To revise or not to revise?

[mslizwil]

I got feedback from one agent, who passed, "albeit reluctantly" to use his words. He said all the juice
was in the beginning of the book and that the narrative "wound down." BUT, he called my writing
"superlative" and also said he thought another agent would pick it up as written.  Two other agents
have requested the full and one, the first 50 pages.

I know the narrative does wind down but I'm not sure how to fix it (it's memoir/creative nonfiction).
And I hesitate to do so, given his comments that another agent may pick it up as is. What do you
think?

[JeanneG]

If other agents have the ms., I would wait and see what their response is first. This is one agent's opinion. Others may think differently. Besides, he didn't give you anything specific, did he, just a general feeling that the book loses momentum after the beginning?

JeanneG

[mslizwil]

Hi, Jeanne,

He DID say that another agent may view it differently.  Yes, he offered no other suggestions or
criticisms other than what I mentioned.

I mean, I can leave it as is and start revising some chapters in a new file, but I'm going to wait
to see what my critique group says. Thanks for your response.

[Sarah Ahiers (Falen)]

i would wait, like jeanne said.

I find that if an agent says they think another agent will pick something up, and that their pass is reluctant, they're telling the truth.

But, i would hold off on sending any more queries, in case the other agents come back with any feedback

[mslizwil]

Yes, Sarah, you anticipated my next question.  I have held off sending any more queries, just
in case I get the same response from each agent, although I guess some just say they'll pass
without saying why. Out of between 30-40 queries sent out, I got three requests for the full and
one for the partial.  I'm satisfied with that.

[Sarah Ahiers (Falen)]

Yeah I mean, if you think you may do a revisions, then definitely hold off on querying. But if you think there will likely not be any revising in your near future, query away!