# Novels or Novellas for 2013?



## Nope (Jun 25, 2012)

.


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## Alan Ryker (Feb 18, 2011)

I plan to write 3 novels and 6 novellas in 2013. The biggest compliment I've gotten for several of my novels is that they "read like novellas."


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## Revolution (Sep 17, 2012)

I'm going with novellas this year, but still two novels in my trilogy.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

I have only one novel planned. The rest will all be novellas or novelettes.


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## WG McCabe (Oct 13, 2012)

I'll be doing novels, novellas, shorts and collections this year.


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## rubyscribe (Jun 2, 2011)

I began with individual shorts, (eventually also wrote a novel) but then I realized people found my shorts too short.  So I ventured into a 17.5k novella first, and more recently, a 37.5k novella.  

80k+ Novels are harder to write.  Novellas between 30-40k are great as they can hit the 2.99 price point and readers feel satisfied with the length.  However, having said that, I don't pre-plan my novella length, because a story has to be told well, no matter how long it gets.


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## KM Logan (Jun 2, 2012)

I'd love to start doing Novellas, but we'll see how the current project pans out.


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## Aya Ling (Nov 21, 2012)

KM Logan said:


> I'd love to start doing Novellas, but we'll see how the current project pans out.


I'm the opposite here. I'd love to do novels, but I can't write that long


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## 41413 (Apr 4, 2011)

As a reader, I genuinely prefer to read novellas. I just don't like having to invest much time into a book anymore, so about 20-35k words is perfect for me.

I think I'm the _only _reader who prefers that.

I'll only be investing my time into novels this year.


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## George Berger (Aug 7, 2011)

I'll write the stories I feel like writing, at whatever length they happen to want to be. Probably one novel, several novellas, and maybe some short stories. Oh, and some horribly hypocritical nonfiction. 

I released a little over 100,000 original words, last year. Not sure how this year'll fare, but I've already got about 40,000 words of WIP written, so...


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## Hildred (Sep 9, 2012)

I'll be writing stories that will be as long as they need to be.

Currently I have a series of novelettes ready to go, and at least two novels. The others I'm writing I'm not sure if they'll be novella or novel length. I won't know until they're done.


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## James Bruno (Mar 15, 2011)

After four full-length novels in a row, this year I'll be working on two novellas and a book of essays.


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## Catana (Mar 27, 2012)

As a writer, I'm working on both for this year. As a reader, I almost always prefer novels, the longer the better.


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## Emily Ryan-Davis (Jun 8, 2012)

smreine said:


> As a reader, I genuinely prefer to read novellas. I just don't like having to invest much time into a book anymore, so about 20-35k words is perfect for me.
> 
> I think I'm the _only _reader who prefers that.
> 
> I'll only be investing my time into novels this year.


Nah. I'm a novella reader too.

I'll probably write a mixture of short stories, novellas, and (short) novels but I would really be happy to just write novellas, the shorter the better.


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## quiet chick writes (Oct 19, 2012)

As a reader, I've been enjoying novellas a lot now that more authors are free to write and publish them! Which is not to say I don't enjoy longer novels still, but I tend to take a break from them to read a short story or novella in between sections. 

As a writer, I have planned WIPs of all different lengths, from 15K to 120K, but this year I'm going to attempt some shorter things. At the first/second draft stage on my current projects, I can definitely see the novella-sized one turning out MUCH easier than even half of the 90K novel I wrote. But that also could have been because it was my first book and I didn't know what I was doing. 

I like the idea of having more books out there for people to find me by, so as a newbie author, that's a motivation to write shorter too.


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## Bruce Blake (Feb 15, 2011)

A mix of both. Aiming for 4 novels in my usual genre and some novellas in another genre under a pseudonym.


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## Steve Vernon (Feb 18, 2011)

I'm working on the 4th episode of what will eventually be a six episode novel length release that I WILL release as a novel.

(that made sense in my head when I thought it...)


