New Member - Probably Same ol' Questions

Hi Alex, and from one newbie to another, welcome!

Regarding book length, you're correct that shorter is going to be much easier to sell. Sure, there are 150,000-word books out there, but how many of them are memoirs written by a debut author and published within the last five years? That's not to say it's absolutely impossible, but it will be a massive uphill battle. If you can trim it down while keeping the heart of the story, that will improve your chances.

Also, if editors who've seen the manuscript are telling you it will be more marketable (and/or a better book) if cut, they're probably right.

You mentioned looking for an editor. Have you had the book beta read yet? If not, I'd suggest starting with that. A good beta reader or two can really help you in figuring out what's essential and where you can cut. I'd also suggest checking out the SYW board; first, look at what other people are posting in your genre, and the critiques. See what seems to work and what doesn't. And, once you've got a good feel for that and the opening of your book is as polished as you can make it (and once you have 50 posts under your belt), post it and see what people say. If you're worried you're too verbose, you can mention that, and some readers will likely be able to give you tips on how to cut down.

The reason I'm recommending beta readers and critiques before editing is that they're free. Good, professional editing is expensive. As in, a few thousand dollars for a manuscript of your length, minimum. So I always recommend doing everything you can on it for free before you look at paid options. If you end up cutting the book by 40k words, well, that's 40k words you don't need to pay an editor to look at.

As to Fiverr . . . my experience with the site is a couple years old, so it's possible things have changed since then, but I would generally say no. Back when I did look them over, I was seeing very low prices and skill to match. As said, it's possible things have changed. But with editing, you do generally get what you pay for. There are some excellent freelance editors out there; you'll also encounter mediocre and even terrible ones. So with any editor, do your research and ask lots of questions before plunging in. Look at the books they've worked with and what their past clients are saying. A good editor is worth the money . . . but you do want to be sure you're getting a good one before you sign on the dotted line.

I don't have any experience with Bookbaby, but there's a thread here that might be helpful to you.

Maryn's advice is spot-on for reducing the length. If this is your first manuscript, probably best to get some critique before hiring an editor as it'll make that editor's work go a lot further.

Just re: editing and publication, there are a lot of things to learn, if publication is what you seek. (Note: publication = "to make public"; you want readers, basically.)

Generally, there are two broad paths to publishing a book you've written.

Trade publishing is the best way to reach the wider community, as trade publishing houses have distribution and sales forces that ensure your book is available in bookstores, libraries, and so on. Reaching these houses often requires querying literary agents, and generally the whole process doesn't start until you have a finished, polished manuscript--something which critiquers and beta-readers can help with. Hiring an editor yourself, though, is generally unnecessary for this route; as long as you're writing is of a professional standard, the publisher then supplies the editing.

Self-publishing involves becoming your own publisher, and can be a quicker way to get a book to hand out at events or to family and friends. While self-published books can sell beyond that range, it requires a lot more work for the author. You will need to pay a real, proper editor--legitimate ones do not work on Fiverr--as well as a cover designer and possibly a couple other roles, depending.

Note that a large number of companies, including BookBaby, exist to sell services to self-publishers, often charging exorbitant fees for things the author could do themselves with the aid of a simple web tutorial, and often delivering these services badly. At the apex of this heap of companies are vanity publishers, whose business is parting wannabe authors (never in short supply) from their money (often in short supply) with the promise of a shiny book with their name on the cover that no-one will read.

Your best bet, as others have said, is to stick around, read some of the many, many stickied threads around this forum, and hone your craft. Then you'll be in a better and much more informed position to make a decision as to how to move forward.

Don't spend money on beta readers. Beta readers don't cost anything. Different types of editors-yes, but beta readers -no. There's a whole sub-Forum here devoted to beta readers.

I understand the enthusiasm but if you want folk to read the second book you write don't rush to self-publish anything that is less than the best it can possibly be.

Fiverr is a terrible platform... I can't recommend it for anything. At best it's exploitive, at worst it's still exploitive but you'll get awful service to boot.

Nothing in publishing--of any kind--happens quickly.

In fact, getting 50 posts here takes no time at all, really. One of the fastest ways is to critique others' work, which helps you see your own from a greater distance and helps people around the community get to know you. I'll frequently beta-read for people I've seen around the critique forums, but only if I know them and their work/outlook/process--a good beta-reader needs to be a fit. There's no use in having someone who only likes cozy mysteries reading your gory grimdark.

If building a writing career is what you want: PATIENCE. You're in the right place. Navigate through the sub-forums. Read all the sticky threads, which represent nearly 20 years of gathered resources on everything from idea creation and plotting to querying to book promotion.

Throwing a book up on Amazon will not make a writing career, no matter how much money you pay readers, editors, reviewers, and so on. To reach a wider audience really takes trade publishing, or the expertise to self-publish really well. Both of those take time.

As someone who had to struggle for years to learn to cut, please believe me when I tell you that this is something you can't learn on your own. And the best place to learn is by critiquing someone else's work. like in the Share Your Work subforums. You don't have to wait for fifty posts to start critiquing.

With our own stuff, we all tend to make excuses. They're our words and we're somewhat in love with a lot of them. We don't want to cut.

Until you read something similar in someone else's piece and then you go, "Well, shoot...I guess that won't work in my story, either."

I watch people try to short-circuit this process over and over in goodreads reading rounds. They don't get an editor, and they don't want to be picked apart on a writer's forum, so they just put it up on Amazon.

And then the reviews come in, and it's not pretty.

Please consider doing the painful bit up front, where it's just us, and nothing lasts forever (unlike reviews). We have moderators here, and we might be blunt sometimes, but not cruel. It really is the kindest way to learn to be a better writer.

I'm so grateful for all the time that more experienced people spent with me. I got on here and I was so sure I just needed a little help before I jumped in. Wrong. I needed a lot more than I thought.

I had books that had to be cut from 180k down to below 120. It can be done, and your book will likely be much stronger when you're finished.

Just in case it's not ready--take a deep breath and learn to polish your piece. If you've got some sort of internal family deadline looming, you can always go to Staples or somewhere similar to get a hard copy printed for now. You've spent years on this thing. Consider taking the time to polish it up properly.

ETA: Concerning Fiverr--I have seen some decent covers come out of there. Not top notch, but definitely better than homemade jobs. But editing is different. Finding an editor you trust is a process. Anyone can look at a cover and do a quick assessment. But evaluating an editor when you don't already have the skills is a recipe for disaster.

ETA2: If your first chapter bores even you, then it needs work until it's riveting. Seriously. Without a good first chapter, no one will read the second. People don't wade through 5-10k hoping it'll get better. They just move on to the next book.