Good morning, and congratulations on the book launch! Waiting for mine to arrive in the mail.
I'm not yet to the point in this manuscript where I can start querying, but I did want to ask you about length. My novel is epic gothic fantasy and geared towards adults, with a pair of co-protagonists as our primary POVs throughout. As I draft, I'm increasingly aware that it is probably going to end up north of 150,000 words. I draft long, so it wouldn't surprise me if it's at 200,000 or 220,000 when I finish and start revisions. That said, I think it will end up at 175,000 once I'm finished with all of my revisions and tightening up.
Considering the genre, is that too long for an agent to want to touch? Or should my focus be on trying to make sure each of those words earns its weight? My goal is for the story to be as long (or short) as necessary, to maintain pacing and character development without unintentional slowdowns or bloat.
Thanks for the kind words! Hope your copy arrives soon and that you enjoy it!
It will likely be too long, so you might consider splitting it or being ruthless in your revisions to ensure every word earns its weight, especially since many agents have a filter for queries above a certain length.
I appreciate the follow-up! Especially the part about the filter. I will keep that in mind as I wrap up this draft and begin revisions. Revision and editing is my favorite part of the process, and I can be very ruthless. At the very least, if the story does end up being above the industry standard, it will not be due to redundant beats, info dumps, and any other superfluous text.
To my estimation, anyway. A developmental editor's mileage may vary!
While I am not ready to query, I am concerned about my word count. I expect it to be less than the lower limit for a YA novel. I do not want to "pad" the book for the sake of word count, and I want it to be an easy, quick, fast-paced read for young males. Is it a definite negative to not reach the minimum?
Reading this made me realize my manuscript may be more Adult than YA?
Glad to hear it helped you think a little more deeply!
Good morning, and congratulations on the book launch! Waiting for mine to arrive in the mail.
I'm not yet to the point in this manuscript where I can start querying, but I did want to ask you about length. My novel is epic gothic fantasy and geared towards adults, with a pair of co-protagonists as our primary POVs throughout. As I draft, I'm increasingly aware that it is probably going to end up north of 150,000 words. I draft long, so it wouldn't surprise me if it's at 200,000 or 220,000 when I finish and start revisions. That said, I think it will end up at 175,000 once I'm finished with all of my revisions and tightening up.
Considering the genre, is that too long for an agent to want to touch? Or should my focus be on trying to make sure each of those words earns its weight? My goal is for the story to be as long (or short) as necessary, to maintain pacing and character development without unintentional slowdowns or bloat.
Thank you!
Thanks for the kind words! Hope your copy arrives soon and that you enjoy it!
It will likely be too long, so you might consider splitting it or being ruthless in your revisions to ensure every word earns its weight, especially since many agents have a filter for queries above a certain length.
I appreciate the follow-up! Especially the part about the filter. I will keep that in mind as I wrap up this draft and begin revisions. Revision and editing is my favorite part of the process, and I can be very ruthless. At the very least, if the story does end up being above the industry standard, it will not be due to redundant beats, info dumps, and any other superfluous text.
To my estimation, anyway. A developmental editor's mileage may vary!
Congrats on the book!
While I am not ready to query, I am concerned about my word count. I expect it to be less than the lower limit for a YA novel. I do not want to "pad" the book for the sake of word count, and I want it to be an easy, quick, fast-paced read for young males. Is it a definite negative to not reach the minimum?