Dr. Philip Allen

Dr. Philip Allen · May 24, 2018

I retired early from academia at the age of 54. I'd been plonking away at a mystery novel for several years and decided that since I had no professional duties, I should finish it. The only issue was that the work was nearly 500 pages long which despite getting good reviews from beta readers meant that agents and publishers would not touch it. Due to the structure of the book, I didn't think I could just split it in two. So, I have just finished the second draft of a "Prequel" that is in the 80K to 82K word range that I am hoping to get published. I hope that if I get the prequel published then, publishers will take what is now the second work.

When not trying to write I grow mangoes, papaya, and other tropical fruit in my yard.

I live on the island of Guam but lived in Hing Kong for nearly 20 years

Denevius · May 24, 2018

I’ve been wanting to visit Hong Kong. Perhaps Guam, also.

Welcome to AW!

jeffschanz · May 24, 2018

I feel your pain Doc. I spent 2 years writing my way cool novel, only to realize when it was done that I wrote close to 400k words. Did I do thaaaat? And all the agents say ... nah. So I busted it up into 3 Lord of the Rings sections, each around 130k. And all the agents say... nah. Can't blame 'em. Who wants a 3 book series that is completely dependent on the next book from a first time hack? Sooooo, I whipped up a whole new novel that should be a one-off, but... ah man I love my characters, so I'm already doing a sequel. Assuming my devoted screaming fans can't wait to devour those novels (stop laughing, it could happen) I figured maybe THEN and ONLY THEN would I have enough street cred to gift the world with my epic 3-booker. So those are on the shelf for now. Sad but, whacha gonna do? So my advice, if I have any, is to get that 80k novel out there, get some street cred, and then see where things lie. Its not going to hurt to get the 80k one out there at all. THen you can assess if you need to cook up something else for more cred, or break out the 500 page masterpiece. Hope that helps. Good luck!

Dr. Philip Allen · May 24, 2018

My prequel is actually made up of out-takes from the first work that have been reorganized and expanded. The new first book ends where the original work starts. What is strange, or perhaps a bit sad is that only the main villains and a couple of minor characters carry over into the second work. My primary hero never appears in the first work. BTW the first effort was 260K words which is a huge book for a murder mystery.

Beginning Write · May 24, 2018

You had me at mangoes! Welcome to AW. Good luck on your publication hunt!

jeffschanz · May 24, 2018

Yeah, dude. 260K won't fly with the public for a while. Get that other one done and out there. And once its all popular, then your "follow up" will just seem like a massive sequel. But I'd wait as long as you dare to push the 260K one. In my case, my 3-booker would just sit and collect digital dust if I tried to push it. It may anyway, but I'd rather give it the benefit of maybe a reputation before I try to convince folks to invest a few months of their lives to read that series.
If it helps... Sherlock Holmes was barely even in his first novel, A Study In Scarlet. The story was all about the Mormons. And Sherlock ended up doing all right. :Shrug:

regdog · May 25, 2018

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Chase · May 25, 2018

, Philip.

My mystery writing experience is similar. The amateur sleuth book in my signature below is a prequel to the sequel I'm s-l-o-w-l-y working on at the moment.

I'm heartened by the recent joining of several mystery writers. Again, :welcome:

!

Zan75 · May 25, 2018

Welcome to AW Philip, best of luck with your novels

DanielSTJ · May 26, 2018

The doctor is in!

Welcome! : D

Woollybear · May 26, 2018

Guam? Fantatic. Our neighbors have a lot of family there, it sounds beautiful.

Welcome!

Dr. Philip Allen

Dr. Philip Allen

Denevius

jeffschanz

Dr. Philip Allen

Beginning Write

jeffschanz

regdog

The Scavengers

Chase

It Takes All of Us to End Racism

Zan75

DanielSTJ

The Wandering Bard

Woollybear