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## WHDean (Nov 2, 2011)

smreine said:


> I think I'm the _only _reader who prefers that.


That makes two of us. I yearn for the return of the shorter novels--which have to be called novellas because the average novel has grown too large. I also write shorter stuff. This should not be taken as an endorsement of the series format. I've been disappointed there...


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## Al Dente (Sep 3, 2012)

I will be working on a mixture of novels, novellas, novelettes and shorter shorts. I have several novels and at least six novellas planned. I also have around two dozen shorts that I need to write.


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## DCBourone (Sep 10, 2012)

"Sure of nothing."

Possibly concerns about length/wordcount/novel/novella
might be reconsidered and directed at the issue of genre.

Recent 'minimal' experience suggests that genre, the ability
of editor/audience/word of mouth to 'describe' in familiar
language, the definition of one's work, is/will be the distinction
between 'success/failure'--all relative to one's expectations, 
of course.

Paying very close attention to the issue of genre, here.  If I/we/you
cannot describe succinctly what is to be purchased, and why,
the quality of the work will never matter.


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## dalya (Jul 26, 2011)

I know this sounds corny, but once you get to a point in the story where you're losing steam, feeling like you're stretching for word count ... maybe you are. It's time to bring on the ending! Sometimes it's sooner than expected, sometimes it's later. If you worry it's too soon, maybe it is.

If you're the type of person who just worries and doubts everything, then you can't trust yourself, can ya?  

My new thing is I don't say how long something's going to be until I've written it.


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## Zoe Cannon (Sep 2, 2012)

Novels for me. As a reader, I'm _very _picky about novellas. They usually leave me feeling unsatisfied. A standard-length novel just feels _right _in the way a shorter work doesn't. I keep an eye on word/page count these days when I browse Amazon.

As a writer, my ideas tend to be for full-length novels. If I get an idea for something shorter I'll keep it short, but most of my ideas wouldn't feel right as novellas.


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## Marie S (May 20, 2011)

I normally write novels but I am planning on writing a couple of novellas this year.


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## Guest (Jan 2, 2013)

One possible novel, but I'll probably be focusing more on shorts and novellas this year, just to clear my backlog.


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## CaseyHollingshead (Dec 8, 2012)

Novels to pander to what I want to write. Aiming for three to four for the year, starting with one mid-January.

Novellas, faux-series, short stories to pander to what the market wants. I sprinkle them about. "Everything is worth what the purchaser will pay for it." In this case, my second tier of writing effort can usually pass at higher prices, thus making much higher returns on the energy put in. Boilerplate material subsists my more serious ventures, though, and I never lose respect for anyone (including myself) based on how they make a buck.


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## CraigInOregon (Aug 6, 2010)

C.C. Kelly said:


> Assuming the stories are complete (series) and the 'art' does not suffer, and the story arcs remain compelling:
> 
> One can publish novellas faster than longer novels.
> 
> So what are your opinions as both readers and writers for 2013 regarding novellas vs novels?


I used to feel more drawn to novels almost exclusively.

But I've written one novella, one novel, and am hard at work finished my second (very long) novel. It's taken 10 months so far... and my sales are dead because of it.

I will continue to do both, as each project demands.

However, I'm far more open to novellas these days... due mostly to John Locke, who keeps all his stuff less than 40K words and it seems to work well for him.

Personally, my year is looking to lay out like this:

Finish EyeCU. (Long novel, 85K++)

Write Holiday Horror Project. (To be published as a three-novella series. If I can swing it to get it done in time, I want to drop each installment a month apart, beginning in the fall, with a collected edition landing in early December of next year. But to pull that off, I'll need to complete all three novellas by June or so. Tall order, but each novella will be about 20-30K in length.)

Finish Ember. (Another long novel that was backburnered around the time I hit the halfway mark.)

How much of this will actually happen is TBD.... of course.


