Manuscript Wishlist

If you're a querying writer, odds are, you've checked out your dream agents' (and maybe even dream publishers') Manuscript Wishlist (commonly noted on Twitter as #MSWL). The executive editor at my dream publisher posted a thread the other day with her wish list and, while unfortunately none of my current WIPs match what she's looking for, I realized that my first manuscript could be edited to fit one of her items. It would take a pretty massive rewrite, and I'm currently already doing a massive rewrite on it due to not following my gut on some suggested edits I received. Still, it's tempting, especially since I'm on vacation the last week of August and could spend a significant portion of my time writing.

It can be so difficult to determine if a manuscript meets a wish list's criteria, and even if it does, it might not have the right voice or the right tone. I've seen writers on Twitter discuss how they thought they had the perfect book to fit a #MSWL request only for the agent/editor to turn it down because it wasn't exactly what they had in mind. Since I already went against my original story idea, which did some serious damage to the plot, I'm a little hesitant to make such massive changes. I would definitely keep my original story idea separate and write the wish list version in a new document. 

The other thing that makes me hesitate is that only unagented authors who have published previously (whether self-published or traditional) in the genre will be considered. I've considered self-publishing, but as I only have one complete manuscript and one almost halfway there, it wouldn't really help me to do so right now. The editor is looking for pitches starting in September, and I fear that, by the time I could get an agent, she might have a whole new #MSWL. 

The editor did say that the list was not all inclusive of things the publisher would accept, so I wonder if it wouldn't be a better use of my time to simply polish the story idea I have. There are a few more romance story ideas floating around in my head, so maybe by the time I write my third or fourth book, I'll have something that this publisher will want. 

Have you ever had any luck pitching something on an agent/editor's #MSWL? Have you tweaked a story to fit a wish list? Sound off in the comments!