A few months ago I submitted my book to an agent and, as I didn't hear back from them, assumed they were not interested. However they have now got back to me and yay! They are interested. Trouble is, in the months since I submitted my book has been split into two and much of the first three chapters removed. So my question is, should I send the original manuscript I pitched to them, or explain the situation and send the new one instead? Or both? Any input is much appreciated, thank you, Helen
As part of the admission process, agents want to see completed manuscripts. By submitting to an agent, they assume that you are submitting a completed piece. Not something that is still going through the editing process. So I would tread carefully here. I'm not sure what your best option would be really. Perhaps send the original piece and then if they take you on you can then discuss some ideas you've had of how to improve it. If you are not successful in being taken on by this agent, I would advise that in future you only submit work that is complete.
Thanks again to everyone who commented :-)
Absolutely a valid point Andrew - I had thought the work finished and sent it out on a round of submissions but after several rejections had to be honest with myself about the fact that it obviously was lacking in some area, hence my rework of the beginning section. I was actually getting it ready to send out again when this agent contacted me, so it was certainly a surprise.
But yes, as a starting novelist we can all be keen to get our work out there - sometimes it's worth putting it away for a few months before doing so. For me, I think rejection has made it a better book, though I wouldn't recommend it as a process!