4 Reasons Why Authors Write Novellas
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- Novellas have become increasingly common nowadays, but why? Why are so many authors writing them, and why should you read them? Here are four reasons.
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Prefer to read? Here's my blog post on this same topic. -- elihinze.com/20...
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I love novellas. Until the 1980s, most commercial fiction novel were around 50k-60k words. Novels are now, in my opinion, 120k words of mostly fluff. This is why I prefer to write novellas and read older books. Great video.
You just described a novel. 50k to 60k most folks would call a novel.
Novellas are generally 15 or 20k to no more than 40k.
I just finished writing a novella. It is the perfect length for me.
So far, I’ve written three novellas. Well, one of them could probably be considered a novelette. With novellas, I find that I can control the narrative and prose to a much greater degree. When writing novels, my prose often becomes uneven, clunky, and incoherent. I always try to paint pictures with words, but with novels, there simply isn’t enough time to polish every sentence.
I completely understand what you're saying. Novellas by their very nature allow for us to make the story a lot tighter!
I’d rather write novellas for artistic control over the work. Have you sold any novellas?
@@PianoMan-hx3ev I’ve sold several novellas. In fact, I currently have four novellas for sale. I also made a video about novellas: ua-cam.com/video/YcxT9Q3VVYI/v-deo.html
I hope your writing journey is going well! I’m an aspiring author and currently on a WIP as well. I’d love to network with other authors such as yourself.
@@coachworthy_ Well, I also have a UA-cam channel where I talk about writing. You can interact with me a lot there.
Novellas are the best. All of my reading in the 70's and 80s and books going back to the 1920's were novellas. Faster reads, more focused. Remember even the big Victorian "novel" Dickens, Alcott, Duma were published as monthly chapters in magazines and them pulled together. The modern giant novels are just like our modern giant resturant meals. Thank goodness for eBooks bringing back smaller reads.
I write both novels and novellas. My shortest work, MOMO: AN INSPIRATIONAL THRILLER has seen the most success and won the most awards.
This is all very enlightening. Normally, I write short stories. Some of them have been bound in my chapbook at Carthage College in 2006. Since I was graduating with a Creative Writing Minor, it was a graduation requirement for us have a collection of poems and short stories bound.
Recently, I was told by 2 editors that 3 of my short stories could actually be a novella yet I keep reading and hearing that short stories and novellas "don't sell well" like novels. Anyway, I converted 3 of my short stories into 1 novella and sometime next year, Black Bed Sheets Books will be publishing it.
Out of curiosity, do you happen to have an idea of how many pages an 8,023 word novella looks like bound? 8,000 words is ~32 pages double spaced but I have no idea if my novella will stretch longer after it's bound.
The idea that novellas don't sell well is true-IF you're sticking with traditional publishing. Most people I know who produce novellas in the indie sphere do quite well with them, so don't be discouraged!
As far as how many pages it will be, I can't say I'm sure. A lot of that is dependent upon the interior formatting. :)
Congratulations on your upcoming release, and good luck!
@@elihinze3161 oh okay. Since I know a few celebrities and public figures, maybe I can get them to help spread the word about my work on social media once it is published.Thanks for the wishes! I wish more people I knew personally were happy for me and showed genuine support! Both on and offline, I have more than a handful of closet and open haters.
@@annah.1569 That would be a great way to promote! And yeah, finding support in the offline world is tough, but online communities have been a huge help to me, personally. Don't let haters get you down-they're not worth your time!
@@elihinze3161 yeah, I know what you mean. Lately, I've been trying to find another website builder to use besides writing my query letter. Thanks!
Instructive video! Another advantage is that it is more easy to manage and 'perfectize' 100 pages than 600 pages. A novella should shine like a diamond in sunlight.
I’m thinking of doing a novella collection
You should! It's a great way to hone your skills and build up your backlog.
Interesting you mention the similarity to TV shows. I write a series of novellas structured like a TV show. I've found that a 30,000 word novella feels very much like a 45 minute episode. I even use terms like "season" and "episode" in my branding.
Hey, Eli! Just found your channel. Awesome video, and great editing. Short and to the point. I'm getting ready to self-publish my debut, the first book of a YA fantasy trilogy, and I've been looking into one or two novella side projects to work on in between because I have way too many ideas and would like to practice my craft more without quite so much time investment in world building, story structure, etc.
UA-cam randomly suggested this to me, 3 years later. Novellas are my favorite format, both for writing and reading. As much as I love the expansive, thick-spined fantasy epics, I always find myself, at some point or another, yawning at some irrelevant plot thread or overexplained worldbuilding. There's too much detail in most of those books and I think the novella format does a perfect job at hitting all the high points of what you want out of a story without having to find ways to fluff the page count.
