…is adding a kickass prologue that brings the fantasy novel up past 85,000 words, which is the minimum that several great Big Five publishers want to see. Once I finish minor tweaking to answer comments from four beta readers, I should see a book around 87K.
More to the point, it’s a good book. I’m comfortable sending it out on query or self-publishing if need be.
(And one of the added scenes brings my possible self-pub cover art neatly back into canon.)