After Rejection

So... is it back to editing? I got that rejection letter and I was a little bummed, but I'm still pressing forward. I talked with some members of my writers' group and, yeah, it's probably the word count. 

I knew going in (and you've seen a hundred posts from me on it) that my word count was high. A debut novel of any genre can't be too high. It's about publishers wanting to risk the cost of all those extra pages. I have virtually no fanbase, no built in readers for a publisher to exploit, so the cost of those extra pages just isn't worth their investment. Agents know that, so they won't waste their time. 

Furthermore, and this is the part that stings the most, it stinks of amateur. It's not like I didn't edit this or run it through betas. But with such a high word count, they're going to assume I haven't done anything.

It stings because I've run this through betas, I've edited it over six times now, and it's still not going to be enough. I've done the things I know they're going to suggest I do. I just have no other choice. The word count is going to disqualify me right out the gate.

So it's time to start marking scenes. I need significant cuts to the manuscript before agents will take it serious. I'm going to finish off this round of queries because, hey, maybe someone will like it, but I'm not hopeful. I'm realistic. 

Don't worry. The book will come out. I've started this journey and I will see it through. I won't rest until I see The Paladin on a book store shelf.

​DFTBA