Final VGBA Orion update 28/03/12

[Leegion]

Who is the publisher?

Lulu.

Isn't that generally a sign to split it up? I mean, that may be a bit much for one book.

I haven't edited it yet, so it might be shorter. Total word count is 217,372, 40,000 short of Order of the Phoenix. Page count is 457 and character count goes just over a million.

I'll likely cut a lot of it out though, some of the scenes I felt were a bit too graphic: Orion chops someone's head off for example. So there's a lot of editing and cutting yet. I'll redo most of this as it's being edited.

Also, there's a chance this won't be the final version. I might've messed up the formatting so I might need to rewrite the entire thing from scratch.

EDIT:
In comparison:
Harry Potter 1 = 76,944 words at 223 pages
Orion 1 = 217,372 words at 457 pages

As I said though, there's a chance those 217,372 words will shrink to just over 175,000.

Another:
Each page contains over 500 words. Meaning a normal book page is 250 - 300 words meaning Orion isn't 457 pages, it's 914 pages.

Which means now I'm going to have to rewrite the entire thing... again.

[stevencho]

Also, there's a chance this won't be the final version. I might've messed up the formatting so I might need to rewrite the entire thing from scratch.

Wait why do you need to rewrite it?

[Magical]

What on earth would messing up the formatting have to do with rewriting the entire thing? No offence, but every time you are close to finishing, you just seem to make up an excuse and start again.

[Leegion]

Wait why do you need to rewrite it?

Not rewrite it but condense it. Think about it, each page in the manuscript counts as 2 pages in a standard sized novel. Orion has 457 pages in MS Word format which equals 2 pages in novel format meaning it is 914 pages long.

Each chapter in MS Word format is 10 - 18 pages long, that's double the size for a novel meaning each chapter is anywhere from 20 to 36 pages in length.

I don't have to rewrite it, but those 200 pages (halfway point) needs to be condensed into 100 pages. I could release it in two volumes but there's not really a cut off point midway through.

What on earth would messing up the formatting have to do with rewriting the entire thing? No offence, but every time you are close to finishing, you just seem to make up an excuse and start again.

Well I have the entire thing printed out so it's not a problem, as I said above all I need to do is condense it to 228/9 pages as opposed to 457. It's not a total rewrite, all I need to do is copy everything from the manuscript but make it shorter in length.

I emailed an agent just to certify this, Felicity Bryan told me that a standard sized novel in MS Word format for a first time author should be anywhere from 100 - 250 pages long as 100 pages equals 200 in a standard sized book (Take Harry Potter for example, J.K Rowling's manuscript for HP1 was 112 pages in MS Word format). She's been very helpful and has given me support, she said if I can condense it then I shouldn't have a problem finding an agent.

[Leegion]

Oh and just in case anyone was wondering, it'll be the same novel. Just shorter. I'm just cutting away the padding and filler stuff, so I'm pretty much copying everything from the manuscript into the condensed version. Meaning the full word count will be 103,000 or so words as opposed to 200,000+ so that's a good thing.

[roza]

Oh and just in case anyone was wondering, it'll be the same novel. Just shorter. I'm just cutting away the padding and filler stuff, so I'm pretty much copying everything from the manuscript into the condensed version. Meaning the full word count will be 103,000 or so words as opposed to 200,000+ so that's a good thing.

So... "Orion: And the Sword of Light Kai"?

[Leegion]

So... "Orion: And the Sword of Light Kai"?

I'm putting it on a diet, yes. Most of the pages were stocked with filler content to keep the story progressing, the condensing aka editing will give me a chance to take out most of the side stuff and focus more on the story itself.

[Leegion]

In just 7 hours I've written 92 pages in manuscript format. Using a 12pt courier new font with the margins at 1 each on an 8.5 x 11in page. Checked out the words per chapter and so far it's 4,000 words per chapter. I'm 8 chapters in so at the moment that's 32,000+ words. Meaning the overall limit and target is 105,000 words. So as I said, it'll be shorter. Not 32 chapters this time, probably 24/25. So add the chapters to the 5,000 words per chapter, meaning 24/25 chapters will equal 96,000 or 100,000 words.

