When writing short stories. What's the min-max word count. Was thinking of publishing some electronically but not sure weither to keep single or group together. just if I keep single I dont have to wait till I have a collection.
I don't think there really is a hard and fast minimum or maximum word count. Once you get beyond 20K or so words, you're venturing into novella territory. Flash fiction pieces can be less than 100 words. (Sometimes less than 50). As far as publishing them electronically, you can do whatever you want. Anecdotally, I've heard from a couple of authors who have published shorts that people who have paid for them get mad if they are too short. I don't know why length is so important to some readers -- I'd rather read something great that was short than something long that was boring, but hey, some people seem to want more words for their money. Just something to keep in mind if you're selling works -- maybe it's better to bundle a few if they are very short. If you're pubbing for free, who cares?
Good points. I wss looking a shorts of 20,000 mark. Was gonna try selling inexpensivly to get a taste of the markets. I dont want to do ot for money really but just have a go. At same time dont wanna a do it for free as even a small amount would at least be a good confidence boost. Didnt want to short change people.
While I haven't been published, I have researched the market and some places that publish short stories. Most seem to be asking for 1000-8000 words with a preference for stories which are about 4000-4500 words long. However, I did find a few places that would go up to around 12000. Any more than that and most either weren't interested or required a proposal before you just submitted the story. Anyway, just have a look around for different places that publish stories. Each one will have it's own guidelines.
