Stan, I am afraid that I understood different things from the agent's feedback than you appear to do. From what you say:
How well done are the published P&P companions that were written by men (there can’t be too many, based on a quick Amazon search, and none that seem to follow canon), and can we judge the correctness of her statements?
Have you read other works that were written by men and followed canon? That is what I take the agent’s comments to address,
you appear to think that she is saying that the fact that you are a man and that your story follows canon are disadvantages. I don't think that's what she is talking about.
The way I understood it, when she said it's women's feelings that sell, she was talking about female characters, not authors. The fact that you are a man is irrelevant, she meant that editors are more interested in books written from the prespective of female characters than those written from the prespective of male characters. Apparently, the editors she knows think that readers are more likely to buy P&P fiction if it is written from Elizabeth's point of view than Darcy's; I have no idea if this is indeed accurate, but there have been books written from the male Austen characters point of view. Maybe these books were less successfull than the ones from the point of view of female characters and the editors are judging from that.
Also, I don't think she has a problem with your book following canon. But for a P&P novel to be interesting enough for people to buy it, this novel has to offer something more than the original book, especially if it following canon; it has to fill the gaps Austen left in the plot and the characterization, preferably in a new, original way, not give the reader the same things that are in P&P in different words. It seems to me that this agent thinks your story doesn't add anything significant to what Austen already wrote; not having read your story, I have no idea if this is correct, but it is this agent's opinion.
And how have agents and editors attained such god-like status? That seems crazy.
No, it's not crazy, it's the law of supply and demand. Agents and editors can afford to be picky because there are a lot aspiring writers who want to find agents and publishers, while the number of decent agents and publishers is relatively small. And the reason for this is that there are a lot more people today that want to be writers or have written a book than there were in the past, while at the same time the number of readers has not increased so much.
I have yet to reply, as I honestly don’t know what to say besides “thanks”. I mean, obviously I would argue her points,
Are you sure it is appropriate for you to say anything besides "thanks"? You offered her a chance to be your agent, she has read your story (or part of it) and she liked it, but has decided she is not interested. I don't think you can argue her into changing her mind and it would probably be a waste of both your time and hers to try. In any case, I don't see what argument you might make. She has formed an opinion of the chances of selling your book by talking to editors; even if they are wrong, I find it improbable that any argument of yours will make her disregard them. She has also formed an opinion of your manuscript by reading part of it; what could you possible say to change her mind?
How well done are the published P&P companions that were written by men (there can’t be too many, based on a quick Amazon search, and none that seem to follow canon), and can we judge the correctness of her statements?
Have you read other works that were written by men and followed canon? That is what I take the agent’s comments to address,
you appear to think that she is saying that the fact that you are a man and that your story follows canon are disadvantages. I don't think that's what she is talking about.
The way I understood it, when she said it's women's feelings that sell, she was talking about female characters, not authors. The fact that you are a man is irrelevant, she meant that editors are more interested in books written from the prespective of female characters than those written from the prespective of male characters. Apparently, the editors she knows think that readers are more likely to buy P&P fiction if it is written from Elizabeth's point of view than Darcy's; I have no idea if this is indeed accurate, but there have been books written from the male Austen characters point of view. Maybe these books were less successfull than the ones from the point of view of female characters and the editors are judging from that.
Also, I don't think she has a problem with your book following canon. But for a P&P novel to be interesting enough for people to buy it, this novel has to offer something more than the original book, especially if it following canon; it has to fill the gaps Austen left in the plot and the characterization, preferably in a new, original way, not give the reader the same things that are in P&P in different words. It seems to me that this agent thinks your story doesn't add anything significant to what Austen already wrote; not having read your story, I have no idea if this is correct, but it is this agent's opinion.
And how have agents and editors attained such god-like status? That seems crazy.
No, it's not crazy, it's the law of supply and demand. Agents and editors can afford to be picky because there are a lot aspiring writers who want to find agents and publishers, while the number of decent agents and publishers is relatively small. And the reason for this is that there are a lot more people today that want to be writers or have written a book than there were in the past, while at the same time the number of readers has not increased so much.
I have yet to reply, as I honestly don’t know what to say besides “thanks”. I mean, obviously I would argue her points,
Are you sure it is appropriate for you to say anything besides "thanks"? You offered her a chance to be your agent, she has read your story (or part of it) and she liked it, but has decided she is not interested. I don't think you can argue her into changing her mind and it would probably be a waste of both your time and hers to try. In any case, I don't see what argument you might make. She has formed an opinion of the chances of selling your book by talking to editors; even if they are wrong, I find it improbable that any argument of yours will make her disregard them. She has also formed an opinion of your manuscript by reading part of it; what could you possible say to change her mind?