Book progress.

I was working on my book earlier this month; I was distracted as I had a thought bugging me.  I couldn’t get past the thought that my book was getting long.  To that day I hadn’t researched how long a novel should be. My not knowing this bit of information was invading the work I was trying to get through.  For weeks I had been trying to motivate myself to jump through events but I continued writing with detail.  My mind kept repeating my sister saying not to make it long as book clubs don’t like long novels.
I don’t like it in books when the story speeds through the wrap up. I thought of my favourite story, Pride and Prejudice.  After spending the whole story being intimately aware of all of Elizabeth’s thoughts and feelings, when she and Darcy finally connect, we the readers are shut out and the story is wrapped up to ‘happily every after’ in three pages.
With my writing I was on the brink of introducing a new character so I was in conflict.   Was I to develop the character or fast forward to the end?  I was nearing chapter 50 and 200,000 words when I finally broke from my writing to research how long a book should be.  I learned that 80000 to 110000 is the correct range for a novel.  Wow, I was way past that.
I was concerned.  I did not think pulling parts out of the story would work for me.  I have been planning that when I finish writing the plot that I will need to go through the whole story adding more info on setting.
I first appeased myself by realizing that my favourite books have always been epics.  So, I thought, my book is for a reader like me.
This may be true.
But then I had another thought, is this is more than one book?
I felt excited by this idea so I gave it some thought and realized my heroine had three men who play key roles in her life.  Perhaps this is three books!
The ideas began flowing. I came up with the title for my trilogy and the focus of each book. It was very exciting to think that I had nearly completed two books and am just starting on the third! (Including ideas for more to come!)
My thoughts were validated only days later while watching the Writers’ Workshop videos.  In one of the Q&A clips a student asked about doing a book proposal for a trilogy.  Reid Tracy, presenter and CEO for Hay House, said that with novels publishers liked to see that a series is planned as having established characters help to sell books.