I had over 65,000 words done before I realized the manuscript just wouldn't fly in its present form. With very much regret, I cut the last 196 pages, leaving three main characters central to the plot, with also a few side characters.
The 196 pages cut will not be wasted. I plan to include them in a bonus book or anthology with a similar theme featuring the characters that don't fit in the first book.
What about you? Have you ever had to cut almost two-thirds of your manuscript for it to make sense? Or, maybe you wish an author you've read had cut lots of pages from his or her book before publishing. (g)
Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
Killer Career on Kindle for 99 cents.
4 comments:
Talk about timing - I had to decide this weekend that my almost finish WIP was not going to make it. The story as originally finished was 150,000 word and editing it down to an acceptable size was turning into a hatchet job the whole thing couldn't survive. Now I have to go back, separate out the story lines that have to go (possibily into another book) and rebuild from there. Oh, the pain of it all.
It's so painful, I know. I wrote a fantasy in the tradition of J. R. R. Tolkein once. In other words three books to finish the story. Try condensing that into one book. I have a headache now. LOL
Nancy
N. R. Williams, fantasy author
Brutal! I've never seen a book or manu that couldn't stand ten percent cut. I tend to err on the terse side. They say that the part an author "loves" the most often should be turfed.
Lou Allin
Right now as first reader I am watching a nonfiction book turn into what will be at least two books, maybe three.
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