I’ve read a time or two that it suits us writers to make our work fit into a certain mould. That is, we should have an idea of where our novel might find a home once it’s complete. Too bad I’ve never followed this particular rule, which is one reason why I’ll have a hard time finding an agent/publisher. Not to mention the fact that I live on an island. If you have any encouraging success stories along this line, I’d like to hear ’em.
Have a look at the submission guidelines for various types of romance novels and you’ll notice the word count is somewhere between 80,000 – 90,000. A few publishers will stretch this to 100,000 words and even fewer will allow 120,000. Too bad I wasn’t paying attention to the smaller numbers when I wrote my romantic suspense novel.
I have an overactive imagination, therefore the plot twists are many. Naturally, the word count slipped over 100k. Too late, I realized I had a problem on my hands. No overworked editor/agent is going to be happy at the prospect of reading a novel that big, even if I do think it’s a clever story.
While it’s nigh on impossible to squeeze an irregular-shaped peg into an itty-bitty round hole, I’m going to have a crack at it. After I make my way through querying publishers who don’t mind the high word count, I’ll take on the daunting task that lies ahead.
I’ve rehearsed the pep talks I’ll need to start the job of paring down my baby. What am I going to be strong enough to chip away? Think I’ll get started from the logical place, slough off the parts I thought were ever so nifty and work my way forward.
More than anything else, I think I’ll need to stick post-it notes in places I won’t miss to remind me to cut out the ten dollar words and run with the five dollar ones. And did I mention abandoning circuitous routes and sticking with the main road?
Big sigh…
Next time I’ll work on the basis that it’s better to have space that can stand filling in. Shearing away at my darling is going to be a painful, but necessary process.
Onward I go.