Excellent, excellent video. A subject that's very important to me. Although I've written my share of doorstoppers, I prefer the novella. I think it's just the perfect length for most stories. I also like writing short stories and novelettes. You are spot on when it comes to the economics of writing.
I LOVE Novella's. Both reading and writing them.
i spend all my money for my children stories, from the illustrators to editors, to translators and i am totally broke from this, now if i am writing i will long wait to find a humble illustrator and i not, i will let the story only text. I have a lot of my stories are not yet published due to my financial struggles. Here in Lebanon publishing may costs you your entirely fortune and i do really mean what i am saying. Unfortunately my country didn't encourage local authors and if you find a publishing house, he will put on you many conditions and you will barely have your royalty benefits. I had bad experience with more than 14 publishing house until i found Amazon, but Amazon also is not selling my stories,i don't know why ? This is frustrating me a lot.
I working on a Novella series because I'm breaking away from what I did for the *Flux Trilogy* where I would outline and design scenes.
I'm working on Fantasy War as a passion project with no outlines or any of the long, hard, and stressful hours I had with *Flux*
I want to try planting this story vs building this story.
In the end, no one will read it anyways 😞😰
You don't know that-you may be surprised! I've had readers I never anticipated getting. However, if you never release the books, then certainly no one will get the chance to read them. 😉 Try it out!
Good luck!
i agree by far. same thing in the music industry.
This applies to audiobooks even more I think . I don't go near chunky novels because they can clock at about 30-40 hours. It's too big an endeavour
Wow i visited your Amazon page and your books are beyond imagination, i'm in love with them, you said if anyone wants to have a free copy, if i may ask you this favour, it would meant to be because English books in my country are so so expensive, and if i want to order them from Amazon the shipping fees will be insane. Thank you if you find my comment and have time to read it and if not thank you too.
Hello, Meg! If shipping the physical book is too expensive, are you open to reading the ebook versions? My books are all available in that format, too. :)
Thank you for your interest! ♥
@@elihinze3161 I never tried e-book before and i don't how to do it, i think it might be difficult here because we don't have such applications and technologies. Maybe a PDF copy will be great and someday i will have your physical copies, promise.
@@megreads9 Hmm, let me see what I can do. Send me an email at eli@elihinze.com!
Interesting video! I am writing a novella myself, (I had one but it's the backburner lol) anyway thanks for the tip.
That's great to hear! Good luck. 🍀
Can you share some titles that we should read to get a feel of novellas?
I have two questions someone hopefully can answer:
1. Can I publish a novella as a debut? Because I feel a novel is standard in our day and a age.
2. Can a novella be turned into a series. I'm writing a fantasy short story that's around the 20,000 mark and I want to see if it would maybe be a series. Could a novella turn into one. It's kinda a dumb question but I'm real curious
Thank you!
It depends which route you'd like to go!
It's harder to get a traditional publisher to release a debut author's novella, but then, it's hard to be published traditionally to begin with.
Hybrid publishers are more willing to work with you, but it depends what kind of work they represent.
As for the independent publishing route, you can absolutely release a novella as a debut. I know many authors who have done exactly that with great success! (Check out Sunbolt by Intisar Khanani for an example). Every day, novels are becoming less and less the standard. Bite-sized content is beginning to find its place and shine. ✨
As for if a novella can be turned into a series, it 100% can! Many authors use novellas to dip their toes into their new fantasy world, and expand upon them from there. I'm currently releasing a 4-book novella series, and there are many other examples out there. Write what speaks to you and it will find its audience!
@@elihinze3161 thank you so much for the response. I appreciate it. I'm just worried because I feel so pressured to write the average word amount because it's "standard" when most might be filler. I obviously wouldn't want that but it's just such a daunting task for a debut. But who knows? I appreciate the response thank you so much 😊❤️🌹
@@braxsensindelar1910 There's no reason to write extra just to reach some arbitrary word count, no matter whatever the standard is. And the 'standard' is changing every day! The story will be as short or long as it needs to be. You'll be great. It gets a lot less intimidating the more work you put out there. :)
All the best to you!
@@braxsensindelar1910 Let me tell you this: I used to love huge books, and-these days-I find myself so much more satisfied with either poetry, short stories, or novellas. I’d rather read your novella series than a hulking, 800-page book that I might not even like lol. Most books (and authors) can’t make good use of that span of time.
@@michaelkikle3018 thank you I appreciate that. I unfortunately haven't written much lately. I will write more in December it's just I'm taking a break because a friend of mine change a lot of my writing and was very critical and because of that, I lost my creative outlet and williness to write unfortunately. However, that doesn't mean I'll give up haha.
As a reader, I can't quite relate to other readers being initimidated by thick tomes. This said, I love reading novellas, and what I found a great thing about them is that they allow me to explore a new author's writing without having to invest in a huge book first, especially when they have themes and topics that doesn't make their work a complete no-brainer to me.
