Update: Stormgate
Long time, no new content, per usual. Apparently, children take up a lot of time. Did you know that?
A quick update on Stormgate: I got another rejection that has only solidified my belief that it is likely not going to sell as a novella. I had been toying with the idea of expanding it with a second (and maybe third) view point for a while, and had laid the groundwork when Tor.com opened for blind submissions for novellas.
I’m not 100% sure, but I think I got farther in the process this time, as I didn’t get a form rejection after only a week. Instead, I got a form rejection after close to 90 days (their website said turnaround was 25-35 days, on average).
In reality, this is a good thing. The feedback I had received up until this point overwhelmingly asked for more exposition and understanding into the character and motivations, which in the novella format with a single point of view, really ground the pace of the climax almost to a halt (in my opinion). It was still good, but not as good as it could be.
By expanding into the novel range (>40k words) and adding a second point of view, I think I can cut much of the “forced” exposition out of Navi’s point of view and add it to the new one. The reader will still get the same (or better) understanding of world history, life-changing events, and so on, but it won’t feel like it is being shoe-horned in between dialogue or action.
That said, I’m probably going to be soliciting test readers to give feedback in the coming months. Please let me know if you’re interested in reading and providing comment either in the comment section below, through Facebook, Facebook Messenger, email me through the Contact form, or (if you have it) reach out to me through text.
I’m hoping that by having a group of people who are expecting to get new chapters to review on a fairly regular basis, I can be a bit more productive.