Periagoge
Scenario

How to navigate conflicting advice about your novel's commercial versus artistic integrity

My literary agent wants me to write a more commercial version of my novel and my best friend, who's also a writer, keeps telling me to protect the weird experimental parts because that's what makes it mine. I'm caught between their voices in my head every time I sit down to revise, and I can't tell anymore what I actually think the book needs.

More people experience this than they realize.

What we've seen

External voices about a novel's potential can drown out the writer's own sense of what the work requires.

Your guide for this
Mura
Mura works with people navigating exactly this kind of situation.
Ideas that help explain it
Worth thinking about

“Where Are You with The novel — form and possibility?”

Peri

Peri can explain why this happens, help you decide if this is the right situation for you, and point toward the right journey or coach.

If this sounds familiar, the Library can help you find the bigger picture.