I've written a little bit before on here about an experience I had with an agent last year who loved my book but hated the ending and wanted me to make it fit some kind of generic formula for a 'book club novel' - i.e. unreliable narrator / dramatic near death tussle / big twist etc. Mine has a very quiet and - I thought - beautiful ending. We agreed we couldn't work together and I saw it, frankly, as a lucky escape.
Just after that happened I was awarded an Arts Council grant to have my manuscript read by an 'industry expert', so I decided to wait for their report before querying any more agents. It took ages to come and when it did, 2 days ago, it made for dismaying reading! She basically says all the same things as the agent - this isn't literary fiction, it's 'high end book club', and readers in this genre expect a certain outcome which they don't get. The ending isn't dramatic enough - there needs to be a big revelation! A twist! She also, rather confusingly, stated that my prose was 'too poetic'.
I've been wrestling for the past couple of days as to where I go with this now. My partner says "It's your novel, don't change a thing." But he doesn't understand that my book as it currently is will never be published, I've realised this now. The publishing industry wants the same formulaic stuff. I am seriously considering 'selling out' and changing the ending, creating some ridiculous dramatic conclusion that will satisfy the formula. Should I? If it gets me an agent and a publishing deal?
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Should I compromise my 'art' to get an agent??
29 replies
BecauseOfIndia · 16/04/2022 13:39
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