: How long can a first novel be? I am writing my first novel, which has gathered about 150000 words. I guess it will be around 170-180k words when it is finished. Assuming that it will loose

I am writing my first novel, which has gathered about 150000 words. I guess it will be around 170-180k words when it is finished. Assuming that it will loose 20% after the first draft, it will have around 150k words when it is finished.

Is this too long for a first novel?

It depends on the quality of the writing, on the story and on a thousand other factors, but I am worried that publishers will think the book is too long for the market, especially if there is no known name on the cover.

Edit: The genre of the novel is soft science-fiction.

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: I pretend that someone else wrote the first draft and it's my job to fix it. That gives me the emotional distance I need. Probably because I like to point out where other people went wrong.

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: Can I publish a book anonymously to protect the real people my non-fiction book is about? I'm in the process of writing a life story/non-fiction book that has numerous real life issues and

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@Hamaas631

2 books deals are not common; better develop the present book into a trilogy. Each book should be 80-100K words. I know you are almost done, but you can add various subplots to lengthen the story.

For now, only concentrate on the first book, find an end point, weave in subplots and flesh it. Only after polishing and publishing, continue developing books 2 and 3.

Another way to go is to stay with a single novel is by mercilessly editing and pruning your story to under 100 000 words, some novels have been greatly improved from extreme editing.

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@Debbie451

It probably is, but what you can do instead is rework it as two books, and then when shopping for an agent, present it as book-plus-sequel. Science fiction (and fantasy) in particular are forgiving of long works and love series, so length and sequel would be features, not bugs.

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: How long can a first novel be? I am writing my first novel, which has gathered about 150000 words. I guess it will be around 170-180k words when it is finished. Assuming that it will loose

More posts by @Miguel976

: Self-publishing / marketing children's book I have wanted for some time now to write and illustrate a children's book. How realistic is it to self publish? I have no business background in this

: Documenting Agile Sprints I'm responsible for documenting a huge ERP - its being changed from an old language to .NET. I'm the only one responsible for documenting ( and I'm doing it off-site

: I pretend that someone else wrote the first draft and it's my job to fix it. That gives me the emotional distance I need. Probably because I like to point out where other people went wrong.

: Can I publish a book anonymously to protect the real people my non-fiction book is about? I'm in the process of writing a life story/non-fiction book that has numerous real life issues and

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