OK to Resubmit After a “No”?

Dear Wendy…

Indeed it is acceptable . . . under certain circumstances. The best scenario has the editor or agent giving specific revision suggestions along with an invite to resubmit should you revise along those lines. But even without an invitation, if you’ve revised the manuscript significantly (that word is important, because they didn’t say “no” due to surface problems—they’d probably work on those with you if that were the case), you can resubmit it with a note in your query letter saying, “I’ve changed the manuscript significantly since you last saw it and hope you’ll be open to taking another look.” If they’re not, they won’t. No skin off any noses.

Happy writing!

The Editor

6 Comments

  1. I’ve heard some agents state that what they mean by “significantly rewritten” is “rewritten so much that it is almost a different book.” If your changes haven’t approached that level, or if you haven’t been invited to resubmit, I say move on.

    • Writing Young Adult Fiction for Dummies comes out July 5, Pam. (Actually, it’s already avail for preorder.) I hear the country has fireworks planned to celebrate it. 😛 BTW, that week from June 30 – July 5, I’m having a huge 7-day virtual launch for the book here on this site. Free downloads, daily critique/full ms giveaways, excerpts, the works! More news to come.

  2. Wendy – First, congrats on getting feedback at all. That’s great! It’s so much better than a generic form rejection. Second, make sure to revise on a new document so you can keep your old one in case you like it better or another agent/editor suggests different rewrites. Last, follow our wonderful Dear-Editor’s advice! 🙂
    Good luck!

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