I just got off the phone with my agent, and now I have a conundrum. While publishers universally praised my research, saying it was rich and vibrant, they said the human story didn't shine as much as the history. The novel lacks narrative push, and is overlong and episodic. A few, however, are willing to look at the manuscript again if I rework it.
Which brings me to the conundrum: how, exactly, should I rework it? Tudor England is supposed to be the hot topic in historical fiction right now, which I can't do anything about. How can I go about making my story the page-turner I know it can be? This will require some thought, and perhaps I'll have to actually read some historical fiction, which I'm willing to do if they're not thinly-veiled romance novels.
I admit that I'm an inexperienced writer. I'm kind of amazed that I actually got this far, but I also don't want to bail on the story just because I've come up against an obstacle. Writing is a process, after all, and I want readers to see Isabelle for the fascinating person I think she is. Now if I can figure out how to do that...I'll keep ya'll posted.
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