Torn

I know what my story concept is and always has been for the beginning of "After the Dream."  A woman dreams of and acquires her perfect happily ever after only to find it's not what she bargained for.  Yet I keep running into people, most recently my paid local editor, who recommend I incorporate my character's past later and don't start with these events at all.  Granted, my editor just said this was a bit long for a prolog.  Now, I'm torn between staying true to my vision of the story, the original concept on which I based the entire story, and heeding the gatekeepers to publication.

It is frustrating that in the conceptualization stage, an author is led to believe the sky is the limit, that anything you can imagine can be written and shared.  Yet when it comes right down to it, those who don't bow to the conventions of the craft can't get a story out there to be read.  This makes self-publication tempting; however, how does one get one's name out there to begin with if it isn't attached to a known publisher?  I see all these people around me getting published.  It feels so effortless.  I'm sure all of this will ring a bell to many beginning authors.  I'm just looking forward to being one of the wise, published authors who can guide others through this dizzying gauntlet.