Difficult Decisions

Check it out! I got my critique back from my first fantasy novel! Let's have a look.

Ah ha... hmm... oh... oooooooh... eeeeeeeeh... oh my...

Just teasing. For my first ever critique from a professional editor, it was wonderfully handled and very insightful. Thank you, Stacy!

The most difficult piece of advice over all was that I should remove the first chapter and have the story start at chapter 2. I felt a little unsure at first, so I asked my fan base, and they were like, NO WAY! WE LOVE THE FIRST CHAPTER! LEAVE IT ALONE! Well, I liked it too, but having looked at it, something feels amiss. I may be shooting myself in the foot, or delaying the inevitable, whichever comes first, but I will give chapter 1 another shot before throwing it out. So far I have redone chapters 1 and 2, removing a good 500 words from each in the process. My Alpha reader really enjoyed the changes and the "baby" cliffhanger. So far so good.

What did I change/remove? Stuff I should have known, but I did not know until now, meaning...

-The journal entry Prologue and Epilogue are history.
-The character waking up in the beginning of chapter 1.
-Describing what the character looks like in a mirror.
-Reduction of Maid/Butler dialogue (You know, Bob).
-Character inconsistencies, and the like.
-Clarifying blocking issues (where rooms are placed).

A good writer should be open to advice, but should not follow 100% of it. 99.9% is sufficient.