A novel is finished when an agent calls it in…
…at least until that agent either rejects the novel or insists that I add more words.
I added some more episodes and de-summarised a bit more, got it to 66,000 words (thanks to all who gave me advice on length!) and finally ‘queried’ a few agents.
Now one of them has the whole thing and has ‘exclusivity‘. Note my expanding vocabulary! Trying to control my optimism, I have turned my attention to novel number two and I’m having a great deal of fun with it. Writing from two points of view: a predatory fashion buyer and her prey, a history lecturer; and no first person narrator. Don’t get me wrong – I was fond of the protagonist of novel number one, but still it’s nice to have a change of company.
Have also been fiddling with old short stories and sent a couple off to competitions today, one about a ghost and another about a hair transplant.
Joanne Fox
Good luck with all of that! And happy New Year.