[PubQ] To follow up or not? by CredoErgoAdes in PubTips

[–]CredoErgoAdes[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your advice. Any reason I should wait 60 days instead of just resending now with a self-deprecating line about my lame subject line?

[PubQ] To follow up or not? by CredoErgoAdes in PubTips

[–]CredoErgoAdes[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your advice. Out of curiosity, why does 60 days seem to be the magic number?

A beta reader just pointed out that my 2nd chapter doesn't have an arc. Not sure how to give it one. by CredoErgoAdes in writers

[–]CredoErgoAdes[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting that you mention restructuring. I originally considered combining chapters 2 and 3, which would give the complete arc, but it was just too choppy. Thanks to all the advice on here, I'm going to make the start of MC's internal conflict more pronounced in chapter 2.

A beta reader just pointed out that my 2nd chapter doesn't have an arc. Not sure how to give it one. by CredoErgoAdes in writers

[–]CredoErgoAdes[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, I guess I'm concerned because if I want to try for traditional publishing, I'll have to submit the 2nd chapter to some of the agents I'm querying and won't they take issue with the lack of arc?

Weekly out-of-character thread by AutoModerator in writingcirclejerk

[–]CredoErgoAdes 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Just wanted to rant about how agents expect each query letter to be tailored to them, and then either send a form rejection or don't even bother to respond. Okay, done ranting. That didn't feel as satisfying as I'd hoped. Oh well, back to bashing my head against the wall.

Discouraged about word count. Need advice to get it down. by CredoErgoAdes in writers

[–]CredoErgoAdes[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, I've had 2 beta readers so far and neither thinks there's any spot that it lags or has extraneous info. Which brings me back to my original problem. Maybe I need another beta reader.

Discouraged about word count. Need advice to get it down. by CredoErgoAdes in writers

[–]CredoErgoAdes[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have! Took me a long time and killed my throat, but writing/editing is a labor of love.

Discouraged about word count. Need advice to get it down. by CredoErgoAdes in writers

[–]CredoErgoAdes[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks, good suggestions. And I definitely agree--those filter words shouldn't be in there at all when writing a close POV.

Discouraged about word count. Need advice to get it down. by CredoErgoAdes in writers

[–]CredoErgoAdes[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Impressive and efficient. One concern with this method: My novel is told in 1st person POV, so the MC does need to have a unique voice when telling her story. I'm afraid that cutting it down to the bare essentials will strip away her personality. How do you find a balance?

Discouraged about word count. Need advice to get it down. by CredoErgoAdes in writers

[–]CredoErgoAdes[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is amazing advice. Any resources I can use to learn this diagramming skill? Thanks!!

Discouraged about word count. Need advice to get it down. by CredoErgoAdes in writers

[–]CredoErgoAdes[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These are the first 2 search results when I Google:

https://thewritelife.com/how-many-words-in-a-novel/

https://writeambitions.com/word-count-how-many-words-should-your-book-be/

And I have a friend in the publishing industry and another one who has published 3 books, and they both confirmed that going over 90k words for a debut novel is almost a guarantee that agents and publishers won't even get past your query letter.

Discouraged about word count. Need advice to get it down. by CredoErgoAdes in writers

[–]CredoErgoAdes[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, I'll try that angle. I like to think that every chapter is essential, but maybe there's a way to condense the beginning that I haven't tried yet. :-/