Should You Compromise?
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News that my publisher had begun editing my second book, Because of Biz, sparked excitement. As I spread the word, some comments I heard revealed that a second book somehow made me seem more credible. Like I was finally considered a real author and that felt good!
The funny thing is that there wasn’t supposed to be a sequel. Biz’s Journey Home was supposed to be one book. My heart was set on it, but publishers prefer novels to be at or under 100,000 words and mine was 155,000. They didn’t come out and say it, but I got the feeling that if I was Stephen King, I could have given them 500,000 words and they would have published it anyway because of his history of strong book sales. I, on the other hand, posed a risk because I was an unknown commodity with no proven sales record. Would prospective readers be willing to pay the additional cost of a thicker book, if worried that they might not like the book or the author? When choosing between books, sometimes just an additional dollar in cost can be what sways someone away.
Some compromises aren’t worth it
To make the book more palatable, I had to cut it, but how was I supposed to cut one-third of the book without cutting the heart out of the story and its characters? One publisher said I had to get it down to at least 120,000 words and they were even puzzled about how to do it because the book caught their attention at the very beginning and didn’t let go until the end. Every part of the story was there for a reason. Lending detail. Affording more heart. More depth. Making the characters richer. More three-dimensional. I wasn’t willing to do that.
The only way to cut the book was to end it two-thirds of the way through and that idea came from my writing coach, Kathie Giorgio. She reminded me that the very first version of the book, when it was much shorter and told from only one perspective, ended two-thirds of the way through the final product. “That was a natural ending. I thought it was positive, but you didn’t think it was positive enough, so you wanted to keep going. Just figure out how to cut it there and use the rest for a sequel,” Kathie said. “Readers will still get the whole story, but it’ll be in two parts.” It made sense but I wrestled with her advice because I wanted readers to get the whole story all at once, but in the end, I decided to make that compromise.
Find the compromise that works for you
I didn’t know it then, but making that decision was the best thing I could have done. Using the remainder of the book for a sequel allowed me to embellish existing characters, introduce new ones, build on existing storylines, and add more. Now, I think the two books together are much better than the original work. It was a win-win situation for me. I kept all the characters, all the scenes, and all the chapters—a trade I was willing to make to keep the whole story intact.
Are you facing a compromise? Should you make one? Well, everything is a trade-off. With a full understanding of the goal of your work, make a list of the pros and cons and ask yourself what changes you can live with. Would the changes enhance or detract from your goal? If your work is writing, remember that although publishers hold the key to the advancement of your work, it is still your work, and you have to be comfortable with what is being asked of you. If you are lucky enough to have a publisher explain why your work was rejected, give it credence but be cognizant of the fact that you are reacting to the opinion of one publishing house. If you don’t think the advice is right for you, keep looking for the right home for your work. It took two years for me to find mine.
Until next time,
Jean AKA The Strategic Chicken - Making life’s journey one strategic step at a time
