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How Long Should Your Story Be?
by Lee Masterson
Recently FictionFactor received several emails asking the
question: "How long should my story be?" The simple answer is: As
long as it takes to tell the whole story. However, there are
certain word lengths that most editors prefer to see when
submitting work. Here is an approximate guideline for story
lengths.
Micro-Fiction (up to 100 words):
This very abbreviated story is often difficult to write, and
even harder to write well, but the markets for micro fiction
are becoming increasingly popular in recent times. Publishers
love them, as they take up almost no room and don't cost them
their budgets. Pay rates are often low, but for so few words,
the rate per word averages quite high. Here's an example:
6 word micro-story: "For Sale: Baby shoes. Never Worn."
- Attributed to Ernest Hemingway
Flash Fiction (100 - 1,000 words):
This is the type of short-short story you would expect to find
in a glossy magazine, often used to fill one page of quick
romance (or quick humor, in men's mags) Very popular, quick and
easy to write, and easier to sell!
Short Story (1,000 - 7,500 words):
The 'regular' short story, usually found in periodicals or
anthology collections. Most 'genre' zines will features works
at this length.
Novellette (7,500 - 20,000 words):
Often a novellette-length work is difficult to sell to a
publisher. It is considered too long for most publishers to
insert comfortably into a magazine, yet too short for a novel.
Generally, authors will piece together three or four
novellette-length works into a compilation novel.
Novella (20,000 - 50,000 words):
Although most print publishers will balk at printing a novel
this short, this is almost perfect for the electronic
publishing market length. The online audience doesn't always
have the time or the patience to sit through a 100,000 word
novel. Alternatively, this is an acceptable length for a short
work of non-fiction.
Novel (50,000 -110,000 words):
Most print publishers prefer a minimum word count of around
70,000 words for a first novel, and some even hesitate for any
work shorter than 80,000. Yet any piece of fiction climbing
over the 110,000 word mark also tends to give editors some
pause. They need to be sure they can produce a product that
won't over-extend their budget, but still be enticing enough to
readers to be saleable. Imagine paying good money for a book
less than a quarter-inch thick?
Epics and Sequels (Over 110,000 words):
If your story extends too far over the 110,000 mark, perhaps
consider where you could either condense the story to only
include relevant details, or lengthen it to span out into a
sequel, or perhaps even a trilogy. (Unless, of course, you're
Stephen King - then it doesn't matter what length your
manuscript is - a publisher is a little more lenient with an
established author who has a well-established readership)
Page Counts:
In most cases, industry standard preferred length is 250 words
per page... so a 400 page novel would be at about 100,000
words. If you want to see what size book is selling in your
genre, take a look on the shelves. If the average length is 300
pages, you're looking at a 75,000 word manuscript
(approximately)
One reason it's harder for a new author to sell a 140,000 word
manuscript is the size of the book. A 500+ page book is going
to take up the space of almost two, 300 page books on the
shelves. It's also going to cost more for the publishers to
produce, so unless the author is well known, the book stores
aren't going to stock that many copies of the 'door-stopper'
novel as compared to the thinner novel.
Remember, these word- and page-counts are only estimated
guides. Use your own common sense, and, where possible, check
the guidelines of the publication you intend to submit your
work to. Most publishers accepting shorter works will post
their maximum preferred lengths, and novels are generally
considered on the strength of the story itself, not on how many
words you have squeezed into each chapter.
Copyright © 2002 Lee Masterson
This article was originally published in FictionFactor.
Lee Masterson
is a full-time freelance writer from Adelaide, South Australia. She is also the editor of Fiction Factor (http://www.fictionfactor.com) -- an online magazine for writers, offering articles on the craft and business of writing, author interviews, paying market listings, lots of writer's resources and much more. In what little spare time she has Lee also writes science fiction novels.
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