Should I query even though my novel still has flaws?

I would highly recommend waiting until the manuscript is ready to query. If you gain interest then the agents will want to see the manuscript, and those flaws may cost you an offer of representation. You (usually) only get one shot per manuscript per agent. Why waste that opportunity when you know it's not ready?

I would recommend working on the other project if you need a break, and then coming back to this fresh and ready to make it better.

If there are things you suspected and betas agreed were problems I would wait. It's not at its best and you know it. You always want to put out the piece at the best you think it can be.

That said, I suspect there will always be something to fix. When it starts to feel negligible and changing won't impact readability or enjoyability you are probably ready to go.

Pretty much what I'm saying is I've been in your place before. I waited and I was happy I did.

Atalanta said:

I've just started getting beta feedback, and some of what I'm hearing confirms problems I suspected were there. Do I need to fix these before I query?

I've been working on the draft intensely since May and I really need a break. My plan was to query for the rest of the year while I work on another project, and then start a 3rd draft in January. But maybe I shouldn't query at all.

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I would just work on another project, then pick up the new draft at the beginning of the year.

The last draft I did of the steampunk novel (which was like draft 7.5 or 8), I started off by going through a hardcopy and writing notes on the pages by hand. Everything from where I wanted/needed additional scences and the beats for those scenes, to minor tweaks to word choice etc in areas I wasn't revising heavily.

It took some time, but it was also something I could come and go from while I worked on other stuff. And, once I got to doing the actual revisions, those didn't take long at all. (Of course, what worked for me may not work for you so YMMV, etc.)

If you know there are problems, don't query. It's too much of a gamble to hope that an agent will just get your book so much that they'll offer a chance to revise & resubmit, rather than turn you down because it's not ready yet.

Aggy, got lucky in that regard

Atalanta said:

I've just started getting beta feedback, and some of what I'm hearing confirms problems I suspected were there. Do I need to fix these before I query?

I've been working on the draft intensely since May and I really need a break. My plan was to query for the rest of the year while I work on another project, and then start a 3rd draft in January. But maybe I shouldn't query at all.

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I'm in agreement with Ashley and Lady. Hold off querying until your novel is as good as you can get it.

You really need a break. You've been working on your novel for a solid four months. It can be intense, and draining. So maybe give yourself permission to set that baby aside. How long is entirely up to you. When you finally decide it's time to work on it again, you'll be refreshed and looking at it fresh.

In the interim, if you are so inclined, work on something new. Nobody is pressuring you except yourself, right? Be kind to yourself, Atalanta. That's the main thing.

Step away from the manuscript. Don't even peek at it. Do not query it. Save the critiques. Then revisit it later. Revise. Then query.

Yep. Get it fixed before querying. You won't get a second chance and, even if an agent likes it, you'll still get told to fix it...

Agents aren't going anywhere.

It depends on how serious the flaws are. If they are serious, and if you know how to fix them, then do so, even if you need a break first.

But you will never write a novel that has no flaws. None of us do. Trying for perfection is not a good thing. Perfection is the enemy of Good Enough, and can be as deadly as not being caring enough about problems.

You have to decide whether the novel is Good Enough, despite its flaws. You will have to do some rewriting/revising/editing even after the novel sells. This is the process that removes the last of the obvious flaws.

There's a saying that goes, "A novel is never finished, it's only abandoned. Learn to abandon yours."

Don;t let a novel go out with obvious and fixable flaws, but don't try to make it perfect, either. When it reaches Good Enough, abandon it to the query/submission process.

As someone who beta read the novel, I recommend making the changes before querying the book. The book was still enjoyable when I read it, but agents will be pickier than I am. Like others have said, you don't want to lose an offer of representation because you were too hasty. I'm doing the same - waiting to query until after I edit some more.

Especially if this is your first novel, you want this sucker to be as "print ready" as you can make it. As perfect as you can make it. If they ask for a partial or full, do you want to give them ANY reason to stop reading?

Definitely fix the problems since you know they're there. You don't have to have a perfect manuscript, but you don't want to query something that you know you could make better.

Never send out work that has problems you recognize and can fix. That's like noticing your interview suit is wrinkled and stained but not bothering to change before you go to the interview.

Fix every flaw you can. You are getting one shot with most agents, so make it count. You may just need time away from the mms.

i guess if you see the problems (the hard ones are the ones you don't see) what would you do?

Dear Dream Agent, Americana is a 87,000-word novel. Maybe 85,000, maybe 90,000, not really sure--gotta fix a bunch of things first.

Dear Dream Agent, I am submitting my somewhat flawed novel, hoping you can tell me what to fix and/or how.

Dear Dream Agent, this thing isn't ready for prime time, but please read it anyway while I fix the flaws, then maybe we can both read it again and make a deal.


None of those are exactly attractive ways to present yourself in pitching. I'd fix it, and if you're just too spent to fix it now, work something else for awhile then fix it. but i really don't see much gain in subbing when you know there's issues in there.

I once submitted a novel to my dream agent, got a request for a full and then the heartbreak of being turned down. You're in a better position than I was - at least you know it's not ready. Let it simmer off by itself, then try again in a couple months. You'll be surprised how much better you can see it.

quicklime said:

i guess if you see the problems (the hard ones are the ones you don't see) what would you do?

Dear Dream Agent, Americana is a 87,000-word novel. Maybe 85,000, maybe 90,000, not really sure--gotta fix a bunch of things first.

Dear Dream Agent, I am submitting my somewhat flawed novel, hoping you can tell me what to fix and/or how.

Dear Dream Agent, this thing isn't ready for prime time, but please read it anyway while I fix the flaws, then maybe we can both read it again and make a deal.


None of those are exactly attractive ways to present yourself in pitching. I'd fix it, and if you're just too spent to fix it now, work something else for awhile then fix it. but i really don't see much gain in subbing when you know there's issues in there.

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You know no writer is going to query like that. It's far from certain that these specific issues actually exist.

There's always something a writer sees wrong, else that writer probably isn't very good. Rejected manuscripts are most often teh ones where the writer doesn't see any flaws.

Sometimes you just have to let go, allow an agent or editor to be the judge. Bad novels get rejected, and they're almost always ones the writer thinks is good, ready to go. Good novels with flaws get fixed once an editor gets his hands on it.

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Atalanta: about your age: You're a youngster, a whole generation younger than me.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Jamesaritchie said:

You know no writer is going to query like that. It's far from certain that these specific issues actually exist.

There's always something a writer sees wrong, else that writer probably isn't very good. Rejected manuscripts are most often teh ones where the writer doesn't see any flaws.

Sometimes you just have to let go, allow an agent or editor to be the judge. Bad novels get rejected, and they're almost always ones the writer thinks is good, ready to go. Good novels with flaws get fixed once an editor gets his hands on it.

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I don't disagree that the writer wouldn't word it like that, or that even when you think it is finished, there's stuff that could have been fixed.

That said, read the OP; the poster KNOWS what others believe is wrong and they even agree, unless I read it wrong. In that case.....I believe you fix everything you can; fate still has plenty of room to fuck things up then, but you're mitigating everything within your power.