So after so many close but not quite comments, I got to thinking if you have everything but the right story, how do you figure out which one is the right story?
Donald Maass put out a book called "Writing the Breakout Novel." I thumbed through it and got the sense that there is a different character or ambiance to a debut novel then other works down the line in a published writer's career. Even Mort Castle, a horror icon, noted how the first book he wrote ended up actually being the seventh one published because the agents/editors decided he had the chops, but not the right story for a breakout novel.
With that in mind, I am still editing/tweaking a novel that is heavy on exploring themes, but focusing my efforts on completing a sci-fi adventure for the (hopefully) debut piece. It's just one more thing to show you how many additional factors beyond talent and tenacity affect a writer's career.
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