Snippets: a 'bridge novel;' practicalities

I carry old recollections on the plotlines that compose Land Over Sea. I use recollections, because I don't quite trust memories, not being sure how my handling of these ideas has reformed them over time. The core plotlines of Land Over Sea remain, but I find myself once again doing 'research.' I am accumulating the experiences and sensations necessary to write book II, as if being fed through an IV, to one day transplant that sustenance into written form. Weird analogy perhaps, but that's what it feels like. I find it hard to expedite this process. If I write too early, I will reproduce only what is stale. I can glimpse why some authors have such large gaps between their publications, i.e., Patrick Rothfuss or George R. R. Martin. For certain periods of your life, you are only capable of writing one book. You must enter a different period for a new work to emerge. If your current period is one of significant comfort, I can see how that next novel might never emerge. One would have to find their own balance in this equation.

Land Over Sea: Part II is coming. However, in my current period, I can only accumulate its substance while I produce a work of a different type. I've termed this work a 'bridge novel.' I have notes and a rough structure complete and my desire is fully intact. I am writing a short, independent work of literary fiction. I have been reading medieval literature, the flavour of which is an influence. I am excited to bring this to you. This project is not a delay to the next part of Land Over Sea, but rather an enabler.

Less interesting, but nonetheless relevant, are the practical benefits of a more accessible work. I am fairly pleased with how Land Over Sea is selling, but the length of the book has made the traditional publishing route virtually impossible. Most publishers desire digestible books of 80,000 words, so the 255,000+ in Land Over Sea are a hurdle. Further problems are the book's uneasy classification and my lack of reputation. Without a network in the industry, one must try and sell their book via a query letter to a literary agent, of which they receive hundreds per week. Query letters are generally sent to email addresses such as "slushpile@yahoo.com." I do not structure my writing to appeal to an audience, but I also recognize that a shorter and more traditional work may allow me to gain a foothold by which I might share all my work with a greater audience.

To sidestep just a little further, I admit that my marketing efforts are not as full as they might be. I did start a TikTok and, while some videos have been relatively successful, I have little interest in, or aptitude for, talking on camera. I have always preferred my authors circumspect, and Roland Barthes' The Death of the Author and From Work to Text still seem important to me. I like when my authors are found within the strands of the living text. I think we should be cautious of the visual medium. I believe watching an interview with Jane Austen or seeing Homer's TikToks might infringe on the 'aliveness' of their works. There must seem some arrogance implicit in that statement, but I do not compare myself to such names, just as I do not deny the human capacity to dream inconceivable dreams that, by their conception, attain existence. Anyway, if writing for financial gain was my priority, I would work on something a little smuttier, that perhaps has some fae types. Never say never.