Can a book be too long?

[Richard]

Well, can't we use word-count limits to advantage? I remember reading that Tolkien originally wanted to do LOTR in one volume, but split it into three. Today, he'd have to split it into at least six. Write the story that needs to be written, find a spot somewhere between 90k and 120k words that seems a good ending, and leave em' begging for the sequel.

*EDit* : not sure whether I heard this about Tolkien, or the Star Wars movies. Whichever, only the Star Wars films would each be an 80,000 word page turner if the initial medium was novels.

[Divia]

I'm cool with that too.

I agree word count is important. Hmm I'm gonna have to sneak a peak at the Twilight sequels to see the front & spacing. No one ever mentioned that before.

[Margaret]

As a reader, I get very frustrated when the end of a book leaves me hanging, unless it's especially well-written and does give me a satisfying finale for the most part. What makes me want a sequel is when a particular character is exciting and still has room for another challenge, not when a major part of the plot is left dangling. I think a series of books with sequels is a totally different writing challenge than a large one-volume book, in which the author can keep ratcheting up the suspense through the entire book, to tie everything up in a great big climax at the end.

It would be interesting to do a poll, similar to Juliana's poll about marquee characters, and see how many people are turned on or off by long books, all other things being equal.

[Richard]

[quote=""Margaret""]As a reader, I get very frustrated when the end of a book leaves me hanging, unless it's especially well-written and does give me a satisfying finale for the most part. What makes me want a sequel is when a particular character is exciting and still has room for another challenge, not when a major part of the plot is left dangling. I think a series of books with sequels is a totally different writing challenge than a large one-volume book, in which the author can keep ratcheting up the suspense through the entire book, to tie everything up in a great big climax at the end.
[/quote]


I'll certainly agree with that, and admit that my 'cutoff' method doesn't work if there isn't a satisfying ending at that point.

[LoveHistory]

[quote=""Margaret""]As a reader, I get very frustrated when the end of a book leaves me hanging, unless it's especially well-written and does give me a satisfying finale for the most part. What makes me want a sequel is when a particular character is exciting and still has room for another challenge, not when a major part of the plot is left dangling. I think a series of books with sequels is a totally different writing challenge than a large one-volume book, in which the author can keep ratcheting up the suspense through the entire book, to tie everything up in a great big climax at the end.[/quote]


I'll be sure to tell you when my trilogy is finished and in one big volume.

[Richard]

I shared this discussion with my wife the librarian. She pointed out that a lot of patrons just won't take big books. When she does what they call a "hand-sell", that is, recommending a book by physically taking it off shelf and handing it to a patron, the comment is sometimes, "oh, that's too heavy for me!" I'll admit that I've rejected more than one book because it wouldn't fit in my briefcase.

Of course the publishing business has a lot more to it than whether or not someone checks the books out of a library, but I can imagine similar sorts of decisions being made in bookstores... and whatever we'd like to think, it's all about maximizing the chance of making good profit on a book.

[diamondlil]

See, my eye is attracted to big books so that isn't an issue for me!

[ejays17]

I like big books (i like to think i'm getting my money's worth ), but also agree with others who have said that it's the quality of the writing whihc is important. And there are smaller books amongst my favourites, simply because the story/characters say all they need to say in a shorter space.

Oh, and what Richard said about LOTR - Tolkein always wanted it to remain one book, it was his publishers that decided to split it into 3, much to his disgust...

[Divia]

[quote=""Richard""]I shared this discussion with my wife the librarian. She pointed out that a lot of patrons just won't take big books. When she does what they call a "hand-sell", that is, recommending a book by physically taking it off shelf and handing it to a patron, the comment is sometimes, "oh, that's too heavy for me!" I'll admit that I've rejected more than one book because it wouldn't fit in my briefcase.

[/quote]

And now try to get teens to read those heavy books. Its a hard sell. As I stated before those casual readers maybe 2, 4 books a year(if that) dont want to read GWTW. They want to read something nice and short about 250 - 300 pages and move on with their lives. I can understand that.

For book freaks (everyone on this MB) its a little different because I think most people here read more than 20 books a year! That's huge, though I daresay we are in the minority.

[Leyland]

[quote=""Richard""]I shared this discussion with my wife the librarian. She pointed out that a lot of patrons just won't take big books. When she does what they call a "hand-sell", that is, recommending a book by physically taking it off shelf and handing it to a patron, the comment is sometimes, "oh, that's too heavy for me!" [/quote]
The size and weight of a book have never been factors in my consideration of buying or checking out a novel. Once I find out who and/or what the book is about and then glance at the first page or two to sample its worth, I am usually overcome with the insatiable desire to read, read, read!

I have a definite fiction addiction and just can't say no!