Right–and Diana Gabaldon knew her book was massive, so she tinkered with the typeface and the line space to make it look shorter.
But her book was absolutely great, her agent loved it, and her publisher bought it anyway. I gather that the managing editor of the publishing company got a kind of bad surprise, though, when it went into type.
Don’t worry about the length. If somebody wants to buy it they will not hesitate to tell you to shorten it and you can worry about it then.
If you can finish it in five weeks, you can send out partials to agents now (look to Jeff Herman’s book which should tell you what each individual agent actually wants; some of them want to see the first three chapters, some want the first 50 pages, etc.). Getting an agent is not usually a quick thing and you will have plenty of time to revise if that’s what you need to do.
There are even agents out there who will give some pretty intensive editorial advice (and if this happens, be fairly assured that the agent in question will want to represent your book).
(Note: The fastest responder I had, when I sent out queries, did not ask for the full ms. for a month. They want to see a partial first. It’s a slow process. Getting started now is a good idea.)
An agent and a publisher told me the same thing. Happily mine split very nicely.
Now I have a question - is it a good idea, for an sf series, for the query letter to mention that it is a series. The volumes stand alone, of course, but there are some unresolved issues that build. This is sf - there seem to be so many series these days, it should be a plus - I hope.
Can this be true? I had a look around my local W H Smith’s fantasy department yesterday and there are some 800-page monsters there that I’m confident have way more than 200 words to a page.
I personally have a 170k+ manuscript, though I’m afraid I let the bastards grind me down some while back, and I’m now seriously considering lulu.
If you’re an unknown, it can work against you if it looks like you solely expect to be writing the next mega-epic and won’t be good for anything else should the first book tank. Pitch it as good book in it’s own right “that could easily be turned into series” instead of “book one of a series” and it’ll sound like an asset, not a limitation.
A few months ago I read a book about the how-tos of publishing, and while it was filled with helpful information, it had nothing about formatting a manuscript. One of the things I was hoping to learn was how chapters are decided - does the author indicate in the manuscript where they believe they go, or does the publisher get that honor?
The author sets up chapters as they please. It’d be hard to write a cliffhanger chapter or indicate a point of view switch if they didn’t! The publisher can suggest edits, which may involve splitting or combining chapters, changing their order and so on, but it’s totally the author’s domain.
Most of those novels are from established authors.
Selling extremely long first novels happens. Ray Feist also did it. Susanna Clarke. Elizabeth Kostova.
But in publishing everything happens. Once or twice.
The question you have to ask yourself is whether you think you are so special as to overcome those odds. Yes, I know you do. Let me rephrase that. Whether you think you are so special that a complete stranger will want to risk his or her job to think so.
That’s one good reason why it pays to send the book to an agent before sending it directly to a publisher. They are professionals who can offer the objective advice that you can’t give yourself. Remember, they want to make money, so if they all agree there’s a problem, then there’s a problem.
Please don’t listen to zoopursecatcher. This person’s “advice” is so wrong I don’t know where to start.
Many, many agents are looking for first time authors. Not all; some are overwhelmed with their existing clients. Three agents are currently reading my full manuscript; a fourth is waiting in the wings because he wants an exclusive.
Very, very few **legitimate **agents charge fees. A whole lot of scammers do. Legit agents take a percent of your sales. What you’re looking for in an agent primarily is what sales he/she has made to legitimate, royalty-paying publishers.
As for what to send them, it depends on the agency’s requirements. Some want query only; others want query and sample chapters; still others want the previous and a synopsis of the story.
First I visit www.agentquery.com and do a search for agents who represent my genre (thriller). After looking up their website if they have one and making sure they’re a fit for me, then I check Preditors & Editors to see what Dave has to say. Then I check the Bewares & Background Checks subforum on the AW forums to see if there’s a thread about the agency. If there’s not (check the index before making a new thread), I might start one if I have any doubts. I’ll also email Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware if I have any questions about the agent, though I try to save that for any agents who have asked for additional information.
Remember: you aren’t just looking for an agent who isn’t a scammer; a non-scamming but clueless agent can actually be worse for your book.
Finally: **keep writing. **You may never sell your first book. I’m on number seven.
I’m under no illusions of being the next Great American Author. (Though if I am, I’ll credit you in my notes for the great advice on how to find an agent. I didn’t even know where to start.)
My wildest dream for the book is relatively simple: After a lengthy series of rejections, the book is published (featuring one of those nice off-center details of historic paintings on the cover that seems so popular these days) and I hear back from a handful of readers that they loved it for all of the reasons that I love a good historical fiction novel.
If it doesn’t ever get published, no matter-- I’ll always be proud of it.
Not really, Exapno. See, many, if not most scammers don’t even bother to send their clients’ work on to publishers. Those who do usually shotgun the work, without regard to the genres the publisher publishes. A lot of those agents are also known to the publishers, so their submissions are disregarded.
A clueless, but well-meaning agent might actually ruin your chances of having a publisher look at your work seriously, because when you do land another agent, you’ll have to explain that your book has already been rejected at publishers X, Y, and Z, all the places the agent would’ve considered perfect for your book.
Be careful that you don’t get obsessed with just one story. Even if you’re not looking for a writing career, agents will pay much more attention if you have multiple stories to distribute, whether you plan to publish them or merely use them as writing samples.
As to your novel’s length…yes, it will be a problem. However, I recommend you let the first draft “settle” for at least a month or two; put it aside, get the story out of your head, and read it again with fresh eyes. You’ll probably notice a lot of stuff that doesn’t need to be in the story. (And don’t feel bad about over-writing your first novel…every writer does this.) If you can get it down to the 400-500 page range, the draft will be far more saleable.
Never, ever pay for an agent. Just don’t do it.
WORDPLAY is an excellent source on how to break into the industry, though it’s more about screenplays than novels. Good luck.
The novel is the story of three generations of women, sort of a family saga, in a sense, all tied together because of one seemingly inoccuous object. I’ll be honest that the fleeting thought had occured to me-- I could write a series about their decendants living through different, interesting time periods.
I hope she doesn’t mind me mentioning it, but I’ve read one of her books,, and I highly recommend it. Even if you don’t have any interest in the silent film era (like myself) and had never even heard of this actress before, this book is great. It’s one of the few biographies I’ve ever voluntarily read, and it made me interested enough to want to read the other books she’s written.
