A Follow Up Question From A Writer - Rejected projects?

The publishers rejected my project because I was an unpublished author or it did not fit their line at this time. So do I pursue another agent with the same project? And wouldn't I need to tell them that it had been previously rejected and by whom?

The answer to this has two layers to it.

First, I would recommend submitting a new project to the new editors. As you noted, the rejections were really about the writing itself. This does mean that, for the most part, the other agents will end up with the same response. You have to remember that like authors submitting projects, agents are following many of the same rules. We don't just keep submitting something that has been rejected already.

The second layer has to do with whether or not you tell the agent about the prior project and the rejections. This is a resounding YES! In this case, if we know who has passed on the project in the past, it might give us an idea of some other potential houses the story may be a better fit for. The other element is that if the story, as you put it, "did not fit their line at [that] time," the agent may be able to hold on to it and use it as a secondary project when they submit that new project.

Hope that helps.

Scott