Looking at what's left to write I'm roughly 1/3 of the way through. So 92 x 3 = 276 pages, it's a different format this time but some of the pages have 300+ words on so as stated 250 is what a standard sized novel can reach. So I'd say 380 pages, give or take a few when it's published.

[Titan38]

Nice! It is awesome that you are in contact with JK Rowling and she can help you out. As always, can't wait to read it.

[Daemon]

Nice! It is awesome that you are in contact with JK Rowling and she can help you out. As always, can't wait to read it.

What? I didn't read that anywhere.

[roza]

What? I didn't read that anywhere.

"

Felicity Bryan told me that a standard sized novel in MS Word format for a first time author should be anywhere from 100 - 250 pages long as 100 pages equals 200 in a standard sized book (Take Harry Potter for example, J.K Rowling's manuscript for HP1 was 112 pages in MS Word format). She's been very helpful and has given me support, she said if I can condense it then I shouldn't have a problem finding an agent.

"

I think he may have misunderstood this

[Titan38]

""

I think he may have misunderstood this

Oh, haha. I must have. I see now that he is talking about Felicity Bryan. Sorry everyone. Still cool though!

[Leegion]

Nice! It is awesome that you are in contact with JK Rowling and she can help you out. As always, can't wait to read it.

Felicity Bryan my friend, she's my non-agent/aid when it comes to my novel. I have met J.K Rowling though, 5 years ago at a book signing.

[ftoons]

Bring it, man!

[Leegion]

A little update:
243 pages at 73,685 words (still shorter than the first HP)
20 Chapters through
Chapters to go: 13 - 15

Estimated time of completion: June 15th

I'm also receiving sketches from Drakxxx, so the cover progression is coming along nicely. Can't wait to show everyone the drawings, they're excellent.

[Leegion]

Anyone want to read the entire book for free? Well read on:

I'm now 270 pages through, 22 chapters done (21 & 22 are insanely cool and quite thrilling = side plot) and now there's just 10 or so chapters left to write. It's 80,000 words at the moment, so the final word count will likely be around 100,000 or so. Full page count around 370, give or take a few.

I know people will like this, it has quite a lot in it and it's very well characterized, the development for each character is great at the moment. However, the vivid detail isn't there, that's not a bad thing as I want people to imagine this book and what is in it in their own way. I'm not going to describe every little detail about every little chamber, cave and city. That is up to your imagination.

When the book is finished I need to edit it. But I will select 1 person from vgba to read the entire thing from beginning to end for free via email. This person I'll need to get a signature from, emailed to me from their email on a contractual agreement that it cannot be reproduced or linked to anyone else.

This will be a contract, meaning whoever I select to read it cannot send the link to anyone else. I'm doing this for some honest feedback and an early reviewer, anyone here is up for selection. I will make a thread where you can put your name down, but only people who have been here for 6+ months can put their name down, not someone who has been here for just a day. I need to know I can trust you, the contract I am drawing up will be legalized by my friend, who is a lawyer, once it is done and you have signed it you will be legally bound to the statements that the contract makes.

[roza]

If I wasn't tied back with so much work I would love to. Maybe if I get cleared up I'll get back to you

[Leegion]

An update regarding how much longer I have left to write: 8 chapters, 92,328 words at the moment. 33 chapters in total. At the moment I'm writing 2 chapters a day. So in about a week the entire book will be completed. Then the tough part starts.

[Leegion]

FINISHED! At freaking last. My fingers hurt, my eyes are strained and I can barely move because I've been sitting here all day because I just couldn't stop writing. The ideas kept flowing from my head into my fingers and appearing on screen in continuous chapters all the way up to the very last word. The last 6 chapters were all written in succession to one another, each one a direct and to-the-point continuation.

I want to say, that my original statement of the final 3 chapters being the duration of the finale, was wrong. The last 6 chapters is the duration of the first book's finale, and it is extremely thrilling due to the twists and the turns and of course, the epic final battle sequence which takes up a few pages.

Now I'm tired, I'm going to bed and when I wake up tomorrow I am printing it off, sending it to the Literary teacher who wants to read it, and waiting on her reply so I can edit, print, cover and publish.