This comes courtesy of Cynthia Leitich Smith‘s blog, one of the best compendium’s in the YA Universe, AND my good friends at the excellent resource known as Query Tracker.
There are an increasing number of agents asking for revisions before offering representation. Joan Paquette sheds some illumination on why.
Most notably for me, this quote stood out:
One big mistake I frequently see is writers who return the revision too quickly. Sometimes there is a perception that interest from an agent should be capitalized on as soon as possible or it will expire; unfortunately, this can result in manuscripts being sent back before they’re fully ready. Don’t be afraid to take all the time you need to do a thorough revision; get some additional readers; let it sit a while and then come back to it with fresh eyes. It doesn’t have to take a supremely long time, but there are no special benefits from a super-speedy turnaround–and sometimes, to the contrary, it can be a red flag of an inexperienced reviser.
Good heavens, I needed to see that in print. Maybe writers ALSO need to move in archaeological time. This year seems to be rubbing some of the amateur off me. This is another myth I’ve been carrying with me, dispelled.
Catherine
