Why it’s Lucky I Don’t Have Either of One These Things in Real Life…
So I’ve been working on an outline lately… not an outline for a new story, but an outlined plan of how I’m gonna turn my baby from a file on my laptop to a real, live self-published book. My problem with planning has always been that I do either too much or too little… I alternate between envisioning a magical staircase that leads from my laptop to the top of bestsellers lists, movie deals, a level of fame where I’ll be forced to move to Hawaii in order to live a normal life (according to my friend that was born and raised there, Hawaiian culture treats celebrities like normal people) and an attitude of ‘oh, I’m just gonna make my book the best it can be and whatever happens, happens.’
My outline isn’t very detailed yet… but it’s a start. I need to:
-Finish some revisions (86 a minor character, switch some scenes around, change a character’s name, etc.)
-Bribe my cousin and sister (a very busy college senior and a very busy high school senior) to read the manuscript and give me their thoughts… then revise some more.
-Find some other beta readers (hopefully the campaign will help!) who are not blood relations and therefore do not feel obligated to say ‘oh it’s fantastic!’ Revise, revise, revise…
-Come up with some $ (I’ve heard it costs about a thousand?) and send my baby off to a freelance editor/ book doctor, and of course, revise.
-While awaiting the doctor’s prescription, come up with some more cash to get it copy-edited
-Then… well I haven’t done much research on the next steps yet, but I know one of them involves a book cover, something I’m almost as excited about as my self-imposed Hawaiian exile.
Okay, so my revisions are going pretty well… or they were. Until today when I happened to glance down at the lower left corner of my word document and realized, oh dear, my baby is almost 122,000 words. If I knew how to make a terrified face out of a colon or equals sign and some other symbol key, this would be where I’d insert it.
This would be only a slight inconvenience calling for more revision if it weren’t for the fact that I honestly don’t think there’s a whole lot I can cut. I mean, I’m sure I can tighten up some places, but I don’t think I can get it into 80-90,000 range without it turning into a completely different story.
So then I thought… no, I couldn’t just turn my first born into twins, make my one book into two books… could I?
I couldn’t, because my book isn’t fantasy or a thriller. It’s the story of a runaway who navigates a world of fast money and painful love while pursuing her acting dreams and carrying a family secret that can’t be faced until her eighteenth birthday. It’s a story driven by who my main character is. I can’t just snip out the drug-addicted roommate with dreams of home-ownership, the gangbanger’s little brother who teaches her to appreciate the past, or the college student-turned-actor who studies philosophy and world cultures, listens to her problems, but can’t stop hitting her. All these characters define her just as much as the one thing she can’t run away from (the same thing she must face as an eighteen-year-old at the end of the story, the reason I can’t just ‘age her up’ and put my book solidly in the adult section.)
I continue to ponder this dilemma, and I think, there has to be a reason why I can’t have a part I and part II. But I’m not exactly sure what that reason is. I can, however, think of some pretty good reasons why I could have it that way:
-There happens to be a convenient midpoint 184 pages into my 377 page word document where my main character is dealing with a devastating surprise, entering a new relationship, and feeling hopeful about her career… closing the book on one era of her life and beginning another, if you will.
-I’m hoping to self-publish, not putting all my prayers into finding an agent who will find me a publisher, therefore I don’t have to worry about people telling me ‘it’s not done this way, you can’t do it like this.’
-It seems reasonable that potential readers will be more willing to pick up a 60,000 word novel by a girl they’ve never heard of than a 122,000 one, and if they like the first book, the second one is waiting to answer the questions the first one raises.
-And, okay, this is only a minor detail, but two books= two covers I get to pick out… and yes that means two covers I have to pay for, in addition to two edits, to copy-edits, two of everything else… but come on, who wouldn’t want two covers?
Whether to saw my baby in half is quite a dilemma indeed, so where do I turn but the same place I go with all my burning questions (Who is Lana Del Rey? Why do Hindus view cows as sacred?) Google.
I type in ‘two part novel,’ ‘two volume novel,’ ‘one novel two parts’ and find nothing. I’ve read books that had sequels and series books (though not a ton, I must say) but I can’t think of a single example I’ve come across that was one non-thriller, non-fantasy story broken into two parts.
If anyone knows of any books like this, please let me know! Also, if anyone has advice as to why this is either a not-half-bad idea or a terrible idea that will simply never work, your thoughts are greatly appreciated.
You're revision plan looks pretty good. I like to use ladieswhocritique.com. Some people find crit partners there.
ReplyDeletePersonally I don't get the draw to self publishing. I don't know the business at all so I need professionals to guide my book in the right direction (marketing, audience, etc.)
As for splitting the book ... You really need to do what feels natural. If you think it works as two books then good, but if it's really meant to be one book then keep it that way. You wouldn't necessarily need to cut important characters or scenes out. It's 122k words right? but this is the first draft isn't it? If it's anything like most people's first drafts there's bound to be a lot of extra words and some repetition. Most people I know end up cutting 10-30k through revisions (unless they have to add something). And that's just cutting the unessecary words.
Here are a couple links to posts about editing and overwriting:
Characteristics of Overwriting, and Tightening Your (Manuscript’s) Belt: a Checklist for Eliminating Unnecessary Prose
I hope you find something useful.
Thank you, those links are great... now they got me all motivated and impatient to get home, which is always a good feeling.
DeleteI don't know anything about self publishing... I respect those that do--but I'm a traditional girl at heart. One of my very best writing friends knows quite a bit though. Check out his stuff: http://www.thelittleuniverse.com/links.html He specializes in ebooks and stuff. Good luck! :D
ReplyDeleteYour friend seems really cool Morgan... I'm really into that type of stuff so I'm glad you told me about him, gotta put his books on my TBR list.
