Resubmitting a Project - Why Greyhaus Frequently Avoids It

I am often asked by authors if they can resubmit a story I passed on earlier. They went back, made revisions and now think the project is better. And yet, I frequently say no to this.

There are a couple of reasons for this, some from the agent side and some from the writer's side.

From my perspective, I am pretty open to a lot of projects, I do seriously take the time to look over the material you send, think about the potential and the amount of work it might take to make it ready as well as to think about the marketing potential. If the book is honestly not going to work, then I will pass on it. In most cases this is simply an issue of looking at the amount of time to get it ready. In all honesty, looking at revisions becomes a huge revolving door. Authors would submit. They would revise. They would resubmit again, and the process would continue.

From the writer's perspective, this is a lot of time to dedicate to a single agent or editor. Remember that if one person doesn't like a story, it doesn't mean the whole thing is flawed. It could easily work for someone else.

I will be very honest. If I see a project that I think could be fixed and I am loving, then I will make the request for more.

And.... just because I haven't done this for a while, here is a token BLOG FLOG for you today.

I did get a query from someone who simply told me to "go back and read the initial query" that I rejected and reconsider. Somehow, over time, I guess my thought will change. Hmmmm?