Last week, I murdered 10,129 of my own words. Why? Because I didn't listen to feedback from 10 years ago. In 2014, my novel was passed over by a publisher after they requested it but I never got any feedback why. So I asked a friend I trusted to read it and give me some ideas.
She said:"You should consider making this YA instead."
Another author I knew told me something similar:
“Might be interesting if your protagonist was a teen instead.” I ignored both of them.
No, my book was better than YA. It’s LITERARY FICTION, dammit. Then in 2018, I got feedback again:"This might work really well as YA." Ignored again.
In 2023, I thought to myself: "Should I make this YA? Nah..." Ignored myself.
In 2024, I won a query contest for the novel and started submitting it again. Email from an agent said: "Let us know if you end up reworking this as YA." Well, dammit. Fine.
So last week, I cut out 10,000 words. Added new subplots to raise the stakes. Changed my MC's age to 15 (which made a ton more sense for him anyway...) And basically stopped ignoring the feedback.
The results?
Feels like a totally different (and better) book. This week, I'll redo the query letter and start over, including letting the agency from the email know that I’ve totally reworked it as YA.
Moral of the story? Don't take 10 years to act on feedback.
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Great advice, Jonathan Jordan! I didn't get feedback on my early scripts, and I know they could've been way better if I did. I bought feedback for one of my early scripts though, and I got a piece of advice that changed my screenwriting career. The advice was to have my protagonist make his own choices, not have other characters tell him what to do and where to go.
Congratulations on winning the query contest and changing your book! I hope you get requests!
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Thanks Maurice Vaughan ! Working on assembling a new agent list for YA now. Arduous…
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You're welcome, Jonathan Jordan. I've done that a few times or so. It can be a real headache. I have some ideas and scripts that might be better as YA. Thanks for the idea.
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Best of luck with the changes! Hindsight's always 20/20, it can definitely be tough to admit folk were right (I'm STILL struggling with it with some projects...), but it's great that you took the time to consider it and that it seems to be working out for you :) Keep us posted!
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This resonated with me SO much. I'm writing a memoir and I've had countless writers tell me to spin off a YA book. I finally opened a file and started it and it's going well, actually. I'm convinced the creative process is not in "real" time.
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This is such a great (and painfully relatable) lesson—thank you for sharing it so honestly, Jonathan Jordan! It’s wild how sometimes we hear the same feedback over and over, but it takes just the right moment (or agent email) for it to finally click. But honestly, the fact that you did take action, even after all this time, is what really matters.
It’s also a testament to how much our perspective as writers can evolve. What felt like a non-negotiable in 2014 might serve the story in 2024, and being able to recognize that—and make bold changes—is a huge win.
I love that the revision process has made the book feel totally different and better to you. That’s an exciting sign! Wishing you all the best as you send out your reworked query—sounds like you’re on the right path!
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MY problem was being PIRATED by SCAMAZON!
My BOOKS are GREAT!
While a multibillion dollar global gigacorporation couldn't gather for me $400 in 15 years, one poor little crippled lady in a nation which had reasons to hate my book earned me over $2500 on ONE SINGLE COPY before she died of a rare genetic disease.
So yeah...
Its NOT so much about being GOOD, its about being SEEN, and then PAID for your work.
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Awesome and truly sound advice, Jonathan Jordan. One thing I'll add is something that I've heard some of the most prolific writers I've worked with say... if you get a note that you don't directly agree with, as WHY you are getting that note. Sometimes the WHY is more important that the suggestion of what to do and gives you, as the author, the ability to see the note in a more dimmensional way that can either make better sense or allow you to arrive at the changes needed on your own. Notes are a part of the process and sometimes digging behind a note into the WHY is really helpful.
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Sam Sokolow spot on. I gave similar advice to someone else recently asking how to take feedback. Even if you don't agree, you may uncover a new angle that makes your script/book that much better than before. All in the Why.
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I've found that when I receive difficult feedback that I suspect may be right, I need to sulk for about three weeks, while the back of my mind ponders HOW I could possibly change my brilliant plot/characters to go along with the suggestions. But, then I emerge with fresh ideas and start revising. I've only had to do this a few times, one of which was my first book, Wild Montana Sky. But what a difference! I owe the success of that book and the subsequent series to making those tough revisions.
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Great moral of the story.