a really bad name.

By: Jean Ann Williams

Jean Ann Williams — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 02:57:56 +0000

Gayleen, that is very positive feedback.

If you agree with the suggested changes, make them and send it back. I hope it goes well for you!

By: Christina Bell

Christina Bell — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:26:05 +0000

I guess I can understand why people feel desperate after all of the stress, emotion, and hard work of putting together a book. However, if the end product is good, it seems that we should trust agents to notice. If it needs work, we should respect being told that, too.

By: Tamara Schmidt

Tamara Schmidt — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:04:30 +0000

Some people have nerve or just don’t care to respect the rules of etiquette for proper manuscript/portfolio submission.

But, I’m very glad to hear that there are second chances!
Thanks for the clarification!

By: Gayleen Rabakukk

Gayleen Rabakukk — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:45:33 +0000

Thanks for clarifying this, Mary.
I’m pretty excited, I got a rejection last week that had lots of positive feedback and a few areas for improvement.
The letter included the words “we would be happy to consider a revised draft of this novel or another manuscript of yours down the line.” I feel like I can at least see the top of the mountain, even though I’ve still got a long way to go.

By: @jmartinlibrary

@jmartinlibrary — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:05:52 +0000

Mary, I thought sending revisions (unless requested) was a big no-no, but it’s good to know second chances exist.

I break out into a cold sweat thinking about this. How on earth do you know when to gamble with a re-query?

I’m always too chicken to do it, even with agents who give encouragement and/or feedback. I’ve heard stories of folks who get banished to the spam box forever.