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Sequel or something new?

JBryden88

Troubadour
So, I'm kind of on cloud nine. Even though I'm not satisfied with a few of my chapters, I've realized that I'm on the final act of my first real attempt at a novel in ages. (my first attempt I was 15, I had 250 pages of drivel, and by drivel I mean 250 pages single spaced and the story wasn't even half way done.)

I'm at about 70k or more in word length. So, I'm happy with that, I'm reasonably happy with character development, and ultimately, when I'm done, I know I'll need to revise and edit edit and rewrite certain things. I've done extra world building, so I'll be adding more names other then "these lands" or references to geographical features where needed. No longer are my characters just dealing in coins (for the sake of the first draft I'm trying to be consistent, will edit all of it when I can.) Basically, I'm fleshing my world out more as I go along, and I know there's a long road still ahead.

So first a few questions.

- Since 100k is typical word amount for a novel for a fantasy author, how many pages is that usually in either paperback (mass market size) or hardcover? I'm just curious

- With rewrites, do those who have done it go back and start from scratch, or do you just edit and rewrite segments that need it the most?

Next up.

I have ideas for a sequel... I know one advice is once you have sent off the manuscript to get a few thousand rejection letters, is to go and start writing your next. Now, my first attempt, I can safely say isn't going to end in a happy place. Conclusive? Yeah. Happy? No. It'll offer hints at what'll happen next.

That said, I also have ideas for a story in the same world I've built, but in a different kingdom and culture. Which would be better? Continue the ongoing characters, or start a fresh set of characters? Or both? (and by both I mean work on both at the same time)
 
I think the number of pages can vary depending on font, font size, spacing, the size of the book, etc. I've heard the rule of thumb is 250 words per page, so 100k comes to about 400 pages. Since manuscripts don't usually fit as much on a page as a printed book, maybe you could estimate it would be a bit less.. between 375 and 390 maybe? That's just a shot in the dark, I really have no clue.

I am going to rewrite mine from scratch, BUT mine sucks. It needs more than editing can do. If yours is pretty much good with a few things that need to be tweaked, I'd do that instead of rewriting entirely.

I think whichever makes you want to write more would be better. If you've got a ton of momentum going on this story, write the sequel. If you're a little burnt out on it, move on to something else for a while.
 
I just wanna point out that from my opinion, and therefore perhaps others' as well, I have way more incentive to buy two books that are separate stories, but set in the same world, than to buy the two, and counting, book series that everything is nowadays. :p
 

Ravana

Istar
Start fresh. Sequels will compel themselves to be written, if they're there at all: don't make them your target. Believe me, you'll keep coming up with loads of material for continuing old stories while you're working on new ones.
 

JBryden88

Troubadour
Yeah something fresh might be the way to go. I know I want to do a sequel, but seeing as how I've drastically changed how my first story is gonna end, I'm gonna have to let my attention on those characters fade for a bit :p

That said, I'll need to carefully craft my next story. I don't want to make carbon copies of the same characters lol
 
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