tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632086038992984402.post215859601191065103..comments2023-09-21T18:55:56.147+10:00Comments on Call My Agent!: Living in a fantasy worldAgent Sydneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10784243352820485192noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632086038992984402.post-35144944743384162852013-10-20T14:11:03.349+11:002013-10-20T14:11:03.349+11:00You're right, there are plenty of fantasy nove...You're right, there are plenty of fantasy novels with word counts greater than 120,000 (mine's one). But you are also right in that they look for shorter novels, especially from new authors.<br /><br />The problem is that publishers are looking for 'special' these days not just 'good'. If your writing is special they may make an exception, but not if it's just good. It's a risk vs reward scenario for publishers. Productions costs are greater for longer novels from editing to printing to distribution, and they take up more shelf space in bookstores.<br /><br />Ultimately it's the accountants and marketers that decide if a book gets a contract or not, and you're facing an uphill battle with a debut hefty novel. If you keep getting rejections it may be that they've decided the risk is too great.<br /><br />Of course with ebooks length isn't an issue.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01235076761245532348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632086038992984402.post-66122243283433528052013-09-18T07:07:50.211+10:002013-09-18T07:07:50.211+10:00There are two ways around the word count in publis...There are two ways around the word count in publishing fantasies and I've used both of them: self-publish and present the works in parts or episodes. I wrote the books in The Fairies Saga as three long length novels. One (The Great Big Fairy) has been split up to be promoted as a large print version;the other was left intact. The 'fat' version is doing better because we all love sagas! <br />Oh, and The Great Big Fairy ends with the receipt of a 250 year old letter from one of my characters who was transported on the First Fleet. I'll be coming to Sydney January 2014 for on site research. And that is not a fantasy!Dani Havilandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14253523802445003198noreply@blogger.com