Publishing journey update! Expectedly, I received another rejection from a talented literary agent. Some authors go through years of rejections – so I am holding my head high through this one. That said, the agent was kind enough to give me a custom response. Here’s what she said.
“Thank you so much for giving me the chance to consider GODMARKED. It's clear that you've devoted a lot of hard work to this project, and your passion comes through in your writing. However, while there is a lot to be commended, the word count would make this a challenging project to take on at this time.”
While this query rejection is hard to swallow – it’s a reminder of what specific macro-issues these literary agents are faced with. A lengthy book is not only expensive to edit, but it also represents a large page count. Every additional page for printing is an additional cost to potential publishers. As a new author I don’t have a large market ready to purchase said book. Publishers would be taking a gamble on a long, expensive book. Literary agents would be shooting blanks.
Considering this feedback I am going to change my tactics a bit. I have cut my story down about as much as I am comfortable with – but I recognize that I need to go from 175,000 words to 100,000 – 120,000. I’ve decided that I need to split my book in two.
Godmarked, as it currently exists, will be divided into two separate books. “Godmarked” as the first title, and “Awakening” as the second. Godmarked will be a fully completed, 110,000 word submittable work of art. Awakening will emerge as my next project. A second book that is now largely made up of bits and pieces. I have some ideas there.
The only issue? I have a feeling that any potential readers are going to be rather frustrated by the HEAVY cliffhangers at the conclusion of book one. But there are worse issues to have. Awakening will now sit at 70,000 words – and needs additional plot development in Act 1 to set the stage for the climatic carnage that occurs in the current material.
But I can do this. I WILL do this. That’s the update for now!
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