When a publisher tells you, 'we like your story but it's too long'

[SashaS_EroticaQueen]

I generally find it difficult to find decent publishers that even accept erotic novels, but I keep trying because I see it as a genuine path to success, financially (you could say I am not the best at marketing, yet.. but that's another topic).
Well, a while ago I was excited to receive an email from publishers interested in one of my more recent erotic novels, "Angel of Mercy", which is 330,000 words long (a bit more) or around 700 pages - I had to reduce font size to make it acceptable for Amazon's printing in paperback / hardcover.

Now, these publishers said they had an upper limit of 80,000 words and this was why they could not accept my manuscript. They said they would look at it again, if I could somehow reduce the word count. I wrote asking about splitting it into volumes, and they replied that would work, but only if each volume was a satisfying read in and of itself. This left me quite stumped, because Angel of Mercy is deliberately long. It chronicles the journeys of the two lead characters, as they battle their demons (complicated grief / depression / suicidal urges). I have tried to find other publishers that might be interested, but so far haven't had any luck. I did, however, notice that quite a few publishers of erotica have similarly low word counts as their maximum.

Anyone have any ideas on how to deal with this? I keep wondering if I should invest time in trying to split this into multiple volumes, but 80,000 words is quite a low count.. my book would end up being 5 separate volumes, and it would be very clear that the story is not over, at the end of each one. But maybe that is fine? I don't know... seeking opinions and advice.

 

[StillStunned]

From what I've heard, publishers will generally limit their new authors to the 80-100k word range. That puts a cap on the time and money they have to invest without knowing whether it will pay off. Unless you can convince them with hard facts - previous published novels, or breathtaking self-publication numbers - you have no leverage to change their mind.

But at least you have some tangible interest. If you can't shorten or rework your novel, or don't want to, you could inquire whether they'd be interested in another work. Perhaps a prequel, or a related story set in the same universe. Make sure to ask about any preferences and guidelines (like their maximum word count) before you begin.

If they agree, and this first book takes off, they'll be more willing to consider your longer work in its original form.

 

[SashaS_EroticaQueen]

I did offer them a shorter book I wrote that is part of the same series - indeed it is the first part - but they did not like that one as much, most likely because it is too hard core. I actually did a re-write for their benefit, to try and ensure it wouldn't get banned by Amazon, but it didn't fly. Curse me and my hard-core BDSM interests (I'm actually a true masochist and a submissive, and it shows in some of my writing). Will see what I can do about the re-write..

My most recent erotica, sci-fi erotica, is also well over 80,000 words. And it is only part 1 in a series that I am continuing to write!

 

[Duleigh]

I generally find it difficult to find decent publishers that even accept erotic novels, but I keep trying because I see it as a genuine path to success, financially (you could say I am not the best at marketing, yet.. but that's another topic).
Well, a while ago I was excited to receive an email from publishers interested in one of my more recent erotic novels, "Angel of Mercy", which is 330,000 words long (a bit more) or around 700 pages - I had to reduce font size to make it acceptable for Amazon's printing in paperback / hardcover.

Now, these publishers said they had an upper limit of 80,000 words and this was why they could not accept my manuscript. They said they would look at it again, if I could somehow reduce the word count. I wrote asking about splitting it into volumes, and they replied that would work, but only if each volume was a satisfying read in and of itself. This left me quite stumped, because Angel of Mercy is deliberately long. It chronicles the journeys of the two lead characters, as they battle their demons (complicated grief / depression / suicidal urges). I have tried to find other publishers that might be interested, but so far haven't had any luck. I did, however, notice that quite a few publishers of erotica have similarly low word counts as their maximum.

Anyone have any ideas on how to deal with this? I keep wondering if I should invest time in trying to split this into multiple volumes, but 80,000 words is quite a low count.. my book would end up being 5 separate volumes, and it would be very clear that the story is not over, at the end of each one. But maybe that is fine? I don't know... seeking opinions and advice.

I did the same thing - Andi's Dream was a bit over 300k and I split it into two volumes. My publisher said that was too big so I split it into 4 volumes, published the first three and told my publisher, "I'll be back with #4 when I get it done." It took a few months but #4 is doing quite well now and I'm half way done with Volume 5

 

[SashaS_EroticaQueen]

I did the same thing - Andi's Dream was a bit over 300k and I split it into two volumes. My publisher said that was too big so I split it into 4 volumes, published the first three and told my publisher, "I'll be back with #4 when I get it done." It took a few months but #4 is doing quite well now and I'm half way done with Volume 5

That is awesome.
When you split it, though, did you have to worry about making each volume a stand-alone story? That's the bit that has tripped me up. I can split it easily enough, but it will be very obvious that the story is not finished, when you get to the end of volume 1, 2, and 3...

