MatHaz
patreon
About the Book - The First Question
🕑 Added 2023-02-24 23:34:23 +0000 UTCI’ve been meaning to write this post for a while now. Weeks, actually, but I kept getting side-tracked for one reason or another. Even this week, I meant to post this on Wednesday, but I got sick, so eh. That sucked.
Anyway, let’s talk.
You may recall that I want to release the first book of Ave Xia Rem Y this year. That’s still a thing. In fact, this post is to talk about that subject. Specifically, I want to talk about my biggest issue regarding the book version of Ave Xia Rem Y.
Deciding what goes into the book.
I once said that Chapters 1 to 71 make Book 0 of the story. The prologue, as it were. I stand by it. I could grab those chapters, tidy them up, bundle them into one book, and call it a day. However, I’m unsure how well those chapters would work in a book format because of how Ave Xia Rem Y is structured.
If you think about it, Ave Xia Rem Y is a story told in novella-sized arcs.
Chapters 1-14 are the Intro Arc. We are introduced to Liu Jin and the world he lives in. Liu Jin is introduced to Old Jiang, and his training begins.
Chapters 15-31 are the New Moon Town Arc. Everything from Xiao Nan inviting Liu Jin to New Moon Town to Xiao Nan revealing that Liu Jin is going to get married.
Chapters 32-40 are the Engagement Arc. Everything up to Xiao Shuang leaving Eastern Port City. This includes the A Father’s Tale chapters.
Chapters 41-64 are the Eastern Port City Tournament Arc. Liu Jin gets his first important mission from the Xiao Sect, participates in a tournament, and the Yun Sect goes from background to foreground.
Chapters 65-71 are The Fall of Eastern Port City Arc. Everything bad happens. You know it. I know it.
Finally, Chapters 72-83 and all the interludes are the Five Bats City arc. Though not part of Book 0, it works as an epilogue for it. Then, chapter 84 is officially the start of the Eternal Flame Clan arc.
They are not stand-alone arcs, and they tell a continuing story, but if you combine them, the result is not as tightly-knit as a normal book would be. While the format has worked well in web-serial form, I’m not sure if it translates well to book form.
Also, it’s a lot of text. Well over 100k words. Maybe 150k or something. That might feel daunting to some.
I am also unsure whether to include the Five Bats City arc in this book or not. It doesn’t feel like a great place to end the book. Chapter 71: Ashes would have to be the ending because it’s just (I feel) a strong ending (if perhaps, a tad rage-inducing to some).
I’ve also been thinking maybe I need to break things instead of releasing all of Book 0 as one book. Like, maybe break it in half to make it more digestible. Book 1: Intro+New Moon Town. Book 2: Engagement+Tournament+Fall.
Something like that.
In case it wasn’t clear by now, I’m pretty much rambling despite repeated attempts to proofread this post so it doesn’t sound rambly. That’s how unsure I am.
Here’s where you guys come in. I want to hear your thoughts, opinions, and ideas. Am I on the right track? Am I overthinking? How would you arrange the chapters into a book if it was up to you?
And so on.
Looking forward to hearing what you have to say!
Comments
Abhishek Sehgal
You require an experienced publisher and editor to sponsor you in this journey. The publishing of your chapters into a series of books requires a major re-working of the storyline continuation at the Last Chapter/s of the said book needing tweaks and adjustments. You should not do all this work yourself and let them do it for you. Don't just go amazon publishing either, if you get a proper publishing house behind you, your ability to distribute will significantly improve. Also keep in mind Games of Thrones had and Harry Potter (Esp. had 1m+ words) so the word count is a null issue, it is all about how you package the Story Archs up. Think about it as if a Movie was going to be created on your book... How would it replay? The Character Development, maybe segmenting it by character maturity -> 1. The Peace -> Destruction [Child to shocked maturity] 2. The Confusion -> Plan [Reality to figuring out the sect] 3. The Journey -> Empire [The journey to death plains and the landing in the storm dragon to continue] 4. The Chaos -> Deliverance [Storm Dragon Empire to external enemies to peace] 5. Deliverance -> "World" Enemy [Establishing an empire and a united front to fight the outsiders in a emergence of escaping the prison of the anscesotors.. a journey outside begins] 6. The downfall and hopelessness -> A ray of hope [Building allies and finding out an unbeatable foe or something similar where a deliverance of hope arch begins] 7. The unwinnable fight -> A close and Sad Victory [A uphill battle with unexpected help and inside assistance to become a "WORLD CONQUEST?"] 8. The Family Arch.. if you want you can also leave clues for another universe and storyline to begin and explore here in a separate intertwining series? Maybe a Universe beyond the universe? Who knows? This completes your story in a journey of Character Development of "Greatness" forced in, you can play around with it but that is just to assist you. This can be one way you can structure it but I believe planning helps.
marconjecture
There is a distinct break between the Five Bats City story arc and the time jump to Liu Jin joining the Eternal Flame Clan. Thinking back I remember taking a break from reading the story to digest the fall of Eastern Port City. I was very invested in the world and people you created there and felt the sudden destruction as very jarring. To me, it was a necessary epilogue and a chance to get back into the story, enjoying Liu Jin acting brilliant. Without the Five Bats City arc, I might not have picked it up again. I could imagine ending book 1 with the marriage arc and book 2 after Five Bats City. Or put all those chapters into one book of Liu Jin going from childhood to his first independent steps. The Eternal Flame Clan arc happens after he has found a goal for his life. I don't think a book has to end on a bang, it just needs to make you curious for the next one.
