Art and Culture # 119: “When to Cut” the Long Novel
It’s interesting to me when I think about a subject such as this. Length has always been a standing offense to many who read books. My books, as large, as they were, always had a point to them. The Michael Project takes a deep diversion in the middle to where the sub characters all have their story, while Michael is sitting in a jail cell, as even terrorists face their destiny and arrive at the same time. It was bold for my work, but I can see where people just wanted a streamline story.
Yes, I hate to even talk about this subject, but as a young writer of 38 years old, everything about the publishing process eluded me before my jaded successful ass became a published author. I didn’t like the whole “query letter” bullshit and it was like auditioning for a movie that I didn’t have any control over. As someone like myself, who knows his writing best, more people who interfered with my writing, it became their book. Not mine.
I love the way young writers can publish their book serialized on here like they’re the monopoly man. I love that, but to me, to see my book in print, in a bookstore, is what I always wanted. Begging for it as a self published author is part of the job. But to be adored and loved beyond time and space. To be the promised successful spirit who followed his dream and it came true.
Part of it did, but all of this leads to one central fact. My books were too long, grand, stupendous in scope, but needed careful editing. And publishers hate long books. They see it as a summer read, and won’t consistently make money. That’s all the publishers think about.
As a greedy self made man myself I see it can work both ways. It gets hard to sacrifice story in a way that people can understand it. To me, after reading Frank Herbert’s “Dune” for the fourth and a half time, I am amazed that he bottled so much character, depth, and girth in one single book that’s perfect upon every read. The constant test of a readership is being able to survive one time read, but also, books hit you at different times, so it’s really odd for any publisher to make some weird demand that books should be shorter.
Untrue.
The outcome is that most books aren’t written by themselves, but truly edited with cooperation between two people, one editor and a writer, who see the vision in a bilateral way. One wants to make money and create a long lasting readership, and the writer wants the vision his way. It’s a struggle, and if a book is so great that every page can’t be taken out, that becomes a costly effort.
The reason why is that nothing is guaranteed in the entertainment industry. Nothing ever receives worse praise when a book fails upon impact, and the writer dies abysmally unknown, but often times, writers, long and short books, can become famous after they are dead. So taking out anything in a book depends on the writer alone.
And the rest is up to history. But as Method Man says, “My style is forever, but niggas crossing over, they don’t know no better.” So, if crossing over means I can pay the bills and see my stuff turned into some corn fed garbage on Netflix that people will forget about in one single viewing, but then go out and buy the book after, maybe that’s not so bad, but then the book is always better than the movie/stream.
Just depends if you want to taste a writer’s long dark metamorphosis into the abyss.
(This scene from Genius represents how frustrating it can be for an editor to receive a long book that you deliver, and somehow, it’s more frustrating to edit because of a writer’s temperament.)
-Louis Bruno is the author of more than 21 books, including, The Michael Project, The Michael Project: Book 2: The Lost Children of Eve, Thy Kingdom Come, The Disintegrating Bloodline Part 2: Chaos, The Data Chase, The Disintegrating Bloodline part 3: Solvè, The Disintegrating Bloodline (and the original text re-released in 2019), Apocalypse Soldier, The Data Chase, Selection: The First Book of the Life and Death Saga, and Blinking Eyes: The Second Book of the Life and Death Saga, Hierarchy of Dwindling Sheep, The City of Sand, The God of Curiosity, To the Moon and Back, The Villain Lives and The Villain Lives: The Divided Pinpoint, Come Home, Young One, City of Sand: Book 1: The Holy Terror, and The Voices Are Alive, and The City of Sand: Book 2: Jerusalem Ignited. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English from University of Phoenix. His books can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Lulu. He can be found on Gab, https://gab.com/thereallouistbruno, Minds https://www.minds.com/lbruno8063/. Instagram @lbrruno8063 and @louisbrunoofficialbook. Twitter: https://twitter.com/LouisBr88881650. He has written for the Intellectual Conservative and Ephemere. His newest books, The City of Sand: Book 3: America the Free, is out now.