Lessons learned: writing really long fiction

Post by akeck » Wed, Mar 13, 2019, 5:48 PM UTC

jonathanstrange wrote: post #3

I'm writing German science fiction novels as a hobby that are around 700-800 norm pages each and learned the hard way that at least in the German publishing market there are virtually no program places for science fiction, very few agencies accept manuscripts in that genre at all, and publishers rarely accept novels larger than 400 norm pages from a first-time writer. I'm currently sitting on 8 manuscripts - two of t…

Post by gwbas1c » Wed, Mar 13, 2019, 5:57 PM UTC

NeedMoreTea wrote: post #52

dalbasal wrote: post #43

I'm slightly surprised that non-sequential series (eg Pratchett's discworld) are not more common. The 3rd book in a sequential series can't become the most read one, but it can in a nonsequential one. It also lessens pressure to make all the books thematically build up to a single literary work with a climactic payoff to all earlier plots. When things do add up, and chekhov's proverbial gun finally goes off in a nons…

Same, as one badly constructed book (or season of a TV series) can ruin the whole lot if they're all sequential. It's become so much of a trope that it's become a pet hate. I actively avoid buying any that is "first of..." now, no matter how famous you are. The few times I break this rule, I generally regret it. Most trilogies are just a book, heavily padded. So I simply won't buy unless all are written, and well rev…

Post by ssully » Wed, Mar 13, 2019, 6:15 PM UTC

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #34

restalis wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's a market strategy: write off-shots of your long novels as teasers. Make them tasty (as their primary reason is to give the readers a taste for the main piece), make them as close in style as possible to the main work, although you may focus on different aspects in each of them, and lastly - make them convergent (towards something that "happens" to be missing). Let's say shorter stories around some independent…

I'm not a writer, but I don't get why first-time writers - as in, first time they're trying to get their works published, not that they've only now tried to write a book - try to do too much as their first project. I think they should really force themselves to start with short stories first; focus on finishing a story. That avoids a sunk cost, avoids people beating themselves up for what they believe is their life's…

Post by ttepasse » Wed, Mar 13, 2019, 8:55 PM UTC

jonathanstrange wrote: post #3

I'm writing German science fiction novels as a hobby that are around 700-800 norm pages each and learned the hard way that at least in the German publishing market there are virtually no program places for science fiction, very few agencies accept manuscripts in that genre at all, and publishers rarely accept novels larger than 400 norm pages from a first-time writer. I'm currently sitting on 8 manuscripts - two of t…

Post by jonathanstrange » Thu, Mar 14, 2019, 12:08 PM UTC

sharedfrog wrote: post #38

jonathanstrange wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why are you typesetting them if it’s a hobby? Why not just write? Long answer: Good question. I typeset the print version of the one book I've self-published in LaTeX, because I love books and didn't want to contribute to the abysmal typesetting of KDP and bulk self-publishers. Converting to LaTeX is not that hard, the problem is that unless you write everything in Markdown or Orgmode in the first place, you'll you…

In my experience, converting to LaTex is hard, but writing in LaTex from the start is trivial. That's how I write my novels, and I don't need more than the occasional \emph{}, \ldots and \chapter{}, and remembering to use `` when opening dialogue. Could you do that from Papyrus Autor? The printed book you have self-published but without KDP or bulk self-publishers, can I ask how you went about it? Did you take your L…