Chapters - WritingForums.com - Writing Forums, Writing Challenges, Critiques and Help for Writers

Magtour · 10-28-2008, 03:14 PM

Before the insults start being hurled at me, I did try to find the answer before typing this thread.

I have found many different answers online, and would like to hear your comments on this topic.

My book is done and edited, and now I've put in my chapter breaks. I have 350 pages with 19 chapters. Most chapters are 18-20 pages, some are 12-14, and some are 24-27.

I did not go off of word count or page count, but instead went off of content. I would like to slip in some extra chapter breaks, but am afraid of having too many for a publisher to like.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Sam Winchester · 10-28-2008, 03:22 PM

I'm sorry, I'm not understanding your question. What exactly are you asking? How many chapters are the norm for a standard-sized novel? As many or as few as you want.

Magtour · 10-28-2008, 03:27 PM

Sorry. I realize that in my quick post, I didn't get down to the brass tacks.

The questions are:

What procedure is common in dividing a book into chapters for a publisher?

and What would a publisher see as being too many from an unkown author?

Sam Winchester · 10-28-2008, 03:34 PM

I still don't understand. Procedure? You come to the end of a chapter, you take a new page, you put a heading "Chapter Three" (or whatever number it is), you skip down a few lines, and you start your next chapter.

Too many chapters? Like I said, there are no real limits. Some books have ten or twenty chapters. Some have a hundred. Others have none.

Magtour · 10-28-2008, 03:40 PM

I did not go off of word count or page count, as I have been seeing on the internet as a guide for proper chapter breaking.

As well, I have read that too many chapters is a put off for first time authors to publishing companies.

courtneyv · 10-28-2008, 03:50 PM

Dean Koontz has maybe 12 chapters in Intensity. And I've seen novels with forty or more. Just try and end with each chapter with a hook: a suspenseful note, a turn in the story or a scene-ending disaster where a goal is not met. Just concentrate on pacing.

If you're in first person, don't use foreshadowing as your sole hook. That loses its barb, quickly.

Sam Winchester · 10-28-2008, 03:51 PM

Hold up - using the internet as a guide for chapter breaking? Mate, you take a chapter break whenever you feel like taking a chapter break. There are no guidelines, and if there are some "supposed" ones on the internet, they should be taken with a grain of salt.

Where exactly have you read this stuff about publishing companies? A publisher doesn't read an entire novel before deciding if s/he likes it. They read a few pages, maybe a chapter. They aren't going to reject a good story for having too many chapters. If they're interested, they might tell you to cut them down.

courtneyv · 10-28-2008, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam Winchester

I still don't understand. Procedure? You come to the end of a chapter, you take a new page, you put a heading "Chapter Three" (or whatever number it is), you skip down a few lines, and you start your next chapter.

Sorry. That cracked me up.

Tiamat10 · 10-28-2008, 03:54 PM

There are any number of things that are put-offs for publishers looking at a first-timer's manuscript. But first and foremost is content. Odds are if your book is rejected, it had nothing to do with the number of chapters that are in it.

I don't think you can generalize it that way. What turns one publisher off might just be the right button to push for another. Just format your manuscript the way you feel best suits it--whether that means 19 chapters or 119. Publishers are too widely varied in their opinions to even attempt to please them all.

Ilasir Maroa · 10-28-2008, 03:54 PM

What Sam is trying to say is that you're making this much more complicated than it is. It sounds like you've done fine already breaking the story into chapters. As paradoxiacal as this may sound, don't believe everything you read on the internet. A chapter ends where it ends, and word count and page count have nothing to do with it. It's the content. If you feel you've found an appropriate spot in the story, whether it be on an up note or a down note, then end the chapter and move on.

Edit: I hate when many people are posting at the same time.

Magtour · 10-28-2008, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam Winchester

Hold up - using the internet as a guide for chapter breaking? Mate, you take a chapter break whenever you feel like taking a chapter break. There are no guidelines, and if there are some "supposed" ones on the internet, they should be taken with a grain of salt.

On that basis, using this site as a guide is another grain of salt. I do believe there are guidelines to writing a publishable book, and that is why I'm asking about the chapter breaks. Chapter breaks aren't as simple as the typical formatting, etc...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam Winchester

Where exactly have you read this stuff about publishing companies? A publisher doesn't read an entire novel before deciding if s/he likes it. They read a few pages, maybe a chapter. They aren't going to reject a good story for having too many chapters. If they're interested, they might tell you to cut them down.

The way I understand it, they have someone review the small entry you submitted. Then, if they like that, they'll ask for the whole manuscript. Then off of that, they decide what to do. Now I just opened a thread asking about chapter breaks, and maybe see what other people do. No need in me restating what I've already stated about finding on the internet. That is why I came here asking the question in the first place.

If a publisher does like it, but doesn't like something small about it, they might actually give you the chance to change that?

Magtour · 10-28-2008, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ilasir Maroa

It's the content. If you feel you've found an appropriate spot in the story, whether it be on an up note or a down note, then end the chapter and move on.

So it really doesn't matter how many chapters there are in the publishing process? For instance, too many chapters could be a sign of an amateur writer needing more work on his writing style?

Thanks for the advice.

Magtour · 10-28-2008, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiamat10

Just format your manuscript the way you feel best suits it--whether that means 19 chapters or 119. Publishers are too widely varied in their opinions to even attempt to please them all.

On that, I'll add the rest of the chapters where I feel I need them. Probably will end up with around 30 chapters.

Thanks

Sam Winchester · 10-28-2008, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magtour

So it really doesn't matter how many chapters there are in the publishing process? For instance, too many chapters could be a sign of an amateur writer needing more work on his writing style?

Thanks for the advice.

To put it simply - It isn't quantity that matters. It's quality. If the work is the worst thing ever imaginable, publishers aren't going to care that there's only twelve chapters in it.

And, no, too many chapters (or too few chapters, for that matter) doesn't mean anything. The amount of chapters in a book bears no reflection on how amateur or professional a writer is. James Patterson's novels have, on average, over a hundred chapters; and he's sold millions of novels.

Sam Winchester · 10-28-2008, 04:40 PM

Quote:

If a publisher does like it, but doesn't like something small about it, they might actually give you the chance to change that?

If he thinks that it has potential but there's something in it which he doesn't like, he might ask you to change it. He won't change it without permission, and you don't have to agree with it, but he's a publisher for a reason, and it would probably be in your best interests to change it.