A 45-50,000 word novel about Asperger's

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I'm writing the first draft of my novel and it looks like it's going to end up being around 45,000-50,000 words when completed. The main character has Asperger's syndrome. Do you think it could sell well?

It is short but then again Animal Farm had only 30,000 words and The Catcher in the Rye was only around 60 something thousand. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was 46,000 and sold well though most publishers today want a book of at least 60,000 words before they will consider publishing it. The style of my book is a cross between realistic fiction (some parts are like Charles Dickens - descriptions of urban squalor, etc.), romance (throughout the book there are romantic scenes and the main plot centres on a relationship) and dystopican sci-fi (like George Orwell, Ray Bradbury, H. G. Wells).

I know there are a few novels about people with Asperger's out but have any been written by someone with it?

Hi Winner. I wrote an 86,000 word novel a few months ago called Commoner the Vagabond. I'm an aspie and the main character is an undiagnosed aspie. (Most of the action takes place in the 80's and 90's when the term wasn't really well known). I haven't presented the manuscript to my publisher yet because I know they'd prefer I spend the next few months promoting my upcoming collection of short stories and novellas. In any event, I hope to have the book out some time around Spring 2014.

You know what? The strange thing is I don't care to sell it. It took me months to write it and required a lot of research, but if it was up to me, I'd give it away for free. The publisher wouldn't go for that though because it costs them plenty to manufacture and advertise it. What I would hope is a movie studio would look at it, think it'd make for a good little coming of age film, and produce it.

I would love to write a novel and get it published and sold. The trouble is, I can't write novels. Sure, I can write quick stories but they aren't good enough to want to buy, they're just basic stories what even a 7-year-old could write. When I try to start a novel, I never know where to begin, and then I start waffling on and going off-track. Also I never know how to set out the plot.

But I wish all the best luck to the OP.

Let me guess... mmmm



s**t, dude, the ball broke. Sorry, I have to send it to the service workshop. sh***y clairvoyance chinese balls...

How does having asperger's figure in the story?

How does the fact that the hero/heroine is an aspie make the story different from how it would unfold if the person were NT?

Hats off to you for managing 86,000 words. I hope it is made into a film. I have found writing a book pretty difficult and although I have enjoyed it I would probably try to write a screenplay next time (if there is one).



If you do try writing again, here is a tip. Sit with your laptop in a dark corner away from windows and doors. Although this may not work for you, what I do is I do not plan anything. I just picture a scene, who is in it, what they say and write it down. Then I do that again and again and I put them in order until there is a story.



Well, I write in the book about how the character's lack of theory of mind leads them to make an error in judgment involving how they approach a woman. There is also mention of the character's MMR vaccine and their opinion on that. There are insights into the obsessive compulsive nature of some people with Asperger's with many references to cleanliness and the need to do certain routine things to keep organised. There is stuff about being picky with food and how that is often a very key part of Asperger's, especially in childhood. I think the character in the book gets into a lot of random situations because they have Asperger's too - unlike most books there is no clear career path or regular social setting the character belongs to.

I think there are books that have covered some similar ground. I just hope I'm not reinventing the wheel. I know The Catcher in the Rye, A Confederacy of Idiots and Catch 22 all have some similar kind of stuff in there, but then again I would imagine I will bring more of an Autistic perspective. What worries me is that the book will get labelled as belonging to a niche market. I want it to be mainstream.

@Winner - I also pondered for months whether or not I should indicate that the main character in my book is on the spectrum. There are actually lots of books about folks on the spectrum but I don't know how well they do. Either stores may not carry them or they get regulated to the mental illness/self help section. Here is the list from Barnes & Noble.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/?category_id=720408

There have been some breakthroughs where they state clearly that the main character is autistic like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. I've created two synopses for my book, one that doesn't mention autism and one that does. I really would like the book to stand up by itself without the autism/sympathy factor; ten again, in this day and age of marketing and being unique to stand out, it may help to have that fact pointed out.

Simple answer... it will sell if it is well written and entertaining... just on the basis of "Main character has Asperger's" - if that is all it has going for it... no

Thanks for that, you made me think. I have revised my book a bit after this and I am now making the Asperger's syndrome not be mentioned in the story until after a few chapters and also when it is mentioned, putting the opinion that the character does not feel it defines them and is actually shocked at first to be diagnosed with it.

I hope by doing that, instead of alienating people from the character who are confused about what Asperger's syndrome might be, they will take it with a pinch of salt and read onwards until it is explained better further in the book. I'm now up to 57,000 words and still thinking of stuff to add in. I am aiming to make this book as entertaining as possible. There is quite a lot of melodrama in there and observations on all kinds of things from restaurants to books to the gender divide to how people socialise.