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## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

CaseyHollingshead said:


> Novels to pander to what I want to write. Aiming for three to four for the year, starting with one mid-January.
> 
> Novellas, faux-series, short stories to pander to what the market wants. I sprinkle them about. "Everything is worth what the purchaser will pay for it." In this case, my second tier of writing effort can usually pass at higher prices, thus making much higher returns on the energy put in. Boilerplate material subsists my more serious ventures, though, and I never lose respect for anyone (including myself) based on how they make a buck.


Novellas and short stories aren't easier to write than novels nor are they second tier writing efforts. Or at least, they shouldn't be. It's a different form and a different skillset.

Personally, I'm focussing on shorter works for now, because I get bored easily and like switching between stories and genres. I've got a new series of SF novellas planned this year, plus more entries in my existing Silencer series. However, I also have a novel manuscript to dust of, which will hopefully appear sometime this year.


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## Kay Bratt (Dec 28, 2011)

While I'd love to write more novellas, it is clear from my sales last year that in my genre, novels are much more preferred. But we'll see how it goes. I am contracted for three novels and when those are out of the way, I have a novel that is about half way complete. After that, if there is any more time left in 2013, I'll have to decide!

*Reminder: With all these new novellas that will be hitting the system, be sure to note in your book description that your title is a novella of ____ words or ___ pages, so that the reader knows what they are getting!


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## TJHudson (Jul 9, 2012)

I'm going to be aiming for longer novellas and novels this year. Maybe with some short story spin-offs from series I have planned.

However, I think this comment is very important.



Dalya said:


> My new thing is I don't say how long something's going to be until I've written it.


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## B.A. Spangler (Jan 25, 2012)

Interesting responses in this thread. Hadn't considered a reader's perspective regarding preference to novellas and length. Certainly something to consider.


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

I am all OVAH the novellas this year and having a BLAST! Just started one series and a second one will get started next week.

I'm also writing short stories connected to my full-length novels and putting them out for free, along with the first chapter of their sister-books. I'm loving how the perma free has launched one of my books on iTunes. It may not work for them all, but I'm having fun writing short stuff and I just. can't. stop!


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Oh joy, more short stuff and novellas flooding the market for 2013


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## 41413 (Apr 4, 2011)

Atunah said:


> Oh joy, more short stuff and novellas flooding the market for 2013


Whoooaaaa there, Atunah, try to restrain your crazy circus of enthusiasm.


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## Incognita (Apr 3, 2011)

Well, my planned books are all novels (four, hopefully). If I have time I may try to write some shorter pieces, but that's looking doubtful at this point. I think most of my readers expect full-length books from me, and that's what I'm more comfortable writing anyway.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

smreine said:


> Whoooaaaa there, Atunah, try to restrain your crazy circus of enthusiasm.


Too much?


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## Rob May (Jun 18, 2012)

I spent most of last year writing a novel. I wrote it in a bubble, completely ignorant of the the ebook market, promotional opportunities, sites like Kindleboards, etc…

This year I'm going to try a series of novellas, and try and promote them as write them: posting rough drafts, giving away part 1 to sell part 2, and whatever else I can think of as I go along!

Rob


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## Alan Ryker (Feb 18, 2011)

Some people have mentioned genre, and it does matter. Readers of my two favorite genres, horror and bizzaro, like novellas. Despite the size of Stephen King's tomes, horror work is shorter on average (on average [on average]). With bizzaro, I can barely think of a book much over 200 pages.

I have contracted novels due, and it stresses me out thinking I have to reach 60k. I freeze up.


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## StrokerChase (Mar 4, 2012)

I have a big catalog of short stories, so I plan on releasing more novellas. I might write one novel, depending on if I have the time and focus for one. Plus, it would have to warrant being that length. If I'm writing a novella, and it needs more story, I'm not going to stop there, I'm going to keep going.


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## williamvw (Mar 12, 2012)

CraigInTwinCities said:


> But I've written one novella, one novel, and am hard at work finished my second (very long) novel. It's taken 10 months so far... and my sales are dead because of it.


