The Rare Helpful Rejection

The rejection wasn't final, so technically the manuscript wasn't rejected.

Good writing, talented writer---words that open a rejection letter were there as well. But there was more.

Here's the problems I had with the manuscript, says the literary agent, and there's but two. Can you fix the character development issue, she goes, and there's too many characters popping up at the beginning.

Revise and resend. That's the offer at hand.

But what is character development, says I, who doesn't remember all the intricacies and jargon of the field. Google search is the only hope, short of pulling out old textbooks and manuals, threatening an explosion of dust and the sneezing that would follow.

Ah yes, it's true, the actions of the character in the first chapter don't really follow the character's actions as the story progresses. I had a feeling, after I looked at the manuscript on the heels of some recent rejections, that something wasn't right.

One literary agent took the time to pen a quick note, to tell me what needed to be fixed. Now I'm hard at work, re-writing an opening that doesn't lose the character's motivations but expresses them in more nebulous terms.

As for too many characters, so easy to edit out the extraneous names and eliminate an entire scene that isn't really necessary to introduce the male and female protagonists.

The revised manuscript will be ready soon, after it's had a chance to rest and I've read it over again. Now how do I go about re-submitting? Do I have to send another query? Do I just post the manuscript, or the first three chapters?