Kind of down

Has the feedback contained any hints as to why it's not marketable (anything you could fix)? Have you tried querying/submitting to publishers?

Wandering Sensei, I don't understand. If the feedback you've received so far says that this book is well written and a good story why wouldn't it be marketable? Keep your chin up. You'll have a better chance of hitting the mark if you keep sending it out.

Joanne

Wandering Sensei said:

I spent part of today preparing queries for yet more agents for my fantasy novels. And I've still at least half a dozen more I could try. But truthfully I don't have a lot of hope. The feedback I've gotten back so far says that this book (although well written and a good story) just isn't all that marketable. So my querying at this point is more out of habit than hope of a good result.

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At least you're getting feedback, which is more than I can say.

If it's a good story, perhaps you can add a spin to it? Change the names and the places.

Put it on a different planet. Bring it into the future. Change from Dragons to Flygones, a genetically mutated creature, and give them a slightly different character than dragons.

Wandering Sensei said:

Yes, actually, and that's the frustrating part. (Oh, heck. It's all frustrating.) I've been told by more than one agent that I have writing talent, that I've written a good story. That's encouraging. That's good to know. But I'm also told that this book isn't marketable because the plot and characters aren't "original and ambitious enough" in the words of one agent. And there's really nothing I can do about that.

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I don't know, I think there's always something that can be done, especially if the writing isn't a problem. Take this with a grain of salt, since I haven't read your book and I'm not an expert by any means, but it sounds like you've written an interesting story, but it's not all that different from many of the fantasy novels out there, in terms of the characters or the plot. So you have to ask yourself, how can I make this different? Perhaps spice up a few of the characters - give them motivation that's different from that normally found. Or add a few subplots that put a new spin on what's currently out there. There must be something you can do without tossing it out and starting over, but you have to be willing to "let go" of your baby and view it with a critical eye.

About all I can do at this point is keep trying agents, then publishers, and in the meantime try to finish another novel.

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Don't give up on this book until you've exhausted all agents and publishers, but do listen to what they're saying, especially if you're getting the same feedback from multiple agents. I read something by one fantasy author--she said it was the thoughtful comments of a few agents that led her to revise her manuscript, and that led to its eventual sale.

Maybe you just need to find the right market? If you move eventually to smaller publishers you will find 100's more presses, many of whom love to work with new writers and help them develop their craft.

I don't know if your book lends itself to this possibility, but have you thought about trying to sell/submit sections of it as part of a serial of stories or chapters? I was working on a nonfiction book a couple of years ago and was able to convince a magazine to let me write four articles based on the book (my query to the mag suggested eight, so I thought four was awesome.)

Anyway, I've read in a few places that if you can break down what you've written into discreet sections/stories/chapters, or even stand alone tales, and then try to get those published, and have the tagline say, excerpt from forthcoming book, "whatever the name of the book is," that kind of publication clip/credit can help convince an agent that there's a market for your work and that your work has been found "worthy" for lack of a better word, by another editor.

Whatever you do, if you believe it, really, don't give up. Maybe move on to other things that you can pursue simultaneously, but don't give up.

Sensei, how long have you been on the query go round?