I new this day was coming. It was inevitable. And that day is here.
When I finished writing [i]Finders Keepers[/i], when I wrote, edited, re-edited, cut, trimmed and snipped, I said to myself, [i]Okay. This baby is tight and lean. I?ve trimmed all the fat. All meat[/i].
And yet it still came in at about 127,000 words. That?s not outrageous, but it?s on the longer side for a novel, and especially for a first novel. Not because it?s wrong, but because publishers are, on average, less lI new this day was coming. It was inevitable. And that day is here.
When I finished writing [i]Finders Keepers[/i], when I wrote, edited, re-edited, cut, trimmed and snipped, I said to myself, [i]Okay. This baby is tight and lean. I?ve trimmed all the fat. All meat[/i].
And yet it still came in at about 127,000 words. That?s not outrageous, but it?s on the longer side for a novel, and especially for a first novel. Not because it?s wrong, but because publishers are, on average, less likely to give more pages to a first-time novelist.
That said, a story needs to be as long as it needs to be, and so I weighed that against keeping it as short as possible. And when I was done, I felt the manuscript was at its proper length. And yet I always just assumed that either an agent, an editor or a publisher would say, [i]okay, we need to tweak this a bit, take a little off the edges.[/i]
Well, this where I?m at.
As I get closer to the publishing stage, I have to face the reality that 127,000 words really is on the longer side?not the wrong side, but longer side?and now it?s time to do something about that. So over the next few weeks I?m going to be taking a very close look at the manuscript, and will trim and tweak and prune every last word that just doesn?t need to be there.
Writers write. It?s what we do. Adding words is fun. Cutting words is not. But ultimately, cutting is needed. Having a lean, tight manuscript ultimately is what?s best for the story, and I will be as ruthless as I can muster. And while deep in my mind I know I need to do this, it won?t be easy.
And I?ll hate every minute of it.
Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2007/12/13 20:32
Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2008/01/04 05:44
