How Do I Resubmit a Revised Manuscript?

After I queried publishers, an editor from a large publishing house requested my manuscript. Soon after submitting it, I received a letter noting her recommendations for revising. She also stated that I may resubmit. What are the steps to resubmitting? Also, it’s been a year since she sent the letter. Has too much time passed? —Joan K.

The rules of resubmitting a revised manuscript are pretty simple: Make the changes suggested by the editor and then resubmit ASAP. Be sure to reply to the email that includes her original invitation to resubmit. This serves to remind her that she prompted you to do so, and will also refresh her memory of the relationship (no matter how small) the two of you had developed, and her interest in your story. (If your correspondence occurred via snail mail, then include a copy of the letter in which she welcomes you to resend the revised copy.)

The key is to make sure she realizes she had a previous relationship with you and your manuscript. She’s probably read thousands of proposals and hundreds of manuscripts since then, so her memory of your project could be shaky. The more you can remind her that you once wined and dined her and that she expressed an interest in a second date with your book (after a little grooming, of course), the better your chances are.

But I’m not going to lie to you: It probably doesn’t help that it’s taken you a year to get back to that editor. It’s possible that she is no longer seeking the type of work you pitched, and is instead looking to fill her list in other ways. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t follow through. If the editor took the time to give you notes, she must believe there is something special about your manuscript. The sooner you can get the revised version back to her, the better.

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