Those were kids who love books - the kids I was looking for - the kids those agents said would not want to read about 1) the 13th century; 2) a large institution like the Church; and 3) three heroes working together.
But they did. The kids, I mean. They did like it. We met at their school. I was nervous. There I was face-to-face with students whose ages ranged from 13 - 16, and all of them were enrolled in the Arts School's creative writing program. They showed up with notebooks filled with actual notes, with comments and suggestions (good suggestions), and with questions.
The boys said I had to rename my characters since I was using unfamiliar 13th century names and had somehow chosen too many that began with "W." Too hard to keep straight. Okay - I took notes - they were right, I needed to fix that.
They told me which characters they liked best but they loved having all three to choose from. They liked reading about how those three characters interacted - because dealing with peers is a big part of their day. Best of all, they wanted to know what would happen in the next book. They had things they hoped would happen, and things they hoped would be explained. I took more notes, but by the time were were done they had convinced me they truly liked the book.
Perhaps the best comment was one I received later in an email from a girl who couldn't make the meeting. She said she liked the book because it was "defiantly" not what she usually got to read. That became my favorite freudian and motto. "Okay, I thought, so much for the agents who say they know...I'm defiantly going to publish this thing anyway..."
But they did. The kids, I mean. They did like it. We met at their school. I was nervous. There I was face-to-face with students whose ages ranged from 13 - 16, and all of them were enrolled in the Arts School's creative writing program. They showed up with notebooks filled with actual notes, with comments and suggestions (good suggestions), and with questions.
The boys said I had to rename my characters since I was using unfamiliar 13th century names and had somehow chosen too many that began with "W." Too hard to keep straight. Okay - I took notes - they were right, I needed to fix that.
They told me which characters they liked best but they loved having all three to choose from. They liked reading about how those three characters interacted - because dealing with peers is a big part of their day. Best of all, they wanted to know what would happen in the next book. They had things they hoped would happen, and things they hoped would be explained. I took more notes, but by the time were were done they had convinced me they truly liked the book.
Perhaps the best comment was one I received later in an email from a girl who couldn't make the meeting. She said she liked the book because it was "defiantly" not what she usually got to read. That became my favorite freudian and motto. "Okay, I thought, so much for the agents who say they know...I'm defiantly going to publish this thing anyway..."