I'm sharing the below from an old friend who's a multiply published author. I'm not naming her due to the potential for crazy kickback. (And it's sad that we have to think about that in the current age.) Nonetheless, I'll vouch for her that yes, she has an agent, and yes, she's been publishing since the early 1980s, including international iterations. So, if you're working on a novel you hope to sell to an agent/trad publisher, take heed!
Depressing news from ComicCon via my agent. Publishers here are now worrying about the cost of paper. Apparently the cost has gone so high that they don't want any books longer than 110K. Does the story need more? Tough. Are there elements that don't "advance the plot" but are important in other ways. Tough. Cut' em out.
I don't know if this applies to literary fiction, too. But definitely to genre.
This isn't the first time paper costs have rendered reduced word-count lengths. I've always seemed to be caught in the transition. Dancing with the Lion was, initially, just fine. Then paper costs required word-count reductions in the late-90s. Dancing was suddenly Too Long. But that book could be divided in half--which was never ideal, but let it see print eventually, albeit in 2019.
It happened again c. 2010, when I was trying to shop 49, which is impossible to divide and will likely never see the light of day, unless I self-publish. It was a mythic retelling before that was all the vogue. But not at 145K. Nobody's buying it. If I do sell it, I'm sure I'll be accused of jumping on the myth bandwagon. No, I wrote it BEFORE that bandwagon was a thing.
Now, my current fantasy series will have to have the final two books re-arced into three. I didn't want a 6-volume series. Even by book 5, it's hard to retain readers. But I have no choice. Books 1-2 were safely under the 110K. Book 3 had the ending repurposed, so it's also okay, with some future cuts. But a 6-volume series is harder to sell than a 4- or 5-volume. I'm screwed either way, but at least somebody might buy a 6-volume series if all under 110K.
NONE of this relates to what a story needs or should have. It's all about word-count. Notably over the word-count, it's unsellable. Does not matter how good/well-written the story is. It's just "too many words."
A teenage girl stepped off a Learjet in London, at Heathrow. She was about 5'8" and slightly curvy but in a decent way. Her hair was the color of chocolate and her eyes were unusual, violet. Other than that, Liliana was quite plain for looks. At least she thought so.
It didn't bother her, as she didn't think having a boy in her life was a great idea, especially after her trauma with her team,'s death. Eighteen was still too young to have one she thought. Her name was, Dr. Liliana Draghicescu, of Romanian descent.
There was a man standing by a limo, waiting for her. He was an older English man with a monocle. Lana was told his name was Walter C. Dornez of the Hellsing Organization. She would be stationed at the Manor. She studied the older man. He seemed overly composed and in great physical shape for his age. A voice in her head said he was capable of killing without thought, if need be. Perhaps ex military or security but she doubted it.
The FBI had loaned her out to help catch serial killers in England. She was considered a prodgiene in criminal behavior and seemed to know more about killers than she should. She had the gift of becoming like having the mind of the killer.
Her last assignment caused the death of her entire team and her in the hospital for a month. She had sole survivor syndrome. The man tortured her extensively and said he was recreating a masterpiece from her form that the whole world would see. One day he said his death goddess was born and set her loose. Liliana questioned the loan but was told she was on loan and to only be concerned with that.
The young girl walked up to Walter and shook his hand,"Hello Mr. Dornez, I'm Dr. Liliana Draghicescu from the FBI."
"Pleasure to meet you Dr. Draghicescu call me Walter, I am the butler for Hellsing Organization."
Liliana's luggage was placed in the limo and she sat in the back seat. Her mind took note of her surroundings and how she got to Hellsing Manor. She may need to know how to get back to London at some point. Though a couple times she just closed her eyes to desensitize her brain.
Walter showed her to a huge bedroom with an office area to one side and a large extravagant bathroom. The office area had a small library section. Sitting on a large antique table was an antique chess set. She walked over and touched it. There was a tag stating a gift from the bureau for her services. Now just to find someone decent to play the game with.
"Dr. Draghicescu, your meeting is at six, so do get some sleep. I will have food for you when you wake."
"Thank you Walter."
Sleep was the last thing she wanted. Liliana pulled her phone out and made a call to Dr. Stims, her psychologist in the states.
"How are you Lana?"
"Doing, considering it's only been three months. I was unable to sleep the whole way…"
"How much sleep are you getting in?"
"Three..."
"I will increase your sleep medication." Dr. Stims said.
"No more drugs! I used to only sleep for about five hours. I don't need a lot of sleep."
Dr. Stims clicked her tongue in disapproval," but are you having nightmares?"
