Hi and I just got great news!

[TessH]

Thanks, Patricia!

 

[Kitty]

So the fact that you’re alienating 50% of you potential readership could be what the problem is

 

[Rachel Caldecott]

Well, not so great news, after almost two months, just got the news that agent interested in January is not going to seek the rest of the manuscript. This agent thought there was nothing wrong with the situation I was arguing against. To be fair, I knew it would take an agent that would be hard to find......
But, oh well, back to my search.

Chin up! You are really close.

 

[TessH]

So the fact that you’re alienating 50% of you potential readership could be what the problem is

Maybe, Kitty. But the 50% who agree are the ones I need to make a change. If no one says anything, guess what happens?
Nothing.
I have a voice. Others like me have a voice. It is them that I hope to reach.
I know it's going to be rough and maybe I won't make it right away. But I also know that I WILL ultimately make it. I just need the right springboard.

 

[TessH]

Chin up! You are really close.

Thanks, Rachel!

 

[Kitty]

Obviously I’ve no idea what this burning issue is that you are championing but surely the people you want to reach out to are the ones that don’t agree with you if you are going to make a difference, rather than speaking only to those that already do.

In order to do this your argument needs to be accessible and not alienating. But you clearly do need an agent who is on side. Either because they already agree with you or because they are swayed by the persuasiveness of your writing.

If this is a particularly divisive issue you could have a bit of a hot potato on your hands. But a lot will depend on your approach.

 

[TessH]

You are right in all you say. And I surely appreciate your common sense. Thank you! Yes. I do want to reach the ones who don't agree. I am trying to voice myself in such a way that this will happen. So, I have written in such a way that even those who do not agree might still be entertained. At the end of it all, though, what is left is what the reader chooses to believe after the story is over. And in order to even make it that far, I need someone willing to see my side to see the book to fruition. Hopefully, one day that will happen.

Thanks so much for your feedback! I do hear loud and clear what you are saying and I do agree with you.

 

[TessH]

It's not a burning issue, per se....yet. However, I do have some serious people interested in it (none of whom I personally know). They're the ones that can move the ball should I ever get the chance to get it rolling....

 

[Geoff]

Well down TessH at getting as far as Agent interest, just keep at it!

 

[Rachel Caldecott]

You are right in all you say. And I surely appreciate your common sense. Thank you! Yes. I do want to reach the ones who don't agree. I am trying to voice myself in such a way that this will happen. So, I have written in such a way that even those who do not agree might still be entertained. At the end of it all, though, what is left is what the reader chooses to believe after the story is over. And in order to even make it that far, I need someone willing to see my side to see the book to fruition. Hopefully, one day that will happen.

Thanks so much for your feedback! I do hear loud and clear what you are saying and I do agree with you.

Sorry to be flippant, but one of my favorite publishing stories that my dad told, was about an author who submitted a manuscript. Dad decided that it wasn't for him. He said that he didn't feel he could publish it because he didn't agree with the underlying principles of the book (quite apart from the writing style). Her answer was, "If you don't like my principles, I have others." I imagine it must have been a horrific sort of book - sort of Mein Kampf or something, for my father to feel that strongly (sadly I don't remember). He was a great believer in ideas and his firm was the first ever alternative publishing in the UK.

 

[TessH]

Kudos to your dad, Rachel! The response he got does make me wonder, too, if perhaps this was Mein Kampf! Ha! Ha! And all this feedback has been great. It's almost like thinking out loud - you all remind me of resources that are directly in front of me that I have overlooked. Back to the drawing board I go!

 

[DustinMax]

Great news!