The New Trend is Shorter Books

Back when I was in my novella-publishing phase, I would sometimes get reviews that intimated my story wasn't "meaty" enough. I wasn't about to argue that it was a novella, so what did you expect? And in a way, I can understand the criticism. If a story is engrossing, it can be jarring when it stops before the reader's ready for it to end. Maybe those reviews were really backhanded compliments. (No, I don't actually believe that.)

 

But after receiving a couple of those comments on two different novellas, my defiant gene kicked in and I vowed to write something heftier, more "meat-packed". I'd show 'em! 

 

When writing my [name redacted*] novel, I had to keep reminding myself to keep that vow. My natural tendency is to write short. 

 

*Tired of promoting it. 

 

The story came out to a bit over 114,000 words after editing. That was a victory for me. Other authors can whip out a 150,000 - 250,000-word novel in a snap. I really had to work at it.

 

Now they tell me publishers want shorter books! When did this happen? 

 

While traditional publishing holds no interest for me, I like to stay on top of trends. And if you're a self-published author competing with traditionally published books, you have to go with the flow to an extent. Side by side with a trad novel on an Amazon page, you want your book to stand out in a good way, not a "what's with this freak?" way. 

 

A big reason for publishers preferring shorter books is cost. Lengthy hard covers and even paperbacks are expensive to produce and expensive to purchase. Of course, if it's an ebook, what does that matter? Except it seems that readers, too, have come to prefer shorter stories. Attention span deficits and all that. (Get off social media, people!)

 

Here is an article that delineates the current expectations per genre. 

 

In reality, the changes aren't huge. Years ago, when I was pursuing traditional publishing, 80,000 words for women's fiction was the expectation. The article states that 80,000-90,000 is the sweet spot. I had to pad my manuscript to reach 80,000, which in hindsight didn't work in my favor. 😍 Now publishers are accepting 75,000 words.

 

Romance has always been on the low end for word count, but now even 50,000 words is acceptable. Shoot, one of my novellas is over 41,000 words. (If only it was a romance, it would fit right in.)

 

It used to be that if a novel was really good, I didn't want it to end. It could have been 1,000 pages long and I'd be thrilled. But gone are the days of Larry McMurtry. Writers now feel compelled to write to industry expectations. 

 

I think a story should be as long (or as short) as it needs to be. That doesn't mean the author should fall madly in love with his every word; one has to be judicious. But trends be damned;  self-publishing is all about freedom, or it's supposed to be. I don't think we, as indie authors, should become slaves to the "industry". 

 

 

 

Myself not withstanding, indie authors are taking over. Before long, those publishing houses will be looking to us to try to figure out what works. 

 

So, you be you. 

 

There's really no other way to be.