Samhain Publishing

There are so many fabulous things about the digital revolution for readers – and authors – but one I particularly appreciate is flexibility of story length. In author lingo, that’s “word count.” In the world of e-books, it doesn’t much matter how long a book is. You’ll pay more for a longer book, less for a shorter one. But all lengths are welcome. This is great news for someone like me, who absolutely adores the novella form. All of my Samhain books are that length, for a good reason.

As an author, I love writing novellas. I love the punch they pack in a short amount of space. I love the challenge of telling a complete story in little more than a hundred pages. I love honing the story down to its essentials, keeping only those elements that move things along or that truly reveal the characters. Since I’m not a huge fan of writing descriptions of setting, I can keep those short and pithy and focus on the fun part: action, interaction, and ahem, sex.

As a reader, I find novellas equally wonderful. They take a shorter time commitment. The busier I get, the more reluctant I am to pick up a longer book. I want to make extra sure I’m spending time on something I enjoy. With a shorter piece, I’m more willing to give a new author a chance, I find. It doesn’t hurt that novellas are easier on the book budget either. Sometimes I look at a novella as a test of skill. If an author can draw me into a story and make me feel satisfied with a book one third the length of a novel, they’ve done their job well.

To me, a novella is like a delicious morsel of storytelling goodness. It’s long enough to get immersed in, but not so long that it’ll keep you up all night and ruin the next day.

So how do you feel about novellas? Too short? Too long? How much does size matter to you?

Juniper Bell

http://JuniperBell.com