Agent/sub question

[volfan16]

Hi!

First time poster here with a question. My agent enthusiastically offered rep and after a few rounds of edits, she decided it was ready for sub. She sent it to a smaller pool of editors than usual, telling me it might be difficult to sell. Now it's a few months later and she already believes it is dead in the water. This is my first experience with an agent and I guess I'm wondering if this is too soon to give up, or if I'm just in denial. I've seen the feedback from a few editors, but didn't get an answer from my agent on how many have responded out of this round -  just a general update that it's not doing well and the premise is confusing them.

At the moment, I'm pretty bummed...I had two offers of rep on this novel and thought that if the offering agents loved it, it might not go over like such a lead balloon at the sub stage. I'd appreciate any insight. Thanks!

[Rachael846]

but didn't get an answer from my agent on how many have responded out of this round

This part worries me. Regardless of how things are going, your agent should be able to give specific details like this. Also, a few months is pretty short for submission.

[Tabris]

If "the premise is confusing them" then your agent isn't pitching it correctly. Ask to see her pitch letter and make sure it's really doing the job it's supposed to. Also, and I hate to say this, maybe your agent doesn't quite get the premise either? I had that happen and if the agent hasn't put it into the correct box in her own head, then how can she find editors who are going to like it too?

[volfan16]

Thanks for the info. I don't get any alarming vibes from her, but I'll ask for an update on responses again and see what happens.

[Spat]

What Tabris said. Seems like she's pitching it to the wrong editors, especially if not one sounds excited or wants to read, but definitely if they seem confused about the premise. Also, I had an agent who didn't give me sub details no matter how often I asked her. We parted eventually and I now have an agent who tells me as much as I want to know, and then doesn't have to be pestered and reminded of how much I want to know/updates.

A few months on sub isn't long enough to be considered "dead in the water". That's horrible to say! Some authors don't sell for 15 months! And it's surprising that she only has one round (?) of small amount of editors to sub to. Is your ms very niche? And while it's good to have an honest agent (to tell you it might be closing that time to call it quits), it's not good to have a pessimistic agent. They need to believe in your work and love it to sell it to the right people. Every time I get a pass or ask my agent if she thinks we're near the end, she always says there's x amount of editors left, it only takes one yes, we can still find that one editor who'll love it as much as I do, etc. She won't call it quits until the last editor responds.

[volfan16]

It is a bit of a niche project and has a speculative angle that editors are finding unbelievable and just aren't 'getting'. Most of the round have requested the ms and rejected it due to that, although I had comments that it's a good story. I think she's anticipating more of the same if she casts a wider net, and I see what she's saying. So ... at this point, it would take major revisions to possibly fix what people are having trouble with, and I think she would rather I work on something different. Honestly, I think she's a good agent; she's very communicative when I have a question or whatnot. By the way, she didn't refer to it as "dead in the water," that was my interpretation, though..lol.