BBBurke, I see your problem, and I agree that readers and agents don't approach a book the same way.
IMO, if you're happy with your story, forget agents. A good book is a good book. I get that you're terrified of getting your MS rejected (what unpublished writer isn't?), but in the end it's really a matter of how willing you are to stick to your vision. If you feel that the shape of your story adds a certain something to it, keep it the way it is.
If you've written the story you want, and this is how you want readers to see it, you owe it to yourself to ignore your fears and send it out there. The truth is that your fears aren’t unfounded – your book really may get rejected based on how agents think it will unfold. But there’s still the chance that someone out there will enjoy it (in the same way you believe your readers would... and agents are as varied as readers).
People constantly hear about successful authors who got rejected over and over again, but I don't think it really sinks in what kind of emotions they were up against. People don’t stop to think about the fear and uncertainty these authors would have had to struggle through to keep sending their stories out. Many would’ve had to choose between writing a more “commercial” book and getting their story out there the way it was.
So I'll say this: if it’s laziness speaking, go back and revise your story. If it’s genuinely the story you want to tell, start querying agents.
Personally, I write as if the gatekeepers didn't exist. I've made up my mind to write for a specific audience, and so my stories are tailored for that audience. I don't believe in distorting a story due to a meta-element like an inundated agent's aversion to slow beginnings. Especially when their role is to find books that readers will love... not books that they can be bothered to read. Do your job and hope that they'll do theirs.
ETA: This is all assuming you've had your story beta'd by a handful of fantasy readers. If you haven't, do that first and incorporate any changes you think you should make.
IMO, if you're happy with your story, forget agents. A good book is a good book. I get that you're terrified of getting your MS rejected (what unpublished writer isn't?), but in the end it's really a matter of how willing you are to stick to your vision. If you feel that the shape of your story adds a certain something to it, keep it the way it is.
If you've written the story you want, and this is how you want readers to see it, you owe it to yourself to ignore your fears and send it out there. The truth is that your fears aren’t unfounded – your book really may get rejected based on how agents think it will unfold. But there’s still the chance that someone out there will enjoy it (in the same way you believe your readers would... and agents are as varied as readers).
People constantly hear about successful authors who got rejected over and over again, but I don't think it really sinks in what kind of emotions they were up against. People don’t stop to think about the fear and uncertainty these authors would have had to struggle through to keep sending their stories out. Many would’ve had to choose between writing a more “commercial” book and getting their story out there the way it was.
So I'll say this: if it’s laziness speaking, go back and revise your story. If it’s genuinely the story you want to tell, start querying agents.
Personally, I write as if the gatekeepers didn't exist. I've made up my mind to write for a specific audience, and so my stories are tailored for that audience. I don't believe in distorting a story due to a meta-element like an inundated agent's aversion to slow beginnings. Especially when their role is to find books that readers will love... not books that they can be bothered to read. Do your job and hope that they'll do theirs.
ETA: This is all assuming you've had your story beta'd by a handful of fantasy readers. If you haven't, do that first and incorporate any changes you think you should make.