So, yesterday on The Writing Spectacle, I talk a bit about what I'm currently doing. I've pulled a forgotten manuscript out of the dank corners of my harddrive, shaken the dust off, and am reading it to get back into the swing of the story. I'm still not ready to say which one, but I'd like to talk about a couple things regarding it.
I'm still not sure if this is one book or several. It's already at 78K words and it's only 2/3rds of the way through the story. Plus, I have ideas that need to be inserted throughout what I've already read through to make the story fuller and richer. (I had an awesome idea last night as I was trying to sleep that I got up and wrote down. Woohoo!) That'll swell the story up to upgodly pages for a single title.
I'm not super afraid of putting a big book out there. Lord knows I have a few titles over 100K words out there already. I just want to do what's right for this story.
There are definite places where the story could be broken into three to make a trilogy. Without making it too cliffhangery. I hate stories that leave too much hanging from one book to the next.
The genre could handle a single title of epic proportions. It could also handle a trilogy.
Decisions decisions.
Any way I slice it, I'm still working toward having the whole story done before I decide. It'll either be a behemoth or it'll release one after the other as a trilogy. Which brings me around to another point...
Will the market bear paying for three separate books or would it be better to lay out a single book? Personally, I like big books. It's hard to hold them these days, but I manage, and if they're ebooks, even better. I'd rather read one big book than three little books, especially when I have to pay for them. But that's me, and I know I'm not the typical reader.
So what say you?
Is there the possibility of a duology? I've noted that those are getting more traction sometimes than trilogies. 60K-70K each with a slight cliffhanger in the middle--WITH warning! And a quick release of the 2nd book. You cut down on costs by making it two instead of three, though still a bigger investment than just one. At the same time, you can charge a bit less for two.
ReplyDeleteGHOSTS, at 90K is a big book for me. I tend to write tighter and shorter and I felt back about pricing it at $4.99, but my time and effort and that story and it's length is worth at least that! And probably more but I'm not a big name author who can charge $7.99 or more for an ebook. Heck, I saw one the other day where the mass market was cheaper than the ebook. That one went on my NOPE! list. If I come across it again and it still interests me, I'll wait for a library copy.
Anyway, not sure my rambling helps or not. I've learned, though, to write the book that wants to be written. And when you hit the end, you'll have a better idea of what that book wants to be--1 big story, 2 large stories, or 3 tales that tie together for a satisfying arc.
I love long books. I love trilogies. I especially love long series where I can come back to the characters again and again.
ReplyDeleteObviously, I'm no help for you to make a decision.