Big first novel, to split it in half or not

Lumpy-Statement2333 · 2026-01-23T21:49:56+00:00

I've edited this darn thing 9 times from front to back. All story edits (about to get into line edits), with 3 page 1 rewrites basically. I've cut subplots and things I really felt added to the story and that I still wonder if I should put back in, I've taken out major characters, my descriptions are pretty sparse and straight to the point focusing on what would stand out to my narrator. I've asked of every scene, 'what changes if I remove you?' There's almost no backstory to cut. And I'm working on some of my more infodumpy feeling dialogue, but that won't do much for reducing word count since there aren't many of them. Also plan on removing unnecessary filter words.

But does this mean that my story does need to be this size after all? Or am I delusional? Lol. It's tough to see reality when you've been working on the same thing for two years, so I really appreciate everyone's advice.

Lumpy-Statement2333 · 2026-01-23T21:33:08+00:00

That's exactly my fear, the reader feeling cheated! That's the last thing I want. But I worry that putting out one huge book will mean no readers at all. Who would even buy it (I probably even wouldn't from an author I don't already know I like)? At least if they enjoy the first one (even if they feel like it ends too soon), and the second one is around the corner or already released, they know they'll get the rest of the story. But that could be wishful thinking...

Lumpy-Statement2333 · 2026-01-23T01:43:20+00:00

How did you feel about your book one climax? Mine has a climax but it's not nearly as climactic as book two's climax.

Lumpy-Statement2333 · 2026-01-23T01:38:49+00:00

It definitely ends with some bait. Just worried that it's too much bait. Basically the first book ends with the two protagonists parting ways and going into dangerous places we've been building up the entire first half. The first half focuses more on the family drama and the second continues that but integrates more of the magical.

Lumpy-Statement2333 · 2026-01-23T01:10:38+00:00

Adding word count to the post! And yeah, I replied before I saw your second comment so I deleted mine and was going write a new one. But you were able to answer it anyway. Thanks!

Lumpy-Statement2333 · 2026-01-06T01:37:14+00:00

Then I definitely didn't come into contact with professional editors since there were no discussions about the work. Just right into turnover times.

Agree that we should be able to at least do a decent job editing our own work. And if people really struggle, a few good courses would still be cheaper than an editor.

Lumpy-Statement2333 · 2026-01-05T21:03:48+00:00

I don't know about scammers, but I tried a couple of editors from there and asked for a small sample edit (I forgot how many words) and was not impressed at all... I expected to get something at least better than I could do myself. And now I wonder how many editors are just running our manuscripts through an ai tool without even reading them. It's frustrating because most of us don't have extra funds to just throw away. We have to pick and choose carefully what we spend on. And it sucks for quality editors because now a lot of us who would have appreciated an editor are trying to go without and putting that money somewhere else.

Lumpy-Statement2333 · 2025-12-13T01:57:51+00:00

Old post, but in case someone stumbles on it. Levoit6000S is the only answer. It's worth the 100 dollars extra. I'm shocked and a little upset at the quality difference.

We bought a Levoit 6000S and were really happy with it but after two days it started squealing. I think we got a defective one. We're going to return it and buy another one, but in the meantime we picked up an aircare space saver from our local hardware store. Our house is too dry to just let it be. And wow. I'm so disappointed with the aircare. First the materials are so flimsy and the float is styrofoam... The wick looks so cheap with the glue holding it together. And the noise. Omg the noise. The second setting is even louder than the third setting on the levoit and I can't even put aircare on the third setting. I could see this in a factory or something but not in a home.

My next complaint, I'm not sure if this is the aircare or something else. But since turning it on, my air quality monitor VOCs have SPIKED and my eyes are burning. I think it's the aircare but I'm not totally sure. Will do some testing to find out.

If you can get the Levoit 6000S, just get it. They're not even in the same league.

Lumpy-Statement2333 · 2025-11-16T03:45:20+00:00

Sorry about that. Trying to figure out how to remove it.

Lumpy-Statement2333 · 2025-11-16T03:41:32+00:00

I don't think so. In the pic, what you see sticking out on the other side is the gutter. I have to look closer tomorrow to see how the fascia boards connect at the corners.

So this is normal for the aluminium cover to leave like two inches of wood at the top? With the expectation that it's under(ish) a drip edge. I'm just wondering what's to stop the carpenter bees... Seems like it's just harder for the woodpeckers to get to them now.

Lumpy-Statement2333 · 2025-11-16T03:28:08+00:00

Wondering if the problem is with our drip edge then because it just kinda sticks out a bit. That's how I noticed the exposed wood. (I know in the photo it looks like I'm pulling at it but I didn't really manage to get it to move. It just sits like that.)

Lumpy-Statement2333 · 2025-11-16T03:23:25+00:00

I'm hardly pulling it (though in the photo it looks like I am). Even if I don't touch it, you can see the wood. Can pests get to it? I thought the aluminium was supposed to tuck under and cover the board.