"Yes of course, most people would."
"Most people would be institutionalized and on heavy duty drugs. You are not most people and not any teenager I know. You will get through this but you need sleep." Dr Stims pointed out.
"I know, I will keep in touch."
Lana (short for Liliana) unpacked some clothes and then set up a small lamp that came in when the room would get dark. She could no longer sleep in a dark room. She laid down on the giant bed. The sheets had to be custom ordered to fit it.
After some time her eyes grew heavy and she dozed off to sleep. Her mind slipped into a black and heavy sleep until her alarm went off for the meeting. She felt refreshed as no nightmares came in her sleep.
Lana rose up and looked herself over in the mirror. She had oxblood colored v-neck shirt with pinstripe pants and jacket which was unbuttoned. She had her 1911 .45 holstered under the jacket and a hog leg with a small .40 caliber. Her signature oxblood doc martens on. She had the bureau in fits on that but she was a behavioral specialist so some adjustments could and did happen.
Lana was a genius who graduated from high school at 11 and had gone to Japan for two years to learn martial arts, including katana and completing her degree in psychology specific in criminal behavior. The teenage girl was the youngest recruit for the FBI and helped solve two high profile serial killer cases in the states.
Her career was on high until the last case. She was caught and tortured. The team was killed out right in front of her and the bodies left around her. After a month, the killer blindfolded her and dropped her at a hospital 500 miles away. She woke up almost every night from a nightmare as she never saw his face in real life but in the dream he had many faces.
Lana left her room and walked quietly to Sir Integra Hellsing's office. Just as she stopped, some men strolled past and mumbled good evening as they continued on. The teenager was used to that. She wasn't much of a looker to men and being nerdy like, didn't help. She had often been told too smart for her own good.
Lana knocked on the large oak door. She heard a female voice say enter. The young woman entered and walked straight up to a pale blond haired woman smoking a cigar.
"Good evening Sir Hellsing I am Dr. Liliana Draghicescu."
"Good evening to you as well. How have things been since getting here? Your room adequate?"
"Yes very much so, thank you," Lana replied in a soft voice.
The young profiler had noticed a tall, dark haired man sitting in an armchair. He was pale and muscular. She figured he worked out a lot and liked dark rooms as he had no color from being in the sun. His age was not clear perhaps late 20's or early 30's. He covered his eyes with sunglasses to make his features harder to take note of and read anything from his gaze. He looked to have small fetish of sorts for intricate knots from his cravat and Victorian influenced male clothing.
The profiler then noted his body language. He was arrogant in how he sat, position of his legs and how he rested his head on a hand. He thought he was superior to others and gave a look of he was measuring your worth to him as an asset.
"Please have a seat Dr. Draghicescu," Integra said
The young woman nodded her head and did as she was told. She had no choice but to sit a few feet from the man in red with only her peripheral vision. He was now smiling and she noted it was drawn thin across his lips. He had finished measuring her and knew he didn't find worth in her.
"The files for this case have not arrived yet. I will make them available as soon as possible," Sir Hellsing informed Lana.
"Sir Integra can I be taken to any of the dump sites?" Liliana asked.
"I will have Walter take you to the last dumpsite, if you desire" Integra replied.
"Was the victim found at night or day?" Lana now asked.
"At night, why?" Sir Helping asked.
"The killer most likely staged the victim to be found at night for some purpose of his own. I would like to go tonight if possible."
"Of course Walter can take you," Sir Interga nodded her head.
"I will eat on the way to the location, to save time," Lana remarked.
"My dear, do you eat often going to murder scenes?" the man in red, asked.
"Yes I do. I simply stay objective and analyze what the crime scene tells me. Getting emotional will not help the victim get justice, " Lana didn't even look at him but Sir Hellsing.
"How old are you to be able to stomach such sights?" the man said with a smug expression.
"My age should not matter but if you must know , today is my eighteenth birthday. I am the youngest criminal behaviorist in the FBI and the United States," she said proudly.
"A clever little girl, full of pride, who thinks she can study monsters and save the world, is what you are..." the man replied in a mocking tone.
"Sir, I do not expect you to think anymore of me as you stated. I need to prove myself but I need to use action instead of words, for that."
The man let a small maniacal laugh. "So profile me, profiler."
Lana cleared her throat. " You just tried to convey the idea, though the laugh, that you may be suffering from insanity but it's not true. Nothing is by chance and you are very much sane. You cover your eyes to conceal possibly an unusual eye color or simply to make reading your facial difficult. You have a thing for neatness and intricacy due to your cravat and feel more a kinned to a time period of the Victorian age by your overcoat. Your gloves are odd so perhaps an interest in the occult? shall I continue?"
