Ouch! Sorry to hear that, Jane. I agree with Jan, though, that four weeks is quite early - it can take them ages to read things.

I was interested to read that a Sunday newspaper sent the opening chaps of 2 Booker prize novels to 21 agents and publishers, and all but one sent back standard rejection novels.

I would imagine that they knew it was plagiarised.

Emma

yes - or horribly dated.

What was cutting edge/deeply fashionable in 1969 is anything from painfully arch to frankly unsaleable today.

Posterity doesn't always agree with contemporary judgements of what's good literature.

Good luck Jane - and I hope they come back soon. It really does depend on the reader, what else they've got on their plate etc.

Hi All
Great news! The agent came back saying she loves the book overall, and that with some changes (with which I fully agree) she thinks 'it could really fly' !!

And she came back after 3 weeks and 2 days!

Now I'm itching to get on with the revisions. Her comments have switched on a light for me and shown me what needs changing and how to do it! let's hope that once I've made the changes she'll take the book on.

Many thanks to all of you for your support and advice over this. It has been soooo much appreciated - it's a lonely old business this writing stuff!

Best to all
Jane

That's great news, Jane, well done! Just one word of caution, I don't know how good an idea it is to revise a book for an agent who hadn't signed you up. Hopefully, others more in the know will be along later to advise you. But, still, very good news that she likes it so much.

Hooray Jane! Brilliant news!

And great that the changes are ones that you agree with - it's lovely when feedback switches a light on, whereas there's always a horrid dilemma when an agent wants changes that you're not so sure about.

I'd still advise working on a new copy, just in case you find you get in a pickle, or have doubts about some of what you're doing, and want to revert to factory settings.

Best of luck with it!

Emma

Emma, have I been over-cautious in my doubts about revising according to an agent who isn't yours yet? I mean, as long as Jane likes the changes suggested, she's got some free editing advice out of it at least, but I always thought it was considered unwise to make changes to suit someone who might still reject the revised book.

Hi
My own thinking is that as you say I've had some free advice, and she has done a really good analysis of the strengths and weanesses of the book - she is very complimentary overall, and the areas she had doubts about are ones I recognise as being weaker. So I am more than happy to do some more work - since I think I'll get a more marketable, better read out of it, which I could then submit to more agents if need be. But I'm not going to bin my original text, of course!

Many thanks for being so helpful
Jane

Jan, I think Jane's take on it is exactly the right one:

If it makes sense for the book, then great, you've got good, free, editorial feedback, so go for it. Even if you decide that he's right about one aspect, and wrong about another, you're in charge and you do what you think makes the book overall work better.

On the other hand, if they've clearly mis-taken what the book is, and all the advice is trying to push it in a direction you don't want to go in, then they're probably the wrong agent for you anyway. Even if you did it to their satisfaction, they'd probably always be trying to sell your work as something it isn't really - so send it to the wrong editors, who'll probably reject it as an unsatisfactory version of what they want.

The tricky area is in between, when the advice hasn't lit lightbulbs for you, but you do, kind-of, see what they mean. And you can't help feeling that they know the market better than you do. And, hell, you want an agent. Then you have to decide whether you're willing to pin your hopes and perhaps writerly self-esteem on something which you're not altogether happy with... I think my advice would probably be to give it a bit of a go (on a new copy) and see how it feels. But it's very easy to get lost in the trees if you don't keep sight of the wood, so you do need to step back occasionally and think, "I know I'm making this pretty much work, but is it the kind of working I want my novel to be?"

One thing to remember is, though, that the agent, when you send it in again, isn't going to work his way through checking that you've been a good girl and done what you're told. What the feedback was, is suggestions about what would make it better, but it's up to you how you put those into practice. He's just going to sit down and see whether the manuscript in front of him sings.

wow, that's brilliant news, Jane! Just checked in to see what had happened with it, and it's going to fly

Well, you can't get a better response than that. Well done

<Added>

I revised according to an agent's recommendations, but first I asked her very clearly, 'If I make these revisions to your satisfaction, will you be signing me up?' and she said Yes.

And she did.

Well done Jane - fantastic news. Good luck with the revisions

What brilliant news - well done Jane!

Oh that is great news - well done!