Satisfying the Judge
I entered my fifth novel, “Island of Regrets” [https://createspace.com/3952232] in the Writers Digest 21st Annual Self-Published Book Awards. The judge commented as follows:
“You have fantastic characters that really drew me into the book. Natalie is an appealing mix of strength and innocence, with a hidden pain that we spend much of the book discovering. Alex is an excellent match for her... Frank is a psychopath with just enough appeal to make him truly a threat on many levels... There is a lot going on ... and much of it works to keep me turning the pages”.
The judge was, however, “never sure [what] the focus [of the story] is... A lot of good material ... great work here ... but nothing strong enough to carry the whole book.”
He advised that, as the author, I should have made it clearer what the main plot was and he said that the sub-plots should have taken more of a back seat.
I did not get that same advice from my professional manuscript assessor or editor or else the published book may have been a lot different.
It comes down to personal opinion, I suppose, but I’d be interested in advice from other authors on the issue of how to make a main plot in a book stand out and sub-plots subservient.
“You have fantastic characters that really drew me into the book. Natalie is an appealing mix of strength and innocence, with a hidden pain that we spend much of the book discovering. Alex is an excellent match for her... Frank is a psychopath with just enough appeal to make him truly a threat on many levels... There is a lot going on ... and much of it works to keep me turning the pages”.
The judge was, however, “never sure [what] the focus [of the story] is... A lot of good material ... great work here ... but nothing strong enough to carry the whole book.”
He advised that, as the author, I should have made it clearer what the main plot was and he said that the sub-plots should have taken more of a back seat.
I did not get that same advice from my professional manuscript assessor or editor or else the published book may have been a lot different.
It comes down to personal opinion, I suppose, but I’d be interested in advice from other authors on the issue of how to make a main plot in a book stand out and sub-plots subservient.
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