Short story or Novella?

by ELSIE BYRON
3rd January 2017

I have ideas for a couple of stories but they wouldn't be 300 plus pages only about 150-250 pages. Would these be classed as short stories or novella's? Also to where would I submit either ?

Replies

Thankyou so much for answering my questions your advice has been really helpful I will definitely be taking it all on board I now know what my next step will be.

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ELSIE
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ELSIE BYRON
06/01/2017

Elsie, They would be novels. In answer to your second question, only submit to agents that deal in your genre, otherwise you will be rejected.

Personally, I would't worry about word the count, just write the first draft and then see where you are. Then you can begin the editing process. The word count will drop considerably even with re-writes and add-ons.

I had 140.000 words, but after many thorough edits, and much re-writing my manuscript has been reduced to 65.000 at present - and I'm still not done. I have a few scenes to add and some add-ons - important information I can add, here and there, in a paragraph or two.

Elsie, if you end at or between your 150 - 250 page range, you will be in a good place.

There is new market in the making for novels of 150 pages, called Book-shots. Novels that can be read in one sitting.

I have added a link for those interested to find out more about Book-shots.

http://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=2715#m31867

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Adrian Sroka
04/01/2017

The average MIlls and Boon (just so you can imagine the physical thing for reference purposes) is around 180-200pages long. They are novels.

If you trawl through Amazon, check out the book publishing info at the bottom of each page: that will tell you the number of pages of the book, so long as it's a paperback, not an e-version.

Where to send it all depends on what type of book, what genre, and your intended audience. You need to find an outlet/agent/publisher who deals with your area of writing. There's no point sending horror to a romance specialist, for instance. This is where you have to do your homework, and do it well. Start with W&A and always, always check websites for up-to-date information.

Lorraine

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Lorraine Swoboda
04/01/2017