DeleteI'm afraid I don't have much advice to offer in terms of the self publishing (it's not something I've really researched into) but in regards to your word count, your revision plan seems like a pretty solid one and a lot can get shaved off during revisions, so maybe it's something to consider once you've gone through your revision plan?
ReplyDeleteJanice Hardy's blog has quite a good section on novel editing (and also an entry on trimming words too!), I find her posts really useful so it might help a little :)
Thanks Patricia, I'm definkitely gonna check it out... and now following :)
DeleteI can't think why you can't do it. Like you said, it's your book. You can make with it what you want. AND, if you put out the sequel on a different date, the editing will cost less than you envisioned, because most editors charge at a per word rate. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou should do whatever feels right to you, but before you break out the chainsaw, try going through and eliminating unnecessary words, sentences, and paragraphs. You'd be surprised how fast that adds up and you may even find as you're re-reading that some of those characters and plot-points don't seem quite as essential. Your beta readers may have some suggestions for you too. The two book decision shouldn't probably be made until you are done editing the whole thing. Then you'll know what you're actually working with, word-count wise! Best of luck whatever you do!
ReplyDeleteI second the Janice Hardy recommendation. (Hello from the campaign). Love all things tattoo, especially more the merrier!
ReplyDeleteHi, fellow YA campaigner! I also write contemporary YA. Your novel sounds like something I would enjoy reading.
ReplyDeleteCallie Kingston
Just a fellow YA Campaigner passing through. Your dilemma sounds similar to what I had to do with my first published novel. It was 365 pages long and I was told by a Professor of Children's Literature that it was far too long. I tried the revision route and did manage to cut quite a bit, but not nearly enough, so I split it. Mind you, it is what you would probably consider in the fantasy realm (Time-travel/historical fiction) so it was probably easier to split that than it will be with your thriller. On the advice of the expert, I brought my character home at the end of the first book, but then had to think of a compelling reason to send her back to the past in the second book. As a result, the ending of the first book is a little abrupt and the beginning of the second book put my editor and me at odds for a long time, but we finally resolved the 'compelling reason' for her return. Without reading your story through, it's hard for me to give you advice on your novel, but if there is a point midway where you could satisfactorily conclude her story, that might be the way to go if you can't edit out enough of the trivial stuff. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI'm in your YA campaign. Just stopping by!
ReplyDeleteI have no opinion on the length, only that once you start hacking into your story, it becomes addictive . . .
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say that I'd have to be "forced" to move to Hawaii. :)
ReplyDeleteJust saying hello from the campaign!
I'd second the other commenters who said the word count might get cut down during the revision process. I find that there's often a lot of deadwood in drafts that can significant reduce the overall length when eliminated. Just my two cents. :)
ReplyDeleteStopping by from the Campaign!
Stopping by from the campaign.
ReplyDeleteHi! Here from the campaign! My first draft was about 120,000 words, and I found as I revised that a lot could be taken off the beginning, because I wasn't starting at the right place. I ended up shaving off the first 30,000. Just a thought. I agree with the others, revising takes off more than you think.
ReplyDeleteGoals are so important! If you don't write them down, they are only dreams. Keep moving forward!
ReplyDeleteI'm following you now. I found you from the campaign list.
go indie publishing. It's nice to have control. Hello from the campaign! My sequel, Protected, is coming out at the end of March. I'd love it if you'd join me. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteNo real advice to give, but I so very much feel your pain on the planning stage. It always seems to be feast or famine. I would be happy if either planning method became productive.
ReplyDeleteFound you through the writers campaign and wanted to say hello. Also I enjoyed your blog and passed on a few awards to you. http://whostheminionhere.blogspot.com/2012/03/you-like-me-you-really-like-me.html
Hi from the campaign. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is hard because the traditional side of me says, "a 122K word contemporary?" and then a small scream exists my mouth. You're not going the traditional route, though, so it may not matter. But remember that while readers don't know squat about wordcount, they do know what they're used to. Not sure what that means. lol
Also, can you combine a couple of those characters? Same lessons learned but maybe in less space. How is the pacing? Does it move fast enough? Contemporaries aren't quick, but while I adore Sarah Dessen, I spend a great many pages skimming and/or skipping because as a reader I want action mixed with my introspection. And I don't want a lot or any backstory.
As for self-publishing. I'm going that route this summer. I know little about it, but a pubbed author who has several books pubbed traditionally and self, asked me to collaborate on a mystery. She's doing the legwork and I'm watching in amazement, trying to soak up as much as possible. There can be some really good money in self-publishing. Not Hawaii good, but quit your day job good. Of course, that's more down the line after one has a backlist.
Okay, I'm almost done. Promise. :) Depending on what your deadline is for publication, and whether or not you're willing to tweak it, I'd suggest getting some crit partners. Experienced ones, not straight out of the gate variety. Oops, sorry, didn't mean to refer to people as horses. But if you can work on revising with CPs then it'll cut down your cost. Yes, you'll still need an editor but CPs could help with spotting pacing and wordcount, etc.
And technically, it wouldn't cost you more to have an editor edit two books, if you sawed them, rather than one, 'cause it usually goes my wordcount anyway.
Good luck in whatever road you take! :)
Hi Jo,
ReplyDeleteDropping by from your campaign group to award you a Versatile Blogger Award for your cool blog. :) You can check it out on my blog under the 'awards' tab.
Best of luck and momentum getting your story published ;)
Have fun!