This isn’t really quite as commercial as it sounds though
it’s obviously sensible not to send a 100,000 word novel to a publisher that
states that they won’t look at anything over 70,000 words. There may not be anything wrong with your
100,000 word novel – it’s just that that particular publisher isn’t right for
your work.
However, do be aware that one of the first things that often
happens when you work with a professional editor is that they ask you to
shorten your carefully edited text.
Here, really, I’m talking about making sure you’re always
speaking to the same reader. This anyway is where voice comes from. Voice exists in the gap between the reader
and the writer. Your reader is another character.
Format, then, defines what is contained in the novel. Format
may address items such as length of chapter, the amount of pace and tension
required and the narrative balance.
You do also have the option of deliberately writing for a
particular publishing house. You turn their guidelines into a template. You may
also create templates for different readers.
As many of you probably know, I often write for young
adults. Here is a template I use for that. The novel should include:
1) Mixed
genre
2) Emotional
closeness
3) Leaving
reader to decide
4) Pushing
boundaries
5) Fast
paced / high stakes
6) Characters
resemble young adults
7) Bildungsroman
The mixed genre element is a godsend. So often work is
rejected because publishers can’t work out where a book would fit on the shelf
in a bookshop. Is your work fantasy or real life? The beauty of young adult
texts is that the points above define it rather than a particular genre.
The voice is important here too and should normally be of
one young adult telling one another what has happened to them but before
they’ve managed to rationalise it. The reader does the rationalisation and this
is one of the decisions they make.
Can you create a similar checklist for the genre you are
working in?
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