Hey everyone,
So for me personally, it's already been a trying week, as yesterday I went through a somewhat terrifying workshop/panel on my new novel in school. I was left unscathed for the most part, as no one really had anything to say in class (bad?).
So today I wake up, and refresh my email as I usually do. Lo and behold, a response from this agent I've been communicating with on my older novel. I was curious on what she had to say, and if she gave a rejection, would say anything about why she did. And boy, did she say it!
She said that she liked my main characters, but that she was more or less completely repulsed by one of my secondary characters, of whom I really like. She said that the character's actions "left a bad taste in her mouth" (!!!) and the novel was pretty much definitely not for her. Now, don't get me wrong. I LOVE this type of rejection (brutal honesty) because it's a taste of the real world and what I need to expect. But, wow, to have such a reaction to one of my favorite characters, in the first chapters of the story, to the point that I believe it ruins the rest of it, made me feel completely dejected!
So now I have a bit of dilemma. When faced with the fact that one of my characters is totally not working (or just a turn off) I do my best to completely eradicate them from the story. But it's pretty much impossible here, as the character is pretty crucial for the storyline. Is a major revision in order? I have this novel out with one more agent and I'm afraid that if I don't revise it now, I'm just to keep getting the same reaction. And I love the characters, and the storyline. Should I revise ASAP or should I wait?
Anyway, thanks for reading.
So for me personally, it's already been a trying week, as yesterday I went through a somewhat terrifying workshop/panel on my new novel in school. I was left unscathed for the most part, as no one really had anything to say in class (bad?).
So today I wake up, and refresh my email as I usually do. Lo and behold, a response from this agent I've been communicating with on my older novel. I was curious on what she had to say, and if she gave a rejection, would say anything about why she did. And boy, did she say it!
She said that she liked my main characters, but that she was more or less completely repulsed by one of my secondary characters, of whom I really like. She said that the character's actions "left a bad taste in her mouth" (!!!) and the novel was pretty much definitely not for her. Now, don't get me wrong. I LOVE this type of rejection (brutal honesty) because it's a taste of the real world and what I need to expect. But, wow, to have such a reaction to one of my favorite characters, in the first chapters of the story, to the point that I believe it ruins the rest of it, made me feel completely dejected!
So now I have a bit of dilemma. When faced with the fact that one of my characters is totally not working (or just a turn off) I do my best to completely eradicate them from the story. But it's pretty much impossible here, as the character is pretty crucial for the storyline. Is a major revision in order? I have this novel out with one more agent and I'm afraid that if I don't revise it now, I'm just to keep getting the same reaction. And I love the characters, and the storyline. Should I revise ASAP or should I wait?
Anyway, thanks for reading.