The Agent/Author Conversations: Why Main Characters Need to Drive Your Story

As the "Now What?" Months continue, we’ll be hearing from agents, editors, self-publishers, and authors about the road towards sharing your work. We’ve asked several authors to interview their agents for a peek behind the curtain at what it takes to write and sell a book. Today, Kelly Loy Gilbert interviews her agent, Adriann Ranta, about typical critiques, beta readers, and more:

Kelly Loy Gilbert: When I come out of my writing cave with a new draft, one thing that’s always a big transition for me is that process of opening it up to other voices. I tend not to show anyone what I’m working on as I’m doing it, so for months the only voice I’ve been hearing has been my own. But, of course, if you’re going take a story out into the world, whether that’s sharing it with a reader or an agent or editor, whether that’s self-publishing or traditional publishing, suddenly there will be a whole chorus of voices surrounding your previously shy story.

Adriann, what have you learned about the revision process from the agenting side?

Adriann Ranta: I’ve learned that everyone works differently. Some authors want to be left alone, some want feedback on first pages, some reach roadblocks and need feedback to see the way forward…

I try to be as accessible as I can, but I’ve also learned that I’m not a critique partner or work-shopper, and to push authors to take drafts as far as they possibly can before sending it my way. Agents have valuable insight into what’s saleable and what’s working/not working, and I love pushing authors toward their best work, but I’ve learned to urge authors to explore critique partners, writing groups, and beta readers as well.

KLG: It’s lovely getting feedback from others who are eager to help take your story further, but I’ve found it’s equally important to know how to handle that feedback. If a suggestion doesn’t sit right with me, if it feels like it misses the heart of the story, I step back and try to dissect the suggestion.

Maybe the feedback is, your main character isn’t likable! She would be so much more likable if she were funnier! And maybe ‘funny’ doesn’t fit with my concept of her, so then it’s up to me to dive back into her story and piece together places where she might not be coming across the way I meant her to. So I’ve learned to try to find the core of others’ feedback and then sit with it before incorporating it back into the story in a way that still feels true to the characters.

Adriann, is there recurring feedback you find yourself frequently giving to authors?

AR: Not having the main character be the agent of change is a critique I’ve given to a number of manuscripts, and it’s a slippery problem. If it’s not the main character’s choice to instigate the events that put the book in motion, then why is he/she the main character? Even if the MC is injected into a scenario he/she didn’t choose (say, Katniss fighting in the Hunger Games), it should be his/her actions afterward which drive the book (she decides to fight and win).

I read a submission for a middle grade project in the slush pile that had a really interesting concept—Southern Gothic, historical, hoodoo—but the 12-year-old main character was being told what to do by all the adults in the story. The main character wasn’t really the agent of change; all the clues, advice, hints, etc. that the plot hinged on were coming from his parents.

I sent the author a rejection letter with this critique and he agreed, and decided to revise. He takes seven months to revise; I point this out not because I was twiddling my thumbs waiting for the revision, but because when he got back in touch with his revision, I truly appreciated the time he’d put into reworking the manuscript to make it better. It freaks me out when an author turns a revision around in a week; thoughtful revisions take time. I loved his revisions, and just sold Hoodoo at auction to Clarion!

KLG: As an agent, you’ve taken writers though this whole process over and over. What have you learned about the process of taking a manuscript from a draft to a finished, published book?

AR: Sometimes, getting published is a very long, frustrating road and the author/agent relationship can take a serious beating—rejections, close calls, missed deadlines, disappointing sales—and I think it’s important to remember that we’re in it together, fighting on the same side.

Not than an agent is infallible or that authors are always a piece of cake, but it’s a satisfying feeling to look back at years of highs and lows and still feel like you’re in the trenches with the right person. I know the marriage analogy is a tired one, but it’s so great to look back and still feel excited to look forward.

KLG: I think this has been one of the most important things for me: who you’re sharing your process with. Developing relationships with readers (be they beta readers, critique partners, agents, editors) who you trust to reflect your story back to you and tell you the truth and believe in you.

And, above all, of course, make sure your characters are compelling to you, because they’re your only real companions all those hours and hours and hours… it’s just you and the story.

Kelly Loy Gilbert is the author of City On A Hill (Disney-Hyperion, Spring 2015). She tweets at @KellyLoyGilbert.

Adriann Ranta is a senior agent and vice president at Wolf Literary  While an avid reader of most subjects and themes, Adriann is most interested in gritty, realistic, true-to-life stories with conflicts based in the real world. She likes edgy, dark, quirky voices, unique settings, and everyman stories told with a new spin. She lives in Brooklyn, has many tattoos, and is an evangelical fan of the X-Files.