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| ME: Huh? Are you saying that my book is too big? |
You know what they say about "the light at the end of the tunnel"? Well, this is how my tunnel looks:
It's there - almost within reach, but a bit blurry yet. I'm still undecided about cutting my book down into two...(I've already started the sequel, so then it would be a trilogy)...or if I should try to get the whole monster published as it is... Decisions, decisions.
The book is a tad long...(213,932 at last word count)
I am currently editing the second to the last chapter (page 646 out of 679) and hope to be finished soon. Then there will be the final read-through.
There may be cutting/pasting/deleting involved...
I sure hope THIS doesn't happen!
In the meantime, I've added another excerpt. Check out the "Excerpt Page" above. Comments? Feel free to add them. Ideas about how long or short a book should be? Any advice or input will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for reading, and
have a great week!
Hey Sharon!
ReplyDeleteI would never presume to say how much is "too much" but from what I've read online, most agents and publishers would shy away from a book that large with a first time author. I'm not sure if you're familiar with Jessica Faust's blog at Bookends, but she is a literary agent and offers a lot of great advice when it comes to the publishing industry. You should check it out. :)
http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/
Hi... your book should be as long as you want it to be.
ReplyDeleteIs there enough for trilogy?
Thanks, Jamie. I will check out Jessica's blog.
ReplyDeleteAnony: I am not finished with the sequel, but believe I have enough ideas for a trilogy. Thanks for commenting!
My biggest and most favorite MS was 321,764 words prior to being accepted by a publisher, so you've got some wiggle room. It did, however, fall into 3 parts and will come out as a trilogy. I do believe a page count of 400 to 500 pages is plenty big enough for a single book.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Anna. I'll keep you posted on what I decide to do...
ReplyDeleteA trilogy would be quite cool though!
:)
I'm in the same boat! I've been splitting up my book into two. What a pain in the tushie! My title and cover are going on the second book, and the first book has to have a new ending. Lots of other issues have popped up in the unraveling process. Even still, I'm happy with my choice. Once I made the commitment to slice my book apart, I felt like a weight had come off of me. I think I would have felt the same way if I'd been 100% sure about keeping my story as it was, but living with the indecision was exhausting. I hate the feeling of not knowing what to do, or worse, having your gut tell you something, but NOT reacting to it out of fear. Blah! Listen to your gut, regardless of what you decide.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment Julie. I know what you mean about the indecision...ack!
ReplyDeleteI think once I do a final read-through I'll know what to do.. :)
Hmm, that's a difficult decision...tomes usually aren't as welcomed as 300 pagers. I say do what's best for the story; where is a good spot to break it up and leave the reader wanting more? Where would it actually help the story and give a first-in-a-trilogy the needed intensity for the second?
ReplyDeleteI hope you can figure it out as you go. I'd love to take a look at it myself! :)
Best of luck!
Thanks for commenting Veronika...
ReplyDeleteThat is what I'm doing now, looking for a good spot to stop, and making sure there is enough for each book. Not an easy task, I must say.