Revising After Querying

I'm in the middle of a set of revisions after querying. This happens.
Something isn't right.

Either the query letter isn't hooking the readers of the slush pile, or the first pages don't hold up. Something is off.

You can usually tell, if after the first ten to fifteen queries, you only receive form rejections. This isn't a hard and fast rule--it always depends on which agents you query. It might be a fluke that none of them are interested in the exact story you have pitched, but that another agent will be. Nonetheless, if you query ten to fifteen, and are receiving only form rejections or complete radio silence, it may be time to revisit the query, the first page, and the first chapter.

Sometimes, though, you will get requests, but they also result in rejections. Maybe the query is okay, perhaps the first page and first chapter are great, but it falls apart after that. One hint is if you receive a lot of partial requests that result in rejections. Occasionally, if you queried an agent who was hooked by the query but found the subsequent pages lacking and they have the time, they will send you a personalized rejection letter. You should never expect it, but it does happen once in a while.

I'm in the middle of a revision on a manuscript, in which I have known something was off for a while. I knew it slowed down after the first chapter, but didn't quite see how to fix it. Even with some personalized rejections, I wasn't getting much feedback on how to correct this. Then I received one of those coveted detailed letters. I poured over it. I let it sit for a week and reread the letter. Then another week and reread it again.

Then I picked up the manuscript to read it--and was able to see the plot issue and how to fix it. Notice that I didn't go back to the manuscript right away. When I did, I printed the manuscript in its entirety, and did a lot of red pen work:

My number one mistake that I have made with my manuscripts is pushing the "send" button on the query letter too soon. It's not that I don't read and reread my manuscript multiple times, make changes suggested by critique partners and notes from beta readers. It's that I don't let it simmer for a while.

It was a good five months between the last time I read the full manuscript (while I was querying) and when I picked it up again to revise, and time and distance were major factors in being able to see what needed to change. It also helped for a lot of minor issues that I simply never noticed but were there (my major typographical errors are missing words or wrong verb form, which happens when you revise a sentence or a scene but don't carefully reread what you've revised. These are likely to be missed by a Word grammar/spelling check).

Another personal issue in my writing is that I have written nonfiction for so long, I am used to circling back to the original point, which in fiction means I'm saying the same thing again.

Sometimes, when the querying isn't going well, take a break. Work on something else. Write something else. Then, after a few months, come back and reread. Make revision notes and revise again.

Also important: find new readers. Sometimes our great critique partners and beta readers simply miss something that another reader will not. And sometimes our friends are just too nice.

A final word: There's no need to be "brutally" honest. But honesty helps. Leave out the brutality. Keep this advice when you're asked to read. Be constructive, consistent, and make comments that are helpful rather than harmful. Because no one wants to hear, "I stopped reading on page two and I would never buy this book in a million years" (exact words on a previous manuscript from a reader). What did I take from that comment? I reread and rewrote those first pages, but I never asked her to read again.