Finally Some Feedback

If you're a writer trying to get your book published, like me, you've probably received quite a few rejection letters. And these are always form rejection letters, with absolutely zero reference to your work. But then, the other day, I finally got some feedback (thank you, thank you, thank you!). So, I asked about my query letter and what was wrong with it.

The agent wanted to have more of a hook. She said that I'm a good writer, and that the concept of "Forget Freeport" suited my voice. Then she had these magic words to share, "What does the lead character want, and what happens if they get it?"

That's some pretty simple, general advice, right? Should be easy for most novelists to distinguish what exactly the protagonist wants. How do they get what they want? What will they do? Are there certain things they are not willing to do, and so on.

The problem is, my character doesn't know what he wants. It's a real-time POV. He's a 15-year old. Kids that age have no idea what they're doing. There are smaller conflicts that have clearer motives, but the long ball, the over-arcing motivation, it just doesn't exist.

So what do I do from here? Rewrite my novel to make a broader motive more evident? Rehash the entire novel? Start from scratch with a clear motive in mind? I'm really not sure.

(On a side note-- look at the success of Comic Book films. There are certain lines when the hero or villain outright says, "[This] is what I want." No wonder the genre is so successful.)

So maybe my novel is different, and has a little more abstract of a concept. But, I'm sticking with it. Hopefullly, soon, an agent out there will get past this awful query process, actually read my book, enjoy it, and go from there. Otherwise, it's back to the drawing board... again.