To split or not to split...

So if any of you have paid attention to my FB page or this blog at all over the last year, you've probably noticed that I've talked about a contemporary rock star romance that I've been working on for about two and a half years now, titled Take Me On. It is my goal to have it be my next release because I've pushed it back at least three times in favor of The Willow Creek Vampires Series. Now, as much as I love Remy and Sabine and my vampires, Ash London and Lila Stephens (from Take Me On) have been extremely patient with me, and I feel like it's their turn to shine. There will be a WCVS #4, but it will be awhile before I can work on it. It will happen though as well as a series of novellas revolving around Remy's life before Sabine came into the picture, I promise.

With that being said, Take Me On has expanded and grown so much over the last two years that it's at a point where once I finish it, I will easily have enough for two whole full-length novels (sitting around 60,000 to 70,000 a piece). In an effort to try to thwart having the story seemingly drag on in one huge book, I'm considering splitting it into two parts where the second half would be released within a month or two of the first part (which I will try to have no or a very minimal cliff hanger). The first half would focus on Ash and Lila working through some issues in their past and trying to start something with one another while being hesitant to jump into anything because of their past demons. The second half would be, well... I'll leave that for another time so I don't spoil anything ;) The price would be $2.99 a piece, though in all fairness, if I kept it as one book, I'd definitely be charging $5.99 for it because of all the work I've put into it, cost of editing, formatting, and covers, and it's going to be at least 120,000 words altogether if not more so the price really isn't a factor in my thought process on whether to split or not. It'll be the same overall price either way.

Let me explain my thinking on this whole to split or not to split thing. I'm having a hard time focusing on making the last half as good as I know it can be because I have gone over the first half with a fine-tooth comb more times than I can count. It's damn near perfect, though there are some scenes that could be explored more to make the story stronger, but then as I said before, I don't want the one book to seem like it's never going to end. I know as an author, I cannot please everyone with how long a book is. I've seen where readers will say a book that is 300 or 400 or even 500 pages is too short and others say it is too long. My personal preference is to read shorter books that keep me engaged from the first word to the very last, and maybe that's why I'm having such a mental block on this one being "too long". For example, it has taken months for me to read Outlander. I love the book to pieces but I can't make myself focus on it long enough to actually finish it. Same goes for George R.R. Martin's books. Love them, but I just can't get them finished.

Worrying that it's too long or that the first half will be spectacular and the second half will be lacking has kept me distracted to the point that I fear I will never finish the story. I write the stories I want to read, and I can tell you, if I picked this one up, I'd love it. I don't want to keep it to myself forever, so I'm leaning toward splitting it. The first would still be Take Me On, and the second would be called Take Me Home. I want to make both parts something that readers fall in love with, and I think the best way to do that is to make it a two-parter.

Anyway, if you read all that, thank you! lol I'm just at a crossroads in my mind and needed to work out some of my thoughts. What better way to do that than to write about it, right? I'm not 100% sold on splitting it, but there's a likely chance that I will just so that I can completely focus on finishing the last half and making it as good as I know it should be. If I do, you can expect the first part sometime in April or May (though more than likely it will be May since April is right around the corner) with a cover reveal soon. I'd probably do a party to go along with it to get you all acquainted with Ash and Lila, too.