tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345890055658252124.post3000965242997661468..comments2023-11-06T13:07:23.645-05:00Comments on The Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment: Second Pretty Bad TooMatthew MacNishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345890055658252124.post-56340278179699029522010-03-09T06:13:53.493-05:002010-03-09T06:13:53.493-05:00You're welcome Steph, thanks for stopping by, ...You're welcome Steph, thanks for stopping by, and thanks for the well wishes also!Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345890055658252124.post-69785715815153559232010-03-08T01:57:01.876-05:002010-03-08T01:57:01.876-05:00Hi Matthew, thanks for the follow :)
Good luck wi...Hi Matthew, thanks for the follow :)<br /><br />Good luck with your querying process! Yes, unfortunately, as I understand it, it's very difficult to be a debut author with a work over 120,000 words published, even in fantasy. Nonetheless, best of luck with it!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17034419617457525778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345890055658252124.post-79822741506919786942010-03-06T20:31:28.569-05:002010-03-06T20:31:28.569-05:00Dang Colleen, I just realized who you are. Thank ...Dang Colleen, I just realized who you are. Thank you so much for visiting! I really appreciate your advice and I will do my best to take it to heart. I will cut as much as is humanly possible from my novel, I knew it was too long but I didn't realize HOW MUCH too long.<br /><br />I do have to ask though, how concrete are these word count rules? These are some examples of debut novels I consider SOMEWHAT similar to my own:<br /><br />Eragon: 151,000 words. I realize this is unique because he self published first and it is fantasy not YA, but my daughter and I both loved it and as far as I recall it sold really well among teenagers.<br /><br />Twilight: 115,000 words. Okay, I admit this book is nothing like mine. I tried to read it and got bored. Admittedly it was not written for me. I am a 32 yo man. My daughter stayed up all night to finish it. The movie wasn't bad. Still a long debut YA though.<br /><br />The Amulet of Samarkand (Bartimaeus Trilogy part 1): 115,500 words. God I love this trilogy. If you haven't heard of Johnathan Stroud please look him up. Anyway I find this book different but similar to mine. It's much funnier. It is designed for a slightly younger reader. Still a little long for debut YA though...<br /><br />Inkheart: 133,500 words. Apparently this book gets criticized for being too long. If that's true I'm in trouble. But I loved this book.<br /><br />Anyway Colleen I'm not trying to say you're wrong. You obviously know what you're talking about. I just hope that people love to read as much as I do and eventually it works out for me...<br /><br />Thanks again for visiting and I'll get back to work on Monday.Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345890055658252124.post-81381611704382605552010-03-06T18:36:35.082-05:002010-03-06T18:36:35.082-05:00Thanks for reading and commenting everyone and you...Thanks for reading and commenting everyone and you are all right. I've already cut 125,000 words and I am continuing to edit more. I've been thinking about trying to add some kind of conclusion in the middle and splitting it into two books. <br /><br />Suze, I have submitted to the Shark, but I'm still waiting to see if she'll bite. I did get selected for a query review over at Ask Daphne! and it helped a lot, so the query part has actually gotten much better, I just have to cut the book.<br /><br />Clindsay, I don't know about 90k. Can't figure a way that would be possible. I may have to start calling it something other than YA. But then again maybe after cuts and if I can cut it in half ... 90 becomes more of a possibility. I really don't get the word count thing though. Even 120k sounds awfully short to me. I mean the books I read and even the YA books my 14 yo daughter reads are longer than that. Then again this is a debut so ...<br /><br />Emily, thanks for saying so! I hope people like the blog. It is pretty tough to put myself out there so much, especially since some of these early queries are really bad, and embarrassing. But they did, or will, get better.<br /><br />Anyway, thanks again and please come back and feel free to follow.Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345890055658252124.post-39659721749308800612010-03-05T20:35:58.633-05:002010-03-05T20:35:58.633-05:00I second (or is that third?) the comment that your...I second (or is that third?) the comment that your manuscript is far too long. <br /><br />That said, I think this blog is a great idea. I too am suffering through the query process and really my only goal is either (1) a personalized and actually helpful rejection letter or (2) a partial!! If only...Emily Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09771345161030707976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345890055658252124.post-90225760468229511532010-03-05T18:04:06.800-05:002010-03-05T18:04:06.800-05:00The word count has to go. You need to get that dow...The word count has to go. You need to get that down to under 90k if you can or you'll continue to get form rejects.The Swivethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00685468276187421753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345890055658252124.post-76094241648326493752010-03-05T14:17:58.062-05:002010-03-05T14:17:58.062-05:00Hi Matthew.. welcome to the query-dome :) I have ...Hi Matthew.. welcome to the query-dome :) I have one initial sharp-intake-of-breath comment... is that word count correct? I'm not sure you would get any takers at that length no matter what the genre. Anyway, I hope you've sumbitted your most recent efforts to the Shark.. she's the Obi-wan of queries! Good Luck :)Suzehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06396823287745244542noreply@blogger.com