5LD wrote:Wow! That is great news, Vandal and a response from them I find very interesting.....
not to open a can of worms, but I am curious since coming from a creative field originally, I found it difficult at times to separate the creative product from myself since it sprang from me and visibly looked like me/sounded like me, etc.....and I had to work to get my mind around the fact that any criticism/rejection was not a personal critique of me (esp in auditions cause sometimes it was that I was too tall or my voice was too deep, etc). The mantra became "they wanted a table but I am a chair."
So, that being said, are you inspired to make the changes?
Absolutely. If a top-notch agency tells you that your novel is "well-written" and "unique" and they are extremely interested in it if you make some changes, then you damn well better be inspired.
Was any part of you offended?
No. The agents prefaced everything so well and, let's face it, they know the market better than I do. When the YA agent gave me the first "what if" plot change, I had no trouble picturing what she was saying. YA writing is not a step down by any stretch. It's just different. When she read my story, she heard a YA voice with characters slightly too old for the voice. She kept reading because she had never read a plot quite like it. I don't like to swear, I don't go for violence, and I couldn't write a sex scene to save my life. Those are great YA attributes. They want me to write to my strengths.
Also, I was running out of time with this manuscript. Rejection hasn't and doesn't bother me. I have a stack of rejection letters and a huge email folder full of "Dear Author" messages.
I'm all for some good and positive guidance after
320
rejections.
It only takes one.
Are you apprehensive at all?
Hardly. I've already ripped open and changed the first six chapters and I've looked into how the new timeline works with younger historians (from age 30 to 16 or so). I'll figure it out.
I am stoked.
How much time did they give you?
They would like to see a new synopsis within the next few weeks. They want to help and are willing to suggest ideas if I ask. My personal (perhaps ambitious) goal is to deliver a YA version of The Memory Box some time this summer.
Am I being too nosy?
Not at all. If you want to get a writer talking, ask him about his writing. I don't mind. Please don't address the post "Dear Author" for reasons already given.
You can choose not to reply and I will forgive you and root for you with gusto anyway.
See above.
Root away. I appreciate your gusto.