Exactly. I went to work on my first novel in early summer of 2012. A month or two later, after having no new titles coming to market, my sales walked off a cliff. Momentum seems to be key: build it or lose it. This is why I'll be targeting a variety of lengths throughout this year. I have two novels, three novellas, and eight shorts, plus eight audio titles, slated for the next 12 months, so there should be a fairly steady stream of new content flowing into the channel. (Does Amazon factor new title activity into its algorithms?) We'll see if this helps reverse the "head-down doldrums" I encountered in the second half of 2012.


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## 56139 (Jan 21, 2012)

I have 5 novels and 13 novellas in the works.  1 novel and 2 novellas are already pretty much done, just in editing, so I guess 4 more novels and 11 novellas left.

I definitely see the draw to shorter works, but in the long run, if you want t make writing about more than short-term money, I think you have to have novels in your back list.


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## A. S. Warwick (Jan 14, 2011)

I'm a big fan of the shorter forms of stories - novellas, novelettes, short stories.  Much prefer to read them than a novel.  Which is why I also prefer to write them (though a couple of my novellas have drifted passed the usually accepted 40K mark to over 50K - I still call them novellas though.)

Many of the classic novels of literature are more accuratly novellas.  Animal Farm, Breakfast at Tiffanys, Of Mice and Men, The Old Man and the Sea, A Christmas Carol, The Time Machine, Candide, 1984


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## CaseyHollingshead (Dec 8, 2012)

CoraBuhlert said:


> Novellas and short stories aren't easier to write than novels nor are they second tier writing efforts. Or at least, they shouldn't be. It's a different form and a different skillset.


Agreed, but they are very easy for me. I wrote probably two hundred short stories, novellas and serials from the teenage years until I started university. Some days I can drop a 5,000-word short story in a single sitting. It's probably my most natural writing station.

For the purpose of marketing, they are also easier as the genres I slot them in sell quite well at the length. Trying to sell a short story in speculative fiction, though, can at times be an almost impossible task. Most journals and magazines are dying off, and the ezines are sinking with them. The Amazon market is full of free and dollar-novels. It can be rather difficult to wedge a short story into that crowd, though there are aberrations here and there.


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## Cynthia Shepp (Dec 3, 2012)

As a reviewer, editor, avid reader, and anthology publisher I have to say that I think novella's are great...to a certain extent. I love a book I can sit down with and finish in an hour, but only if it does not feel rushed or lacking. One of my favorite authors writes novella length books and I love his work. I think that authors should absolutely take advantage of the easier writing time, lower editing prices, and easier publishing with novella's, but I do not think that it needs to be the norm. Readers love books that have deep character development and that they can sink down into for more than an hour. Write novella's, but don't neglect the novel.


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## NoCat (Aug 5, 2010)

Selling short stories to magazines isn't that difficult. It just takes a little research and patience. The magazines aren't dying off, but expanding, with new markets that pay pro rates opening all the time. In fact, two of the biggest markets just raised their pay rates, something they hadn't done before. 

SFWA defines as novel as over 40k words. I, personally, define a novel as "longer than Bridges of Madison County", somewhat tongue in cheek.   But that book sold millions and no one seems to mind it was only 32k words or so. I think as long as the story is satisfying, it doesn't really matter how long it is. I released a 40k novel for 4.99 and haven't had any reader complaints about length. I think that's because it feels like a complete book, which it is.

My plan this year is to write 9 novellas and 31 novels, with most of the novels falling into the 40-60k range.  I don't like to write big books, it doesn't feel natural to me. I prefer to write shorter, quicker paced adventure stories and I'm glad that self-publishing lets me make that profitable again.


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## Gregory Lynn (Aug 9, 2011)

From a purely mercantile frame of mind, I think novellas are more profitable. It wouldn't do to write them if you can't stand them, and it certainly wouldn't do to butcher your story to bits so it can fit a novella, but there are a lot of stories with multiple ending points and sub plots. Write them as novellas and once you have several related ones, bundle them for the folks that like longer stuff.

