We’re almost three quarters of the way through 2018. That is a scary thought for the perpetual optimist.
In the first quarter of the year I finished another edit on my manuscript that I considered ready to send out to agents for representation. My preparations were as good as I could have hoped for: cover letter tailoring appeared to be cracked, and that ever-awkward synopsis was seemingly working for me this time around. Maybe that was also a sign that I’d just written a better story! So I’d already made solid progress since the very first novel I wrote. My writing was better, and it showed in responses I received from agents – even if they didn’t feel strongly enough to take things further.
I’ve also gotten past the submission milestone of just seeing rejections coming back. Two agents asked for the full manuscript, having read the initial chapters, which was another mental bonus. It’s an assurance that I’m at least on the right track. However, with both of those agents also deciding the novel wasn’t for them I’m now back to square one. I received a sentence of feedback from one of the two agents, and I’m left in a bit of an impasse as to what needs tweaking.
I’m fortunate to have a network of other up-and-coming writers, and some agents, from my involvement in Penguin Random House’s Write-Now programme a couple of years ago. My next step has been to reach out to them for volunteer beta-readers in the hope that maybe things that aren’t obvious to me (who has written the work and knows it inside out) will come out in their feedback. Four of my peers offered to read for me so I have my fingers crossed that I’ll be able to improve things based on the comments that come back.
I have a finished manuscript, which I’m happy with, but any author always has to be flexible and open to criticism in order to improve it. That will be my focus in this last quarter of the year before starting all over again with my agent hunt.
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