Advice needed for someone who cannot get their manuscript down to 120K for science fiction.
I am not asking for querying advice, as I know that belongs in r/Pubtips, but rather I need some advice for experienced authors in further refining my manuscript.
I have queried my manuscript (Science Fiction, Multiple POV) before, and so far have not gotten any bites from agents, and I suspect it is being rather quickly dismissed due to word count. My first draft was 223k words and I edited the story all the way down to 140k words before submitting. I've trimmed every bit if fat from the book, every scene counts, and I've killed my darlings. So, at the end of the day, the book is what it is. It is not a story that can be split in two.
I work shift work with a lot of overtime, and have a young family that I spend a lot of time with (nuturing, activites, play, chores, cooking and cleaning), so I haven't always had a lot of time to write. Because of that I've been working on this particular manuscript for many years, and although I have several side projects, I have not had any short stories or side projects published to add legitimacy to my name, so to speak. I suspect if this were the case, I could maybe get away with the word count.
I'm pushing 40 and I would really like to see this story traditionally published. I've taken the time to learn the craft and I feel that it is of sufficient quality.
My question is, where do I go from here?