As I near the half-way point in the editing of my sequel to ‘A Construct of Angels’, I realise the MS is going to fall well short of the 164k achieved by CoA.
Whilst this is not a bad thing in itself, the current 50k of VoA (A Vengeance of Angels) is looking a bit lost. The additional material I added in the early part of the story didn’t improve the word count as much as I’d hoped.
I’ve since debated several ways to correct this problem, including weaving in a new sub-plot to boost the word count or continuing the story straight into FoA (A Fury of Angels – book three) territory and living with a duology rather than a trilogy.
However, neither of these appeal because
A) An additional sub-plot can only detract from the main storyline, plus:
B) VoA ends with a definite cliffhanger. This would not work if the story was to continue immediately.
A third option, that of ‘padding out’ the exisiting MS doesn’t appeal either. It would dilute the story… plus I’d feel as if I was cheating the reader.
My other sneaky plan, that of hoping for an inspirational bolt of lightning from my Muse as I typed this (waits for several heartbeats with ears cocked), also fell flat. 😦
I know many writers would say ‘don’t obsess over word count,’ but it remains the gauge of a novel, as does page count. Every Kindle book I’ve seen includes a page count… which is odd, because that will change with every reading device, depending on the reader’s preferences for text size.
Has anybody else encountered this problem with their sequel? If so, how did you solve it?
I’m open to suggestions.
Otherwise, out comes the bicycle pump and I’m just gonna push up the pressure until I can make that sucker bigger!
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Jul 12, 2014 @ 10:07:06
I agree with what Michelle said up there. ^^
🙂
Then again, we all stress out over the things we stress out over…
Anyway, I hope you come to a resolution with it!
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Jul 14, 2014 @ 14:32:14
Thanks. I’m not so much stressing over it as chasing my tail in a determined sort of manner. 🙂
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Jul 16, 2014 @ 07:43:05
Haha, I feel ya there.
Nice way to put it. 😉
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Jul 09, 2014 @ 15:20:18
Mine’s the opposite. I aim for about 100,000 words, usually end up with 120k. Paring isn’t all that difficult because I tend toward wordy (not good in thrillers).
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Jul 10, 2014 @ 11:01:19
My debut novel was the same – I ended up paring 20k+ from it because it was wordy and just too darn long! It still ended up as 164k though. No way to condense it without losing the sense of the story.
Now, of course, I have the opposite problem.
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Jul 09, 2014 @ 12:19:12
I appear to be becoming rather opinionated these days!
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Jul 09, 2014 @ 12:24:39
With good reason, my dear chap!
Besides, it does tend to keep one’s soap-box free of dust.
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Jul 09, 2014 @ 12:18:50
Out you come my dear chap.
It’s a fair point, but I’d suggest that those taking such a stance are, by and large, cheapskates and fools with no appreciation of decent literature.
That doesn’t, of course, get round the fact that the more of these fools you can get to part with their $0.99, the more of a living you make. But I’d go quality over quantity, attempt to build a following and plenty of buzz, then cease to rely on someone looking for a cheap deal who probably hasn’t got the attention span to read to the end anyway.
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Jul 09, 2014 @ 12:00:35
I’m intrigued by your comment that page count/word count are “the gauge of a novel.” Before disagreeing intensely with you, I’d like to understand better what you mean. Then I’ll disagree intensely 🙂 Instinctively, I agree with Michelle – a book should be the length it needs to be. Word count and page count are irrelevant if the content is good enough. You only have to look at the enormous pantheon of novellas from the past few hundred years to see that in action.
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Jul 09, 2014 @ 12:13:56
*hides behind the swivelly chair* I was referring to the way books are listed on Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo et al. They are invariably listed with page counts or word counts and rightly or wrongly (you may disagree intensely at this point!) can lead a buyer to judge the value of our desperately-sweated-over triumphs.
*Adopts a Monty Python Gumby stance*
‘$1.99 for a forty-page novella? I’m not paying that! Not when I can get a 500 page book for only 99c!!’
Just sayin’
(Is it safe to come out now?)
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Jul 08, 2014 @ 15:58:56
I’ve always felt a book should be the length it’s supposed to be. So if you think 50k is enough to tell the story the way you want it told, then don’t try to inflate it! Remember, you’re self publishing, not traditional publishing, so you don’t have to aim for a particular word count in order to attract a publisher. While it’s perhaps a bit odd that the first book is 3 times the length of the second book … I mean, whatever, it’s all about the story, right? And maybe the second arc of your story just doesn’t take as long to tell as the first one. That’s okay!
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Jul 08, 2014 @ 16:23:14
You’re so right. And it feels so wrong to try and force the story into something it doesn’t want to be. Perhaps I am still thinking ‘old school’ with regards to book size. Food for thought indeed. Thanks for your ideas.
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