When One Opinion is Just That: One Opinion
Tuesday, July 13, 2010 Question of the day: I began the agent search for my novel in May. It's women's fiction with more of a literary feel, not chick lit, and my protagonist is in her late twenties, unmarried, and the story is primarily about the relationship with her mentally disabled sister ( it explores many other relationships in the book, mother, ex boyfriend, and new lover) . One agent, however, said there no place in the market for a novel like mine because it didn't fit neatly into 'women's fiction'. So now I'm worried about pitching this to more agents as women's fiction. So now for my question (s): is there an age limit for women's fiction? If a novel is not chick lit and features a single, female protagonist in her twenties is there a market for the novel? Does women's fiction generally deal with older female protagonists struggling with marriage, divorce, children, death of a spouse, child, etc.?
First of all, DEEP BREATH. Deeeeeeeeep breath. Second of all, I could not disagree more with this one agent. Third of all, this is a FABULOUS reminder to everyone that an opinion is just that - a subjective take on something, and what you have here is ONE agent's opinion, that is it. IT! You will hear so many disparate thoughts when querying agents - they will tell you conflicting advice, differing takes on what they loved and hated, a variety of reasons that the book could be successful and totally unsellable, that you simply CANNOT listen or be discouraged by one singular opinion. Now, if every single rejection were saying the same thing, well, then, that's when it's time to clue in, but in this case, absolutely not. Not least because - while I'm not an agent - I really think this is incorrect.
In fact, I'd say that the majority of "women's fiction," which as we discussed can range these days anywhere from true chick lit to something much more literary, details the lives of women somewhere in the range of their twenties to forties, and a 28-year old protagonist who is dealing with a serious life crisis is EXACTLY what this category is about. In your letter (which I edited for length), you asked if I could cite some examples of this, and the first one that comes to mind is my debt: The Department of Lost and Found. Some others: The Myth of You and Me by Leah Stewart, London is The Best City in America by Laura Dave, The Opposite of Love by Julie Buxbaum. (Confession, those are the first three that sprung to mind because they're friends of mine - hee.) But these were all very successful books and they all deal with exactly what this agent said would NOT be a success. Again, seriously, there are countless other examples which readers can feel free to cite below. (And if you're a writer, please, by all means, cite your own book! We're all for horn toots around here!)
The point here is that you simply cannot get caught up in singular feedback. Reading, of course, is subjective, as are agent opinions. Keep pitching - there IS a market out there for this type of book, and I know because as both a reader and a writer, I'm part of it.
Readers - have you ever gotten feedback from an editor or agent that you knew was wrong? Or did you ever worry that he or she was RIGHT? How did you resolve it?
Reader Comments (9)
First of all, thanks for the mention of THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE. I couldn't agree with you more about this being one person's opinion. One of the many things that has surprised me about being a writer is how much you have to trust your own instincts and intuition and tune out everyone else's opinion. What will be one person's favorite thing about your book will be what someone else hated, and vice versa. Even the "experts" aren't really experts. I think the answer is exactly what you say--listen to what other people say, and then decide for yourself whether you agree, which applies regardless of whether we are talking content, marketability, title, etc. As for whether something will sell, some of the biggest success stories had a gazillion rejections before the right agent/publisher saw the potential. I took a novel writing class while I was working on THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE, and a guest author read a piece of my book and told me he thought that no publisher would ever buy it. Afterwards, I went home and cried. But instead of burning my book--which for a moment seemed like a good idea--I started querying agents. Less than two months later, I sold my manuscript. So grateful to that author--despite the sleepless nights he caused me--because I learned an important lesson to trust myself; if I had listened to him, there is no way I'd be working on my third novel right now.
OMG, yes. Just recently actually. I stewed, cried a little and then set it aside and tried to forget about it. All you can do is keep on keeping on, really. Basically it wasn't right for that agent. Okay, so move on. I know it's not as easy as it sounds but don't let one negative opinion change the way YOU feel about your book, unless it's positive.
I don't really have an answer to Allison's questions, but I do completely agree that this person should not worry too much just because of this one agent's response. In fact, I *know* that there is at least one editor looking for precisely this type of a book, because I've been in contact with his team regarding my own ms. So keep at it!
Julie Buxbaum's comment is also fantastically inspiring. :)
Great question and answer. I am the author of The Last Bridge (Ballantine) which just came out in paperback. The book is about a 28 year old alcoholic woman who returns home after her mother commits suicide. She is caustic, funny and extremely damaged -- in fact many reviews of the book cited how "unlikeable" she is in the beginning. While she is the heroine of her own traumatic story, she is not your "typical" heroine.
When we were selling the book I got rejections that said the book was too dark and some said the book was not dark enough. It's kind of like Goldilocks and the Three Bears -- I finally found a publisher who thought it was just right.
While it is important to hear the feedback and understand where it is coming from -- I agree that one opinion does not determine the future -- and remember you don't need EVERY agent and/or publisher to get your book you just need ONE.
One more thing -- when an agent or editor rejects your book they are not necessarily saying it isn't good they are saying THEY cannot sell it or make it work for them. Agents and Editors live with your story for a long time and it is right that they should feel passionate about it -- I would rather get rejected then have someone who is not passionate about my story. Again -- you just need one. At least that's what keeps me from jumping off the bridge!
Unfortunately, I'm the opposite of a success story -- but only for the moment! An agent that represents some bestselling books contacted me about my novel and asked for the first 100 pages. She emailed me the next week and said she just didn't feel invested enough in my protagonist to represent me. Two years later, I'm still trying to make my protagonist more likable! It's working, and the book is going to be better, but I shouldn't have let one agent's opinion paralyze me like that. She was right, but I should have attacked the editing instead of ruminating and hand-wringing for so long.
This post strikes such a chord with me! I am a women's fiction yet-to-be-published author. (Yet to be published sounds more positive than unpublished, doesn't it?) My manuscript is on submission with publishers and the editors' rejections -- as did the agents when I was looking for an agent -- vary widely. I wish editors/agents would just say no thanks, not for me UNLESS he/she is very interested and would like to see revisions and gives specific feedback because all the constant "subjective opinion" stuff does make writers (and their agents, in my case) batty. With my current ms. a few of the editors say my MC is not likeable enough -- that makes me crazy. Try Christina Baker Kline's Bird in Hand -- the main characters are complex, not always angels, yet that book did exceedingly well and people LOVED it.
But I digress. As to the writer of your question today, I suggest he/she find some really reliable writer/readers whom she can trust. After a while, the author is too close to the ms. If her beta readers all are positiive about it, she will know she's on the right track.
What a great question. I have just begun this journey, but already I've proven to myself and others that holding on to my own instinct was exactly the thing to do. It is all in the balance. Be open to learning. Be open to advice. But always trust your own writer's heart first and foremost.
Hi Allison, I'm a new reader coming over from Aidan Donnelly Rowley's blog. I just wanted to say how glad I am that I checked out this blog! I'm writing my first novel so getting all this advice beforehand feels like I'm getting some inside info that I'm not "supposed" to know, and that is priceless to me. Thank you for the sage advice, I'm sure you'll have to talk me off a ledge like the author in this post someday!
I couldn't agree more! This whole women's fiction discussion is really complicated. Some say that women's fiction has to be more literary and the funny ones are chick lit. Others says traditional chick lit is more focused on romance and women's fiction on the life struggles. And, in the end, I don't know where my novel fits either. But I think there is definitely a market for whatever they call your novel!
I have actually written a post as a defense of women's fiction this week. Fell free to stop by and weigh in: http://aspiringwriterworld.blogspot.com/2010/08/shocking-news-smart-women-can-love-and_28.html