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A good dilemma?
This is long but I suppose it's a good dilemma to have.
When I first starting writing, I had no idea about structure. I just wrote and wrote until I got to the end.
Here's a plot summary.
Londoner Strauss Goldstone and his wife are separated after she aborts the child Strauss desperately wanted. Seeking a period of convalescence he goes to spend some time in California with his cousin Morgan. In the USA he finds new love with Natalie. What Strauss doesn't know is that his cousin is a drug dealer and his apparent girlfriend Daniella is an ex-prostitute. Daniella isn't really Morgan's partner. He made her homeless when he murdered her pimp five years ago, the two have cohabited ever since. Despite the pair growing together Morgan will not commit to Daniella because of her past profession.
Three days before he is due to return to England, in a case of the mistaken identity Strauss is shot and killed by Jamaican drug dealers. Morgan feels partly responsible for his cousin's death. With the aid of Natalie he hunts down Strauss' killers and takes revenge. After the murders Morgan knows he has to leave town. The police and the Jamaicans or both would be looking for him. As he prepares to depart, he finds out Strauss got what he'd always wanted, Natalie is pregnant. It dawns on him if he wanted the same thing, what sort of woman would he want to be with. Finally he realises, if he gets past his 'ex-prostitute' issues, Daniella is the perfect woman. She always has been, but the die is cast, he has to leave.
In the Shakespearian style moral of the story. Morgan leaves not knowing; The police weren't looking for him, they'd no interest in dead drug dealers. The Jamaicans weren't looking for him, they'd no clue who'd killed their gang-members. The only person looking for him was the sister he didn't know he had. She'd tracked him to L.A.
Here's the Dilemma.
That's not my entire novel It's just the first 10 chapters. (50,000 words). It does however work as a standalone story.
What happens is:- Morgan flies to England using Strauss' identity and a whole new story starts.
Do I
(a) Leave it as 'Absolution.' (140,000 words)
(b) Re-brand it as 'Absolution I & II' or 'Revenge and Absolution' - Double value, two for the price of one.
(c) Split it into two separate novels.
When I first starting writing, I had no idea about structure. I just wrote and wrote until I got to the end.
Here's a plot summary.
Londoner Strauss Goldstone and his wife are separated after she aborts the child Strauss desperately wanted. Seeking a period of convalescence he goes to spend some time in California with his cousin Morgan. In the USA he finds new love with Natalie. What Strauss doesn't know is that his cousin is a drug dealer and his apparent girlfriend Daniella is an ex-prostitute. Daniella isn't really Morgan's partner. He made her homeless when he murdered her pimp five years ago, the two have cohabited ever since. Despite the pair growing together Morgan will not commit to Daniella because of her past profession.
Three days before he is due to return to England, in a case of the mistaken identity Strauss is shot and killed by Jamaican drug dealers. Morgan feels partly responsible for his cousin's death. With the aid of Natalie he hunts down Strauss' killers and takes revenge. After the murders Morgan knows he has to leave town. The police and the Jamaicans or both would be looking for him. As he prepares to depart, he finds out Strauss got what he'd always wanted, Natalie is pregnant. It dawns on him if he wanted the same thing, what sort of woman would he want to be with. Finally he realises, if he gets past his 'ex-prostitute' issues, Daniella is the perfect woman. She always has been, but the die is cast, he has to leave.
In the Shakespearian style moral of the story. Morgan leaves not knowing; The police weren't looking for him, they'd no interest in dead drug dealers. The Jamaicans weren't looking for him, they'd no clue who'd killed their gang-members. The only person looking for him was the sister he didn't know he had. She'd tracked him to L.A.
Here's the Dilemma.
That's not my entire novel It's just the first 10 chapters. (50,000 words). It does however work as a standalone story.
What happens is:- Morgan flies to England using Strauss' identity and a whole new story starts.
Do I
(a) Leave it as 'Absolution.' (140,000 words)
(b) Re-brand it as 'Absolution I & II' or 'Revenge and Absolution' - Double value, two for the price of one.
(c) Split it into two separate novels.
Comments
50k + 90k = 140k
Part one works alone. Part two is easily adapted. All I need do is have Morgan explain in more detail the events so far .(In the scene driving back from Heathrow). As is often the case, the sequel reads better if you've read part one.
The whole issue does raise questions in my mind. Probably pointless, but it's difficult to control what your mind dwells on.
I was talking about the Legend short story competition to another, and was convinced to forget it. However, when sorting my files I found an old draft of Chapter 14 of 'Absolution'. The chapter is extremely long (8,500 words) and was told from the barmaid's POV. The long and the short of it is, they are held hostage in a siege type situation (one room).
Okay so I've changed it all since. But the point / question is - If a chapter from a book was released as a short? (i) How would that affect rights issues when the novel were published. (ii) If, as exists there are two stories of the same fictional event. But, as is the case, one is told 1st person and the other 3rd person, are they two different works?
It's unlikely to happen to happen but such scenarios interest me.
It could work if you used the basis and new names, circumstances etc. And anything that might refer to the book plot is taken out so you don't confuse the reader.
HPRW would be the best person to advise on the technicalities in this situation re the rights.
I'm wondering where the difference is...
If the event wasn't fictional but still minor in terms of cast. e.g. erm....
"The Changing of the Guard on a Rainy day." POV from a child with it's mother.
"It was the last time, Yet the rains still came." A terminal war veteran seeing the event for the last time.
Some authors are obsessive about events and write many pieces on said subject. Each work is seperate but the characters by definition are the same.
None of this actually matters, it's a Saturday debate - because I hate Cookery shows.