My feedback on this is so divided. There are people who are happy with lean description, my wife is fairly strong on this and doesn't like a lot of details that end up at odds with the mental image she'd formed. Then there are others who want a lot of detail or they can't visual the scene and I've been told my stuff is a total fail in a couple of cases for lack of it. I know I'm not going to make everyone happy, but I'm having a hard time figuring out the right balance since I can see everything clearly no matter how much or little I put in.

If you've got divided feedback that falls squarely at opposite ends of the spectrum, that's both maddening and a good thing. Maddening, because there's no one way to "fix" things, but good, because it's polarizing. Readers aren't indifferent, which is worse than a strong opinion one way or the other.

Ultimately, you've got to follow your gut instinct on this. WHAT is the book you'd like to read at the end of this? Because I'm sorry, in the end, you're writing primarily for yourself. If you start thinking about "audience" you're going to drive yourself mad with your inability to meet expectation, because there is absolutely no way to make every single reader happy. So you have to make yourself happy.

I'll step off my soapbox now.

It's a lovely soapbox.

That's a good point.

It's really the only point that matters, Gud. It's your book. You have to be happy with what you created, and then let it stand or fall.

Point taken. I think I'll have surer footing with the next book, having done one.

Eh, I suppose if it's so long I don't think it'll even get a look, I'll split it at the natural spot. I'm not really expecting to sell the first piece of fiction I've written. It's more for the experience anyway.

Yeah but never say never. As others have said, make it the book you want. The chances of a sale are small for everyone right now, but if it is as close to the book you want it to be as you can get it, your chances of a sale are better than if it is a book you screwed up to please others.

Also a good point.

Sorry for the discouragement flare-up.

We all have our Billy Walsh moments, Gud. (Billy being the insano screenwriter/auteur character from Entourage who goes from day to day sometimes hour to hour thinking "I wrote Mean Streets" or "I wrote shit.") Sometimes I get embarrassed watching him. Despite the drugs and gambling, his thought processes can be all too familiar sometimes.