Short "Series" Length - To cut it down which way?

[madelinemasoch]

My current WIP (the same one I've posted about categories for recently) is getting WAY longer in Part I than I thought it would. The trouble is, I really think I need all of these scenes to tell the story in its full breadth and justice. Even more troubling, I want to put one of the parts out on November 30 exactly (don't ask why) but I also need to time to read through it, edit it, revise it if need be. Here's the situation:
- My original idea was a 3 part structure
- I want to publish Part I before the 30th (so the one coming out that day would be Part II) because I need to test out if the last scene in Part I will get past the censors, and I'll need time to revise it and resubmit if needs be
- I don't have much of Part II written yet. Part I is more than halfway done, raw draft
- I need time (after the time it takes to finish it) to read through Part I and edit it, as well as time to submit it, during this month

So, I've been considering cutting Part I in half (and maybe then even II and III) making it a 4 to 6 parter. Where I would cut it would already be about 20k words, making the new Part II (really Part I.5) a lot shorter. Another factor involved is that the original Part I ends in an emotionally staggering way that I can't spoil. I'd really appreciate it if I could get it all done following the original plan, have people actually read the entire Part I, and get their reactions and responses from that instead of from the first part alone (at first). However, splitting it and publishing part of it as Part I might vet out the people who really won't like it (though Lord knows they read me anyway!) and keep the serious people ongoing to read the next part. I haven't made a fully formed independent authorial decision on the subject. Does anybody have any suggestions?

 

[Rob_Royale]

The lady doth overthink too much. methinks.
Don't worry about the original idea. Follow the story. If you have an obvious solid stopping place for Part 1 then do it. Don't worry about the length. Longer stories seem to do just fine here.
Part 2 seems short to you now because that's all you've got fleshed out in your brain. Trust me when you get that far, the story will be there. Don't worry about getting the reader's reactions. It's pretty scant stuff in the first place. Follow the story.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

Take a breath, take a toke, take a sip.
Let it flow, let it go and see where the chapters sit.