The Chopping Board

The sad reality for most unknown or lesser known writers is that there is generally a bigger limitation on manuscript size than for the Stephen Kings and George R. R. Martins of the world. This differs from genre to genre, but for fantasy it tends to be around the 120,000 word mark. It’s difficult to equate this to book size pages, as every publisher lays things out a little differently, but that’s around 480 pages if we expect an average of 250 words per page, not counting blank and title pages. This is half of what some authors get published, but the problem for the publishing industry is that more pages equals higher printing costs and, like it or loath it, a publisher is not going to take that risk on a relatively unknown.

When I began investigating the various avenues for publishing my novel, The Call of Agon, I found that pretty much everyone I talked to thought it was too long for a first novel. It was 145,000 words, 25,000 more than the limit set by a number of publishers. Several agents I contacted also suggested cutting things down, with one saying 100,000 would be an even better target. One publisher suggested cutting the book in two, which unfortunately would not work given how the book is structured (and the fact that it is already part of a series).

So, the last month was spent axing 21,000 words from my manuscript (I had already cut 4,000 before that), bringing it down to 120,000 words. This was no easy task, as it forced me to evaluate every single word. I had to constantly ask: “Do I need this?” and “Can I reword this to be clearer and more concise?” My experience as a journalist helped me considerably in this regard, as chopping extraneous words is part and parcel of the job. Ultimately it was a rewarding experience, as I now have a much tighter manuscript that reads smoother than before.

I found single words here and there that could be axed without impacting things, while larger scenes also faced the guillotine when I found that they were good for world-building, but weren’t essential for the story. I also added words where things needed to be beefed up or better explained, but I was cautious not to detract from my primary duty as headman. It did mean being cold and cruel, and I dare say some of my characters have probably taken a disliking to me as I’ve forced them to zip their mouths every now and then, but they’ll thank me when they see the light of day instead of just my stuffy office space.

Some of the things I’ve axed, including an entire chapter, will make it into other works. Some will go into the sequels, others into short stories, and some of it will just be mashed down and recycled. Words never go to waste and a writer can never have too many of them. I expect that some of them will show up on this blog or on other parts of my website, so check back soon and you might find a headless sentence with a decapitated word rolling across your screen.