Day 1

Well, today I not only managed to navigate New York City, but I also made it to the conference with a half hour to spare, didn't have to eat lunch alone (making friends is good!), made it onto the correct train to get me back to my Uncle and Aunt's house safely, and did not explode from nerves as I pitched my book to my fellow workshoppers.

That's where the good news ends.

Today was all about laying out ground work for our pitches. Basically, we sat in a room, read our pitches one at a time and our group leader (a seasoned veteran of the publishing world), tried to help us craft it in the best possible way to make the pitch - and therefore the book - its most sellable. A lot of what he said was good to learn and even better to have validated.

However, he basically wants me to completely write a different story than what I've got. He thinks the concept of having another world in the mix is too confusing, he wants my character to not be a teenager, and he wants it somewhere exotic. Not America.

None of those changes sit right with me.

Is that stubbornness? I don't think so. I guess since I think God gave me this story, it doesn't make any sense to completely obliterate the story and tell something completely different. I mean, if I get rid of Tilion, everything I love about the story and the characters pretty much is thrown out the window. I can't have Grovix that way and I can't do any of the things I already have written out. That's not the end of the world, but we're talking about an entirely different story. A story that, to me, isn't End Game.

I might just be one of those authors that refuses to make changes. But, at the same time, nothing about those changes sit right with me. Also, I'm not in this business to make money. I get that my book is a hard sell. A lot happens in it and I require an intelligent audience. I require an audience of inquiring minds and curious intellect.

Basically, I don't know what to do. And I imagine that despite my exhaustion, I'm not going to be getting much sleep tonight.

Don't hold your breath people. This ride is gonna be a long one.

Currently Reading: Brisinger by Christopher Paolini
Currently Listening to: "10,000 Reasons" by Matt Redman