Got an R&R from an agent. Do I do everything they say?

@the_oxford_comma OP

2mo ago

An agent I really respect passed but invited a revise and resubmit, with a page of editorial notes. Some of it lands instantly, but one big structural suggestion would mean cutting a POV I love. There's no guarantee of an offer even if I do all of it. How literally am I supposed to take the notes?

12 comments

@midnight_edits2mo ago

The rule that got me through mine: take the problem, not always the solution. Agents are usually right about WHERE the book breaks and often wrong about HOW to fix it. If the note is 'cut this POV,' the real signal is 'this POV isn't earning its place.' You might fix that by strengthening it rather than cutting. Diagnose what they're actually reacting to before you obey the literal instruction.

@the_red_pen2mo ago

Exactly this. On my R&R the agent wanted me to age my protagonist up to make it adult instead of YA. I didn't, but I understood she was reacting to the voice reading too mature for the category. I leaned the voice younger, kept the age, wrote a short note explaining the choice in my resubmit. She offered. They want a thoughtful collaborator, not a yes-machine.

@the_oxford_commaOP2mo ago

The 'take the problem not the solution' framing is unlocking this for me. The POV note might really be 'this thread feels disconnected,' which I could solve by tying it to the main plot instead of deleting it. And the idea that I can push back in the resubmit letter if I do it thoughtfully, rather than silently complying, changes the whole stakes.

@the_red_pen2mo ago

Right, and the resubmit cover letter is doing real work, so don't bury your reasoning. Briefly: here's the note, here's how I addressed it, and where I diverged here's why and how I solved the underlying issue instead. It shows editorial judgment, which is exactly what an agent is auditioning you for in an R&R. Silent divergence reads as 'didn't take the note.' Explained divergence reads as 'thinks like an author I can sell.'

@quietpages2mo ago

Before you touch a word, ask the agent for a call. I emailed and said the notes were generative and I'd love 20 minutes to make sure I understood the priorities. That call revealed which two notes were dealbreakers and which were nice-to-haves. Without it I'd have spent three months perfecting a note she barely cared about. Most agents will happily hop on a quick call for a serious R&R.

@scrivener_refugee2mo ago

And if they won't do a call, you can still ask one tight clarifying question by email, like 'of these notes, which one or two feel most central to you?' Ranking the notes is the single most useful thing you can extract, because R&R notes are almost never equally weighted and the email rarely tells you the weighting.

@once_more_writer1mo ago

When to walk from an R&R, because it's a real option: if executing the notes would turn it into a book you don't want to have written, you're allowed to decline and query elsewhere. I had an R&R that wanted me to genre-shift my litfic into a thriller. I passed. Another agent took it as-is months later. An R&R is interest, not a verdict on the book's worth everywhere.

@kafka_lite1mo ago

Adding nuance to walking away: separate 'this would break my book' from 'this is just hard and scary.' Cutting a beloved POV often feels like the former but is actually the latter. I almost walked from a note that terrified me, did it anyway, and the book got obviously better. Sit with the big note for two weeks before deciding it's a dealbreaker, fear and wrongness feel identical at first.

@nocturne_writes1mo ago

Timeline reality check nobody mentions: take the time you need, an R&R has no deadline and rushing it back in three weeks signals you didn't really engage. Mine took five months. But do send a two-line acknowledgment now saying you're taking the notes seriously and will be in touch, so you stay on their radar without overpromising a date.

@beta_reader_ben1mo ago

On the POV you love specifically: get fresh beta readers who've never seen the book to read the revised version blind, and DON'T tell them what changed. If they independently flag the POV as draggy, the agent was right and your love for it is the problem. If they love it, you have real evidence to politely hold your ground in the resubmit letter. Outside eyes break the deadlock.

@verse_and_vice1mo ago

One more, on managing other agents during this: if you have fulls out elsewhere, it's fair game to let them know you're doing an R&R for another agent. It's a soft nudge that signals interest without pressure. A couple of my dormant fulls suddenly moved when I mentioned an R&R was underway. Don't sit silent assuming it's tacky, agents expect this.

@rewrite_rachel1mo ago

Whatever you do, keep a clean copy of the current version before you start cutting. I gutted a subplot on an R&R, hated the result, and clawing the original back from old drafts cost me a week. Branch it, label it, and you can experiment ruthlessly knowing the version that earned the R&R still exists intact.