I think ideally--and again, from a purely mercantile standpoint--you'd have a number of titles available at multiple price points.

Of course, thinking of things from a purely mercantile perspective kinda blows.


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## Lummox JR (Jul 1, 2012)

Zoe Cannon said:


> Novels for me. As a reader, I'm _very _picky about novellas. They usually leave me feeling unsatisfied. A standard-length novel just feels _right _in the way a shorter work doesn't. I keep an eye on word/page count these days when I browse Amazon.


I have a squidgy feeling about picking up novellas and I think you just defined why. With a novella I'm not sure I'll end up with something that will tie up the loose ends for me. In an anthology I usually feel better about it, but as a rule I gravitate towards longer works.

My own work is largely either short stories (which pretty much all need some TLC) or novels. I've written 1.99 novellas, but the .99 was expanded into a novel and the other one needs to be revisited and may end up expanding to novel length as well. I just plain prefer reading novels.

One aspect I haven't seen anyone mention yet though is rereadability. A good book makes me want to read it again; shorter works tend not to. Old stories are like old friends; every once in a while, you have to drop in on them, just to see how they're doing. (George R. R. Martin stole that pretty blatantly, but the original quote is from the '80s TV show _Beauty and the Beast_.) Novels have more power to pull you back to them, because they tend to make the reader invest more in the characters and the story.


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## CaseyHollingshead (Dec 8, 2012)

Doomed Muse said:


> Selling short stories to magazines isn't that difficult. It just takes a little research and patience. The magazines aren't dying off, but expanding, with new markets that pay pro rates opening all the time. In fact, two of the biggest markets just raised their pay rates, something they hadn't done before.


Ezines are expanding on the husks of dead hard copies, spearheaded by an unending proliferation of the non-paying sites (as, quite literally, anybody can start an ezine). Online availability is great for readers, but a problem for writers, in my opinion. Markets being opened to the whole internet means available competition has _skyrocketed_. It is much more difficult to get a foot in the door _and_ keep it there. Self-publishing markets simply make more sense, frequently for both reader and writer. Maybe some other folks have different experiences, but I see online self-pub markets to not only be infinitely easier to get into, but to have higher and more consistent payouts as well.


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## NoCat (Aug 5, 2010)

CaseyHollingshead said:


> Ezines are expanding on the husks of dead hard copies, spearheaded by an unending proliferation of the non-paying sites (as, quite literally, anybody can start an ezine). Online availability is great for readers, but a problem for writers, in my opinion. Markets being opened to the whole internet means available competition has _skyrocketed_. It is much more difficult to get a foot in the door _and_ keep it there. Self-publishing markets simply make more sense, frequently for both reader and writer. Maybe some other folks have different experiences, but I see online self-pub markets to not only be infinitely easier to get into, but to have higher and more consistent payouts as well.


I made over 1k last year on just 4 short story sales to magazines. It makes sense for me, at least, to keep sending anything viable to magazines first. I can self-publish the same stories later and earn money on them further that way. Any novella I write outside of a series that is under 20k will definitely be sent to magazines first, as will any short stories I write. Selling a story for 5-10 cents a word, waiting 3-6 months for the rights to revert, and then publishing it myself just makes more sense for me at this point.

Novella series are totally different, since I doubt I could sell them to magazines, especially given the subject matter of my current series (it is too DnD for the current trends of the SF/F markets).


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## Alain Gomez (Nov 12, 2010)

CaseyHollingshead said:


> Agreed, but they are very easy for me. I wrote probably two hundred short stories, novellas and serials from the teenage years until I started university. Some days I can drop a 5,000-word short story in a single sitting. It's probably my most natural writing station.


Why aren't you publishing them?



CaseyHollingshead said:


> The Amazon market is full of free and dollar-novels. It can be rather difficult to wedge a short story into that crowd, though there are aberrations here and there.