 

[Duleigh]

That is awesome.
When you split it, though, did you have to worry about making each volume a stand-alone story? That's the bit that has tripped me up. I can split it easily enough, but it will be very obvious that the story is not finished, when you get to the end of volume 1, 2, and 3...

Yes and no. That's about the best answer I can give. I made sure that each volume had a definite ending, like the marriage of the MMC and the FMC but let the reader know that there's more to come through foreshadowing and flat out saying things like "The young bride was terrified what would happen to her new husband as he went off to Basic Training in a few weeks" It takes some writing and sometimes you have to shuffle chapters around to get it right, but that's our job. I am really enjoying this

Also each book cover said "Book 1 of 4" or "Book 3 of 4" But the nice thing about EPUB is that when you have enough material to make book 5, you (or your publisher) can change the covers of books 1 thru 4 to say that there's 5 books now. That will be happening on my Andi's Dream series in a couple of months. My readers want more, and it's fun for me to write and my publisher loves a percentage of my royalty checks so everyone is happy.

 

[Voboy]

Anyone have any ideas on how to deal with this? I keep wondering if I should invest time in trying to split this into multiple volumes, but 80,000 words is quite a low count.. my book would end up being 5 separate volumes, and it would be very clear that the story is not over, at the end of each one. But maybe that is fine? I don't know... seeking opinions and advice.

They are putting up the money. So they make the rules. If you want them to publish you, you’ll have to follow those rules.

If I cared enough to want to put a bunch of work into what I genuinely felt was a good chance to achieve my ambition? I’d find a way to drop the word count. I get that that means nuking 75% of your novel, but if that’s what they want? You’re at their mercy.

I would not expect them to commit to a five-volume series. If they’ll agree to two or three, I’d pounce on that as a win. But you’ll still need to cut drastically.

Bottom line: if you want what they can offer you, you’ll have to slay your babies. A lot of your babies. If you’re not prepared to do that, my experience suggests you’ll have a rough time working with any publisher.

 

[Duleigh]

Bottom line: if you want what they can offer you, you’ll have to slay your babies. A lot of your babies. If you’re not prepared to do that, my experience suggests you’ll have a rough time working with any publisher.

My publisher has been great, in fact he loves series stories so sometimes you have to go publisher shopping too. Except for an ink and paper publisher I can't see an ePublisher turning down a series, that just means more money coming in for an extra 600kb of storage space on the server. Win-Win.

 

[Voboy]

Mine was awesome too, and liked my stuff enough that I never really had to compromise anything significant… but I was always deferential to the financial outlay she was making.

When you work with a publisher, you are the employee in many ways, and although your relationship with them can be very constructive? At the end of the day it’s a financial venture and not a creative one.

Mine came to me suggesting a series, and by that time I was able to make it financially advantageous for both of us. I suspect a new writer might not receive such a great deal. Depends on how the contract is structured and how much outlay they expect to pay for cover art.

 

[SashaS_EroticaQueen]

They are putting up the money. So they make the rules. If you want them to publish you, you’ll have to follow those rules.

If I cared enough to want to put a bunch of work into what I genuinely felt was a good chance to achieve my ambition? I’d find a way to drop the word count. I get that that means nuking 75% of your novel, but if that’s what they want? You’re at their mercy.

I would not expect them to commit to a five-volume series. If they’ll agree to two or three, I’d pounce on that as a win. But you’ll still need to cut drastically.

Bottom line: if you want what they can offer you, you’ll have to slay your babies. A lot of your babies. If you’re not prepared to do that, my experience suggests you’ll have a rough time working with any publisher.

I don't think "slay" is the right word to use. Splitting it into multiple volumes is still an option and in the case of this book, it would be the only option. Of course, this still does not guarantee they'll accept it, but with so few publishers to choose from (for erotica, anyway) and many of them imposing similar limits, I don't see that I have much of a choice.

 

[SashaS_EroticaQueen]

My publisher has been great, in fact he loves series stories so sometimes you have to go publisher shopping too. Except for an ink and paper publisher I can't see an ePublisher turning down a series, that just means more money coming in for an extra 600kb of storage space on the server. Win-Win.

