To novella or not to novella
Imagine this: you have three and a quarter MSs to your name. The
first two are complete and utter garbage; but the third, well, the
third has received some mighty praise from those editors that
actually take the time to read your stuff - the ones you pay.
What's more, the third MS received a bit of attention from some
indie publishers - but didn't progress thru to publication.
Your fourth MS - really just a quarter of the way through - has a strong central theme (your favourite theme - similar ground to your third MS) and story but seems to weaken as you shoe-horn in sub-plots.
You still think of that third MS; it was lithe, funny, had a message to tell. If only those pesky publishers agreed.
Ah, you think, solution. Maybe you should parse the third MS and dump the sub-plots from the fourth, and leave yourself with two novellas on the same theme. Question, you ponder, does that take their chances of being published from the lofty height of "almost certainly not" to the definitive "absolutely no chance" ?
?
Your fourth MS - really just a quarter of the way through - has a strong central theme (your favourite theme - similar ground to your third MS) and story but seems to weaken as you shoe-horn in sub-plots.
You still think of that third MS; it was lithe, funny, had a message to tell. If only those pesky publishers agreed.
Ah, you think, solution. Maybe you should parse the third MS and dump the sub-plots from the fourth, and leave yourself with two novellas on the same theme. Question, you ponder, does that take their chances of being published from the lofty height of "almost certainly not" to the definitive "absolutely no chance" ?
?
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2 Comments
Oh, and NB, you might do better to pose these questions on the discussion boards - it's easier to generate comments & discussions there than on the blog.
Thanks for the feedback. Defo food for thought.
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