Should I extend a self published novella or write a sequel?

[sjboyer]

I have self published an 18,000 word novella & it has done fairly well.(This was my first attempt at writing) I would like to find a traditional publishing house to try & market my story, but I'm not sure if I should try to query my novella & it's sequel or make the 2 books into one? My sequel is about 2 months from being completed. Any help would be appreciated!!

[Jamiekswriter]

Originally Posted by sjboyer

I have self published an 18,000 word novella & it has done fairly well.(This was my first attempt at writing) I would like to find a traditional publishing house to try & market my story, but I'm not sure if I should try to query my novella & it's sequel or make the 2 books into one? My sequel is about 2 months from being completed. Any help would be appreciated!!

Not a lot of traditional houses will take a self pubbed story. Did you have one specifically in mind that does? From what I've heard other agents say, they wouldn't consider a self pubbed story unless it did over 5,000 copies sold. I think publishers want even higher copies sold.

Is yours in that ballpark? If so, you might be better off querying agents who've said it was OK to sub self-pubbed works. They would be the best people to get your book in the hands of publishers that want a self-pubbed book.

Why not self pub the sequel too? It seems like if the first one has a good following the sequel will be successful too.

Good luck

[sjboyer]

No, I'm not doing THAT well. (ha, ha) I guess I self published to see if I could do it...write & gain interest I mean. Since I did that, I thought maybe I'd take my book off of Amazon & B&N to try & take it to a traditional publisher. But I know publishers would rather have a full length novel instead of a novella, so was going to combine the 2 stories into one to make it more marketable. But maybe I should just stick with the self publishing since it is going well. Thank you for your quick response!!

[kaitie]

I think it's entirely possible that if the book was rewritten to be a full-length novel, it would be so different from the self-published version as to constitute another book. You're talking about quadrupling the word count, after all.

The other option would be to write a new book entirely and try that one instead.

[waylander]

Novella is an awkward length to market for agents. There's no money in them so most won't touch them.

[sjboyer]

That is what I've read about novellas. I wrote it, self pub'd it, then 2 weeks later came up with a complete sequel for it that picks up right where the 1st story left off! I even had an idea for a prequel! I think I rushed myself into publishing to soon. If I would've waited, I wouldn't have this problem. Patience is not my M.O. Thank you, all!

[Cliffhanger]

Originally Posted by sjboyer

That is what I've read about novellas. I wrote it, self pub'd it, then 2 weeks later came up with a complete sequel for it that picks up right where the 1st story left off! I even had an idea for a prequel! I think I rushed myself into publishing to soon. If I would've waited, I wouldn't have this problem. Patience is not my M.O. Thank you, all!

If they are all novella length then you have yourself a decent sized novel right there. Write your other stories and make one go of them. Just be up front about the middle bit being self-published as a novella, never keep tht info to yourself. The pub will find out any way and that won't look good.

[sjboyer]

Originally Posted by Cliffhanger

If they are all novella length then you have yourself a decent sized novel right there. Write your other stories and make one go of them. Just be up front about the middle bit being self-published as a novella, never keep tht info to yourself. The pub will find out any way and that won't look good.

That is a fantastic idea & sort of the way I was hoping to go!

[quicklime]

Originally Posted by Cliffhanger

If they are all novella length then you have yourself a decent sized novel right there. Write your other stories and make one go of them. Just be up front about the middle bit being self-published as a novella, never keep tht info to yourself. The pub will find out any way and that won't look good.

this...although if you're going to have to devote "75% of the time" already, for a product you're uncertain agents would consider because of the self-pub portion, the analytical part of me says better to just start a new one you're certain they could accept, as opposed to 3/4 effort with a huge question mark over it.