So, do you really see any advantages to going with an epublisher as opposed to self-publishing online?

 

[Voboy]

I don't think "slay" is the right word to use. Splitting it into multiple volumes is still an option and in the case of this book, it would be the only option. Of course, this still does not guarantee they'll accept it, but with so few publishers to choose from (for erotica, anyway) and many of them imposing similar limits, I don't see that I have much of a choice.

I don’t either.

It’s a compromise you can’t avoid once you start working in partnership with others. It’s one of the reasons I drifted out of the commercial realm, though a minor one.

It wasn’t sales; those were fine. It was that even with an excellent publisher with whom I got along well, it rankled a bit to lose some control of what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it.

If I wrote 300k word pieces (which I don’t), I doubt I’d be interested in cutting it down to 80k, still less in publishing as a serial. But that’s just me.

 

[Duleigh]

So, do you really see any advantages to going with an epublisher as opposed to self-publishing online?

It's true that an Epublisher will grab about 20%, but my publisher formats the book into epub for me, creates fantastic covers, and he publicizes the book for me on several web sites, freeing me up to write some more. I'm not bragging, but I credit my hardworking publisher for the amazing success I'm having at bookapy.com right now.

 

[Bamagan]

As an alternative perspective:
If you're already at 330k words, and they've expressed some level of interest in looking more closely if you can divide it into volumes, then you've got about 70k words you can add in the service of crafting satisfying intermediate endings for the first four volumes. It shouldn't matter much that it's obvious there's more to come. Even stories that try very hard to suggest that you're already reading all the interesting parts of the characters' lives will generate requests for more material, assuming there are any fans at all.

 

[Voboy]

As an alternative perspective:
If you're already at 330k words, and they've expressed some level of interest in looking more closely if you can divide it into volumes, then you've got about 70k words you can add in the service of crafting satisfying intermediate endings for the first four volumes. It shouldn't matter much that it's obvious there's more to come. Even stories that try very hard to suggest that you're already reading all the interesting parts of the characters' lives will generate requests for more material, assuming there are any fans at all.

That was my thinking too, and the OP can certainly speak for him/herself, but my impression was that the 330k story contained long-form elements that can't be easily disentangled? So although it'd be easy enough to cap the story off into four or five self-contained parts, plotwise, there are longer and more important arcs that are tough to break up.

I think one lesson might be that when trying to break into an erotica publishing marketplace that is already marginal and hard to enter, 700 pages might be a bit more than any publisher would want to take on from a new writer. So perhaps the effort required to write that kind of piece might have been better spent on something other than erotica.

Who knows? It's certainly an informative thread.

 

[SashaS_EroticaQueen]

That was my thinking too, and the OP can certainly speak for him/herself, but my impression was that the 330k story contained long-form elements that can't be easily disentangled? So although it'd be easy enough to cap the story off into four or five self-contained parts, plotwise, there are longer and more important arcs that are tough to break up.

I think one lesson might be that when trying to break into an erotica publishing marketplace that is already marginal and hard to enter, 700 pages might be a bit more than any publisher would want to take on from a new writer. So perhaps the effort required to write that kind of piece might have been better spent on something other than erotica.

Who knows? It's certainly an informative thread.

Very valid points, there. Of course, it is easy to look at it in hindsight. But when I was writing this story, I did not know about any word limits that so many publishers seem to impose. I guarantee you I am not the only one. I recently advised someone of this, and he was most surprised. Until you start to approach publishers, you simply don't know these things.

And yes, breaking into the erotica marketplace is hard, so you would be justified in asking why I bother. I guess because I love it, and I'm damn good at it (going purely off what people tell me and the photos I receive of cocks shooting cum, after reading my stories). I also noticed that many, many books that claim to be erotica, are either not erotica at all - i.e. they don't contain actual descriptions of sex scenes - or they are terribly badly written. So, I genuinely believe there is an unfulfilled need for quality literary erotica.

Still, one of the things I plan on doing is branching into pure romance again, using the same pseudonym. This should make it easier to build my name and might lead people to my erotica, as well.

"Angel of Mercy" was immensely enjoyable to write. I must have climaxed dozens upon dozens of times while writing it. My great sex life is due in large part to the erotica I write, so if nothing else - I am winning there! lol
I will give it a go at splitting it into multiple volumes and let you know how it all ends.

My shorter books in this genre are, by and large, too hard core. The one exception, "Alex Darling", still has a couple of rape scenes in it, and I make zero apologies for it.