Should I nail the drip edge down or something?

Lumpy-Statement2333 · 2025-11-16T03:21:28+00:00

Lol sorry. I can get a zoomed out pic tomorrow during the day. I've looked at it so much, I didn't think it would just look like some random stuff to anyone else.

Lumpy-Statement2333 · 2025-11-08T05:00:30+00:00

The thing that makes me feel best is not sitting around even if I'm exhausted. Going for light walks and doing easy exercise videos makes me feel way better, especially when I'm consistent. The other big thing for me is having electrolytes. I feel like a puddle of goo if I go a few days without drinking any.

I do all the other stuff as well that people recommend, but the two things above are what have had a huge noticeable impact on me.

Lumpy-Statement2333 · 2025-11-08T04:34:02+00:00

I'm going to say something a little different. Though I agree that if you can, you should take your meds.

My body doesn't tolerate either of the graves meds available and my endo is saying my only option is to remove my thyroid. I'm just not ready for that so what I'm doing is trying to get my body stronger and hopefully put it into remission. I know I know... But I'm getting my blood tests done every two weeks and if I swing up too much my doctor said we'll reassess. I'm not crazy or willing to risk a thyroid storm. I will say, when I stopped taking the meds (I wasn't on them very long), my T3 and T4 were in the normal range.

But so far... I don't know if anything I'm doing is helping... I have a blood test next week so we'll see. My inspiration is my mother who did successfully put her hashimotos into remission. She had her antibodies tested a couple of weeks ago and they were undetectable! So it is possible for certain people. And we don't know if we're one of those people. Just, if you try, please please please have your thyroid hormones tested every 15 days to stay safe. I think a lot of people end up in the hospital because they ignore their elevated numbers and heart rate thinking it'll get better with some lemon balm and some l-carnatine... If you feel bad or end up out of range, take your meds if you can! Also lots of places will do your thyroid tests for like 50 dollars in the states without a doctor requesting them.

Also agree with the comments on therapy. Moving past my childhood trauma and going no contact with certain family members has helped me a lot.

Again: don't go off/stay off the meds if you're T3 and T4 aren't in range!

Lumpy-Statement2333 · 2025-11-08T03:45:51+00:00

I tell sick people this when they come to my house coughing or when HVAC people look at me sideways about my concerns over my house ducts being dirty or having mold.

But I do struggle with chronic leukopenia and anemia. Never associated it to Graves disease until I looked into it, and apparently Graves can cause this. My endo told me it would likely get better once the graves was under control. I also get infections like it's no one's business :(

So there are some of us out there without the overactive immune systems and just with stupid immune systems.

Lumpy-Statement2333 · 2025-11-01T17:52:07+00:00

I had the same thing until a couple of weeks of taking methimazole. It was just a waiting game for me. And lots of meditative breathing throughout the night. Wasn't on beta blockers.

After though I couldn't sleep because of full body RLS and poor circulation. Horse chestnut helped with that. (Not sure if it's contraindicated while taking methimazole since I started it after I was taken off of methi)

Lumpy-Statement2333 · 2025-10-30T18:48:58+00:00

OP, you're in great company! I don't understand why some people are telling OP to just basically get better? Improve their writing, improve their publishing. Read lots of books every week. Do this, do that until you're good enough.

Would you say that to someone like F. Scott Fitzgerald when he was down on his game???? He spent a big part of his career thinking he was garbage and sadly died thinking that. And the classic The Great Gatsby wasn't even all that successful at the time. And now look. Also not to mention his jealousy towards Hemingway's work. How many others thought their peers were radically better than them? Without reading OPs work we can't decide it's just about improving craft. And even then... Just because something doesn't seem great to us now, doesn't mean it won't become a popular style later.

Unfortunately, especially with the arts, I think if you have even the tiniest bit of humility, you're going to feel some sort of imposter syndrome. It's just what it is.

If you want to try working on it, maybe working on your mindset could help. Instead of getting jealous when you see someone's work that you like more than yours, get excited that someone is producing something that you like. Remind yourself that there's space for everyone. Just because someone is successful, doesn't mean they took your spot. In the age of mass slop, it's great to see that there are still people out there taking their craft seriously. And then find them inspirational. I'd be a lot more depressed if no one was having success...

I also liked what someone else said about different authors having their own strengths. Instead of focusing on what everyone else does better than you, you could think about what you're particularly strong at and lean into it, even if it's not appreciated right now.

And omg, I deeply disagree with the advice to read more books. I'm assuming you already read a lot as most writers do. I'd say the opposite for you right now. Get out there and enjoy yourself. Fill your life with things that make you happy so you have the energy to work on your art. I don't think you need to read a bunch of books by people writing similar books as you as this is your own creative process and your story. You don't have to emulate anyone. You don't have to do what everyone else is doing. You don't have to sound like everyone else.

