No matter how far into your journey on these writer seas, we all know how rough the waters can get when trying to find an agent. So when one of those agents picks you out of the waves and throws you a lifesaver (AKA feedback or an offer of representation), we grab on with all weāve got. But sometimes, the strings attached to that lifesaver donāt always feel so great, as is the case with one of our fellow passengers, who writes [brackets indicate brief paraphrasing so as to avoid any identifying details in the vent]:
Iāve been both super encouraged and frustrated AF lately with my writing journey. Iāve got an agent who sent me an easy R&R with some great feedback about my craft. I even went back to some of the agents who rejected my full manuscript and described the revisions Iād be doing (sentence level edits) and asked if they would consider a revised version. They all were an enthusiastic YES! [Itās] amazing that an agent would see something in my book to offer an R&R, but hereās the thing - the stuff they want changed is in SO MANY DAMN YA BOOKS!
Dialogue tags, adverbs galore, lots of internal monologues from my main character. I was reading an ARC of one of my faveās latest YA rom-coms and there was ALL of those things in it. Are my faves committing sins against writing? Is this agent weird? Wtf is going on? Why canāt I have these things in my book but successful YA authors can?
Help me Ventorship, youāre my only hope.[JJ chiming in real quick to let those of you who might not know that R&R stands for Revise & Resubmit, in which an agent gives feedback for edits on a manuscript, and if a writer implements those suggestions, said writer is invited to resubmit their work to that agent to be considered for representation]
First of all, Revise & Rethinking, congratulations on all this positive feedback from multiple agents! Thatās a phenomenal sign that you are on the right track, and Iām confident AF that youāre going to have amazing news soon! Huzzah!
Second, your observations about reading all of those things in YA are not wrong. Dialogue tags, adverbs galore, lots of internal monologues are all over YA, especially in contemporary romance. Picture me slamming my hand on the Ventorship horn screaming, āIāM GUILTY! GUILTY, I TELL YOU!ā
I do this *all the time*. Like, all. the. time! Itās part of my author voice, and a lot of authorsā voices, because those attributes are frequently used in real world conversations, especially from flamboyant or campy or extra people (guilty again). I get many completely valid reviews that people hate how I write because Iāve included all those things this agent mentioned. But I also get many equally valid reviews that say my voice is what keeps them coming back. So while I think itās totally legitimate for this agent to say in their R&R that these are things they donāt click with, whatās most important here is if those tags and adverbs and monologues click with you. How do you want your voice to sound? If the answer is that you want to keep those things in, youāre not wrong one bit. And your faves who keep those things in arenāt wrong either.
So the big consideration here is whether this agent is right for you. If after implementing some of their suggestions, you think your writing has become stronger and more of you is shining through, then Iād say youāre on the right track. For example, my editor at HarperCollins (WHO IāM COMPLETELY ROBSESSED WITH!!) really embraces my -isms, but will expertly let me know when those internal monologues are getting too offtrack as opposed to highlighting what it is my protagonists are actually grappling with. While technically sheās asking me to get rid of some of that monologuing, the kind of paring back she suggests is super helpful. This could be the case with your R&R. Does it feel like the agent wants you to tone it down just a smidge, or is it all the way?
My major tip: When editing for this agentās feedback, if it feels like youāre forcing it, Iād wait a beat and really question whether their vision for your work is the same as yours. If itās not, itās a totally respectable option to say āThank you for your timeā and move on. No agent is better than the wrong agent, and the same goes for those agents too. Not signing a writer is better than signing them and realizing you both have totally different ideas of how your books should look.
While none of us can make that call for you, know that if you decide to hand back that lifesaver, youāre not going to drown in these writer waters. Weāre swimming alongside you, and will continue to until the right agent comes along.
-JJ
What about you, Ventorship passengers? Any advice on how to handle an R&R thatās setting off alarm bells? Feel free to put it in the comments, or write to me at heyjasonjune@gmail.com and Iāll anonymously include your words on this post.
If youād like to vent about anything author/writing related, write to me at heyjasonjune@gmail.com with the subject: VENTORSHIP. Iāll give you my take in a post, and weāll crowdsource author opinions in the comments. Youāll remain anonymous, and any haters will be thrown overboard. Ultimately, I think youāre going to be buoyed up by author love and support as we realize we really are all in the same boat š³ļø
I love your advice JJ, but would add that sometimes when a note doesnāt sit right with me I try to look through it and search out the spirit of the note.
So in this case the agent is calling out your use of dialogue tagsā maybe itās not really the tags themselves but that the pacing drops out during dialogue exchanges, or that the tempo is off.
I always try to keep in mind that a note, even a super specific one, is that readerās way of saying ā something here isnāt working for me. So I always give that credence but if I donāt like their solution I go looking for another fix, one that works with my vision and voice.