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Are shorter novels dead?

  1. Yes.

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  2. no.

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  3. I don't know.

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  1. Damien Loveshaft

    Damien Loveshaft Active Member

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    Novel Are short novels dead?

    Discussion in 'Genre Discussions' started by Damien Loveshaft, Oct 30, 2017.

    I notice a lot that I hear thing like 50k-70k long isn't a full novel. Are these shorter lengths a dying breed? I tend to write shorter novels and novellas, and I can't help but wonder if I'm shooting myself in the foot even if my genre was once rooted in shorter lengths. Romances, ero, horror, weird fiction, and mysteries have always been shorter in my mind than fantasy or sci-fi and I frequently read these short books as well. Have times changed without me?
     
  2. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

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    In general, yes, the trend has been moving away from that kind of length. Category romance, around the 50k mark, is a big Thing. Young adult novels are also frequently in the 50-70k range, although the trend there is also for longer word counts.

    On the other hand, I believe novellas are becoming more popular as eBooks - the big problem with novellas, traditionally, is that they don't cost much less to produce than full-length novels but they look so much slimmer on a bookstore shelf, making readers think they're being ripped off, and that isn't an issue with eBooks - but they tend to be shorter than 50k, and more like 30k.

    There doesn't seem to be much of a market for 50k novels outside of very specific genres. You might get away with 70k outside of fantasy and sci-fi, but you'd improve your chances if you could get it to 80k without fluff.
     
    Cave Troll and newjerseyrunner like this.
  3. Damien Loveshaft

    Damien Loveshaft Active Member

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    I see, I guess I never thought of it that way since I'm used to my books being smaller at times. I'm also very used to the little serial volumes (averaging 50k a volume) used in light novels as well.

    I write weird fiction and I've been having the roughest time figuring how to package my works up(they're all related) for optimal word counts while also juggling the fact I didn't want to switch character POV without changing books. I plan to self publish but I'm worried 50k long e-books will thrust me into and awkward length no one wants. It really should be a serial, but I know I couldn't get away with that so easily even with self publishing. I know I'll need to compromise, I just wonder how I should go about it.
     
  4. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

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    I think I would market them as "short novels" or "Title: a serial novel" (if that's a thing - you know more than me, being a reader in that market!) I strongly suggest you allude to it somehow in the description and make it clear it isn't a standard-length novel. Back in the early days of eBooks I bought a self-published one and was so confused when it ended after about 30k words - I felt like there must be the rest somewhere and maybe the author had split to get more money. But nope, it turned out to be a novella... only it hadn't been marketed as such. It was the same price as a full length novel and I felt cheated.

    After that I paid more attention to the page numbers which are always listed on Amazon (I think)... but I don't think all readers check that.

    It's about managing expectations, I guess?
     
  5. Damien Loveshaft

    Damien Loveshaft Active Member

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    I see what you're saying and it makes a bit more sense now. I'll definitely try something like that and keep in mind to be very upfront about the length. I also didn't plan to make any of them full novel price if I decide at any point to start charging for them. I'm just trying to throw myself and my style out there for now since pulp magazines are pretty dead in America. Thanks. I'll maybe even try some small sample market testing to see what people think.
     
  6. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    James Patterson. Book shots . nuff said
     
  7. Rohan89

    Rohan89 Member

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    I don't think so. It depends on your target audience.

    I plan to write for men aged 18-late twenties. A lot of them don't have time to read 500 page books.

    250-320 pages for me is ideal in terms of what I want to write and read.
     
  8. Storm713

    Storm713 Member

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    This is kind of sad, truthfully. I have always been more inclined towards the not-so-long novels (in terms of writing them) and I have to admit, I thought getting to 50k qualified as a long novel. Oh well…I hope to get better with age.
     
  9. Iain Aschendale

    Iain Aschendale Lying, dog-faced pony Marine Supporter Contributor

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    Does anyone remember the "upside down books" (search shows they were Ace Doubles), where the book had two front covers and two short novels/novellas in it?

    [​IMG]
     

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