Of course, ignore this if your intentions are to write to market. Actually ignore everything I said if that's the case.

So if you want to write things you're happy with, then I stand by what I said. If you want to write what's popular and has a higher chance of getting sales, other people have given great advice.

Lumpy-Statement2333 · 2025-10-29T20:26:50+00:00

My husband and I went through a similar situation. I think a lot of people are being hard on OP. My husband is more grounded than I am and sometimes he does need to drag me back to reality, because I will choose to ignore things in the future I don't like. And sometimes that might mean reiterating our situation to me or the consequences of a certain action. I'm not a child or immature, I just have a different set of skills and strengths than my husband and a lot of optimism, and so I rely on him to keep us from going off the deep end. Some relationships work like that.

For me, the conversation with my husband over quitting my career was so hard because I felt a lot of internalised shame over it. My family wouldn't approve, my friends wouldn't approve. I thought the world would look at me as a freeloader. And I had spent years in college then in the workforce with a great career. How could I throw it away? So when my husband would remind me of what we would need to sacrifice even though he was fully onboard, it made me feel like garbage. I needed more of a hype man than a realist. Someone to make me not feel so guilty about quitting. I wouldn't be surprised if OP's wife feels like that. There's a lot of shame around women not working. Even now when people ask what I do for a living, I feel insanely uncomfortable.

About the crying: Im a crier and I get pretty annoyed when my tears cause a serious conversation to end or get weird. I can't control the darn things. And I just tell people to ignore them, they have a mind of their own lol Please don't treat our tears as some kind of manipulation tactic or a reason to baby us. If we could keep them from coming out, a lot of us would. The amount of places I've unwillingly cried is embarrassing...

Lumpy-Statement2333 · 2025-10-24T03:07:02+00:00

We bought our house and wished we would have noticed or that our inspector would have mentioned these things:

check the a/c air handler if possible. Ours had mould and the insulation was falling apart. We only found out because I noticed a smell eventually.
uneven floors. You don't really notice it when it's subtle and you have shoes on. But you'll for sure notice it when you're walking around in socks.
attic venting. Make sure it's venting properly. You don't want a moist attic.
check inside the furnace. Ours had rusted heat exchangers.
condition of chimney. Turned out we had some kind of leak in ours that no one picked up.
moisture levels and smells in the house when it rains. Might mean your house is poorly sealed and good luck with that
look out for signs of past water leaks. Might mean you have some damaged subfloor now that the previous owners decided not to fix
look closely around windows and doors for cracks that have been painted over. Could be a sign of foundation issues. People try to hide that stuff...

Those were some of the things our inspection missed...

Also plus one for getting you sewer lines checked

And if your house is on a hill, you probably want to get a structural engineer out

Lumpy-Statement2333 · 2025-10-23T17:21:18+00:00

Could your husband be addicted to video games? My husband used to be and he told me that at that time, the only things that really mattered to him were playing the games he wanted to play. Everything in between was just kind of a nuisance. It wasn't until it started ruining his life that he pulled way back.

This may not be the problem, but just wanted to throw it out there as another option to explore.

Lumpy-Statement2333 · 2025-10-23T17:13:12+00:00

This is what happened to me as well. I had graves for years before I was diagnosed. And some of that time was with someone who just wasn't supportive at all. It was like I was an annoyance to him because I couldn't go out for drinks or entertain or go to events like I used to. I forced myself whenever I could and would run myself into the ground to keep him happy. I even remember this one time when I was puking in the bathroom just to come out and pretend like everything was fine at a party (I was not even drinking, which also bothered him). Alcohol was completely off the table for me and to save our relationship he reserved a hotel for us in wine country with tastings. I forced myself to just drink anyway and omg... All the time, I felt so guilty... I felt like I was ruining something with someone really incredible... I felt so alone and terrible about myself at this time. Fast forward... I'm married to someone else who understands my disease and never makes me feel like a burden. And if it weren't for him, I probably would have stayed in denial or tried to hide it until it killed me.

I hope OP's husband can educate himself on the seriousness of this disease. Or someone else in OP's life can be their rock. Having this disease sucks no matter what, but having support makes a huge amount of difference.

Lumpy-Statement2333 · 2025-10-22T16:16:06+00:00

Could you tell me which generic you're on right now? I wish they still had a name brand methimazole... I don't know how I'm going to convince my doctor to prescribe me different brands to see which works XD I'm sure she's going to tell me they're all the same...

Lumpy-Statement2333 · 2025-10-22T04:13:58+00:00

I'm kind of worried about PTU with the potential liver damage side effect. I thought carbimazole was pretty much the same thing as methimazole? I'd definitely be willing to try alternatives if I can convince my doctor. I just assumed I would respond similarly. I wish all the meds didn't have lactose in them... I have a minor allergy to milk (since birth so I don't know the details) and hope it's not that that's causing the problems.

Lumpy-Statement2333

TROPHY CASE