It's a different audience. When I'm looking for a novel, I don't look up the best of Asimov shorts. And when I'm looking for short stories, I'm not going to opt for the complete collection of Tolkien just because it's on sale for $1.99. By this logic you're saying that the general public shops by price alone which is not true. Otherwise the 99 cent price point fad would still be in effect. But I think most indie authors here will tell you that that phase has come and gone.


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## CraigInOregon (Aug 6, 2010)

Ultimately, any story should be exactly as long as it takes to tell the story it's telling, without omitting anything important, and without padding the story out.

That length will be different for each and every story you tell.


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## CaseyHollingshead (Dec 8, 2012)

Doomed Muse said:


> I made over 1k last year on just 4 short story sales to magazines. It makes sense for me, at least, to keep sending anything viable to magazines first. I can self-publish the same stories later and earn money on them further that way. Any novella I write outside of a series that is under 20k will definitely be sent to magazines first, as will any short stories I write. Selling a story for 5-10 cents a word, waiting 3-6 months for the rights to revert, and then publishing it myself just makes more sense for me at this point.
> 
> Novella series are totally different, since I doubt I could sell them to magazines, especially given the subject matter of my current series (it is too DnD for the current trends of the SF/F markets).


Yeah, that's what I see a lot of writers doing, and it does make sense (and more power to you). I just don't think the market is nearly as strong as it was twenty, thirty years ago, though, when a writer could support themselves off of zines.


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## Incognita (Apr 3, 2011)

Lummox JR said:


> Old stories are like old friends; every once in a while, you have to drop in on them, just to see how they're doing. (George R. R. Martin stole that pretty blatantly, but the original quote is from the '80s TV show _Beauty and the Beast_.) Novels have more power to pull you back to them, because they tend to make the reader invest more in the characters and the story.


Actually, George R.R. Martin was one of the original writers on _Beauty and the Beast_.

/geek 

Ultimately, what we should all strive for is a story that's written in the amount of words it needs...no more, no less. I'm seeing a lot of short pieces produced quickly and with obvious cliffhangers, just to draw in a group of readers who'll keep clamoring for more. Maybe that's good for the bottom line, but as a reader, I know I'd get impatient with that sort of thing _really_ fast.


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## Rich Walls (Feb 4, 2012)

50-60 pg novella? Pssshhh.... One Page Stories! 

More seriously, will be binding all those one-pagers when they're done in September, have started work on a novella I hope to release by summer, and would like to get back on the novel train after that.

I'm starting to find I like writing various lengths the same way I enjoy reading different lengths. There's nothing better than reading a novella after grinding through a behemoth of a book and the opposite holds true just as much. Plus, from the writing perspective, mixing it up sharpens different skill sets. Short form gets you to focus on the vitals and longer works allow you to thicken out a good plot.


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## Lummox JR (Jul 1, 2012)

ChristinePope said:


> Actually, George R.R. Martin was one of the original writers on _Beauty and the Beast_.


Wow, I didn't know that. That's a pretty cool factoid. And he's credited as a writer on that specific episode (Masques), which means he probably stole his own line.

Knowing he wrote for the series makes me even more interested in checking out his books now. Serious love went into that show.


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## Carradee (Aug 21, 2010)

Gregory Lynn said:


> Of course, thinking of things from a purely mercantile perspective kinda blows.


I disagree. If you're thinking "What project should I work on next?" and the choice is between two things you want to work on, and one of them is a novella or is more likely to sell, the mercantile perspective can help the decision for what to work on next. My epic fantasy outsells my urban fantasy, at the moment, so I'm planning on doing books 3 & 4 of the epic fantasy before I do book 3 of the urban fantasy.

And then I have two other, shorter projects, one fiction and one non-fiction, which are outselling the epic fantasy. (Under different, unrelated names.) I'll likely be using those follow-ups as my "break" projects, when I need a breather.


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