Angel Confers with Her Publisher

[Angelica (“Angel”) Deverell, age fifteen, has submitted a manuscript for a novel to the publishing house of Gilbright & Brace, where it has been accepted, though neither Gilbright nor Brace knows quite what to make of it. In this scene, we find Gilbright conferring with his new author and suggesting, as tactfully as he can, that she rewrite the thing.]

      “I daresay I know more about the reading public than you, and you will take my word that I have an idea as to what will pass among the weakest of them. We publish for them, alas, ‘the bread-and-milk brigade’ my partner calls them. They decide. They bring the storms about our ears. For them we veil what is stark and tone down what is colourful and discard a lot that — for ourselves — we would rather keep. So will you take away your manuscript for a while and see what you can do for us?”
      “No,” said Angel.