How much can one expect a novella to expand on the original draft, and have the audience that fell in love with your first draft, can consider to be the same novella? I wrote a book in 2016 I'm still trying to figure out the exact logistics in terms of revisions, while I'm working on a new book that's a collection of non-fiction essays that build toward a work of fiction. I like to call t "Semi-Fiction."
Anna-Marie With Her Shotgun was originally intended as a way to bring Anna-Marie Boeglin (the French Lizzie Borden) case to an American audience, but there were certain factors that made it impossible to write as an historical novella:
- I was a Cyberpunk writer at the time, so I was simply more use to high-tech near future settings.
- I new that if I write almost my (other energy) would be spent on writing this book.
- I had never lived in France, though still want to move and present learning French.
But already I'm seeing ways to expand the novella into a full length novel, but my fear is rather than just a novel it may become an Ulysses length work, and without the same high quality as Ulysses. Or at least percieved quality. There was a lot of things about Anna and Lisa (my mc's two lovers) that were simply left out in the original draft.
I was was kind of falling in love with LGBT "French" Westerns at the time.
I guess I should say if they're really my fans, they'll still around in future drafts.
Can't find the edit button, but also it was intended as a book I'd work on for the rest of my life, not just something that came out as a novella.
(Cause I love historical women just that much.)
I think you should do whatever the hell you want and not worry about how previous readers might react to it. If everything inside you's begging to expand it, then expand it. Eventually you'll be dead and so will everybody else. Do what's driving you.
The way you worded it gave me a belly laugh. Right, I'll do it.