The man in red did a nod with his head and a smile, showing amusement. The vampire was pondering, if he should derail her pride. His master would be angry but it would be fun to test the girl, under the pretense, of the case at hand.
"You received a formal education by your grammar and speaking, though I don't think you were born here but have picked an English accent up, from the region. You pronounce certain vowel sounds as from Eastern Europe, perhaps Transylvania or Romania. Continue?"
Alucard nodded his head yes again and licked his lips. He flashed a tight lipped smile and shifted in the chair.
"You have a strong build but not overly muscular but most likely strong for a human male. Most serial killers are abnormally strong, from either working out or constant unrelaxed muscles, over time. You stay indoors during the day, as your skin denotes, by its paleness mostly like to you live in the basement. Your mental alertness tells me you are a night person."
"And.." Alucard prompted her to go on.
"You think you are above others in intellect, physical and emotional. You are handsome to many so most likely you are or have been sexually popular. The cravat could also indicate BDSM, you being dominate and a sadist. You judge by a set of parameters, you created from your childhood and upbringing. The way you sit shows your arrogance in volumes. The moment I entered this office and greeted Sir Hellsing, you 'sized' me up."
"And how do you think I weight you?"
"Everyone in this room knows for you don't hold back in your words. You think, I'm some little daddy's girl who got where she did, from money and influence to get to the FBI. You think, I don't know what I am doing and just have a piece of paper, to say I have a degree. You think I don't know what a monster is, if it stood before me."
"What can a monster look like, little girl?"
"So what is a monster? What can one look like? John Wayne Gacy aka Pogo the clown. Children's birthday party clown with a divorced wife and 38 young men half buried under his floor crawl space," Liliana said with a slight hint of irritation.
"Hmm, this Pogo was an American serial killer?"
"Yes he was. He was put to death long before I was born," she replied.
"So you have come face to face with any, yourself?" Alucard prodded verbally.
Her voice quivered slightly, "Three, one is dead by self inflicted gunshot, one is in maximum security prison and one...is free and most likely still killing somewhere else."
"Three isn't really too many to be an expert on now is it?" Alucard had seen a hint of emotion escape in her voice.
"It's a start ...is all."
"Of all the people you have crossed paths with getting to London, how many could be monsters?" Alucard was going for another prod.
"Many I suppose but one maybe and then one most likely." Liliana said quietly.
"Do you know their names?" the vampire smirked.
"Yes and no, the maybe is your Walter C. Dornez. And you. Only a beautiful monster would ask if I knew what a monster looked like. We have not been properly introduced, Dr. Liliana Draghicescu and you are?"
Her hand moved forward to shake his hand. He took it and turned her hand over to kiss the top of it.
"Alucard, trump card of Hellsing," he smiled arrogantly. "Romanian name, do you speak it?"
"Yes, it is my first language. I am versed in Latin and Greek for science terminology along with German, Russian, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese and Algonquin." she smiled arrogantly back at," And English or we wouldn't be having this conversation."
Alucard nodded his head and kissed her hand again, "Such a clever young lady, I look forward to seeing your mind working, more to solve this crime spree."
"I highly doubt that. I am but a blip on your radar and nothing more."
It was at this point her phone rang. " May I take this call?"
Integra nodded yes.
"Hello professor, what is going on your side of the world?"
"My dear girl, your birthday of course! We at the college sent you a birthday gift. It should arrive in the next 24 hours! We know your ring was taken so we bought you a gold impaler ring!"
"Ahh" you didn't have to do that professor…"
"Nonsense? You were my favorite student, impaler princess! I will let you run Vlada, you must be in a meeting."
"Thank you professor."
Integra didn't hear the conversation but a certain nosy vampire did. ' Impaler princess'? Ring? That got his attention. A little something to investigate.
Walter knocked, "Car is ready."
Alucard said in return,"I will accompany you, young lady."
"Tell me—after my head is chopped off, will I still be able to hear, at least for a moment, the sound of my own blood gushing from the stump of my neck? That would be the pleasure to end all pleasures.”~Peter Kürten
How long should your book be? Do you worry about this?
I know authors have enough to think about when they’re writing a novel—character arcs, plot arcs, conflict, and that timeline—but should they also worry about the length of the book?
Some people say no.
A book should be as long as it takes to tell the story. Stephen King famously said that he just keeps writing until the story is done. And…