That's a very good point! It's an excellent way to 'test out' an author's work to see if you'd like more of their work.
Yes, novellas are for today! Who wants to cart big books around!
Novellas can be Cliff Notes into other lives, other times... I love and write them :)
You're completely right, Lewis!
I’ve been practically tearing myself apart over this. I’ve written well over a million words in my time, honed the craft and all that. I’m ready to be published. With that said, I have lofty goals and would like to make at least a part time income doing this.
Ideas come to me by the TON, and I’ve been told many of my works would be suitable for film. I write speculative fiction (The kind that keeps people awake at night). I’ll stop rambling and have been ‘told’ online that novels sell better. Is this true or not? I also notice novellas sell for $.99 and novels for $2.99 usually. (Btw, many of my ideas would easily fit into a compelling series); therefore exponentially expanding my idea list.
If you were me, what would you do and why?
The big money makers are definitely series, so if you're able to go that route, I would. As far as novellas vs. novels selling better, I think it comes down to genre expectations and what your readership is like. I write both, dependent upon the project.
For more information on pricing, I'd read Pricing Strategies by Craig Martelle. He's compiled a lot of awesome information on making serious money as an indie author, and that's one of his books on the subject. Additionally, I'd check out the Creative Penn and the Six Figure Author podcasts. They've helped me grow a lot!
I really wish short stories, novelettes, and novellas simply sold better. Unfortunately, they don't. At least not for adult genes.
I think I have that same shirt...
This is helpful. Thanks a lot
You sound like Darma and I love it
Great video.
Thank you!
@@elihinze3161 I don't want to push my boundaries, but I see you haven't posted in awhile. If the interest ever comes back, I think you should start again. Because your pretty good. Between youtube and tiktok, I could see people rlly enjoying your videos. Just my opinion.
@@MoonisHavn Thank you! I have been banking some videos (how I get my covers made, the research I do for certain books, etc) for a while, but the past few years have been rough. I'd definitely like to get around to posting again, though. Thank you for your encouragement. :)
I think I just found a new authortuber to subscribe to.
I'm doing this for three Novellas while I wrote my bigger novels too
Such a smart strategy! Best of luck to you as you work on your books. :)
Eli
I saw your comment on TYBS's channel. I'm curious comment or video wise. As a woman would you mind explaining what you find his content to be appealing?
I ask cuz One might assume his content is one-sided but he has a surprisingly decent female audience.
I enjoy his content because he doesn't sugarcoat things. He also addresses many of our current society's dysfunctions (food addiction, double-standards in dating, etc.)
@@elihinze3161 Interesting. thanks for the response.
I will never be a starving artist. One of my passions is property development. There is good money in this.
Excellent, I'm very happy to hear that! Writing can be successfully done on the side, as well. :)
@@elihinze3161 It can be done successfully if you structure your writing & reading schedules. This is VERY important. The key is to write. It’s that simple. It doesn’t matter how good it is or how bad it is. Just think of it as another day at the office. At present I am going through “On Writing” by Stephen King & so far there are some absolutely brilliant suggestions on how to write in this book. The notion of being a starving artist as never been in my mind. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial mindset. I’ve known writers who work on the big national broadsheets in London & they have made a decent upper middle class income out of writing. It’s not just the writing. A brilliant side hustle is when they get asked by broadcasters to talk about an issue or add a comment. A friend of mine is regularly on the BBC talking about the Middle East or Russia. A nice 15 minute sound bite nets him a few hundred pounds a go. There is money in this. I did like your novella suggestion. This is something I am thinking of structuring for a couple of up coming works. I do think people have shorter attention spans these days.
✍️ 📚 📖 📕 ⌨️
PS: Incase your interested punch in “Homes Under the Hammer” a popular BBC TV show about auctioned properties. This is where I got my initial interest in property to with the writing.
Ever considered to be a gamer?
I've enjoyed quite a few of the Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy games! Nowadays I find I don't have as much time to play, but I do watch my fiancé whenever he gets the chance to play.
World War Z on your shelf. Class.
I still think about that book regularly!
@@elihinze3161 It's one of only two fiction books I remember reading out of high school, I'm just getting back into the practice again now. The film adaptation ruined my life, lol
I'm going to finish reading Five Decembers on the recommendation of UA-camr Man Carrying Thing. It's in a different genre entirely but similar intensity, at least where I left off.
less thinking
💯 agree! Thats why I wrote a novella as well called “All Souls’ Day.” It’s a coming-of-age story that follows a gloomy 12-year-old boy Jose Perez as he ponders the meaning of death when his classmate Miguel drowns. Haunted by his absence and the uncertainty of life, Jose is consumed with thoughts of losing his loved ones. To escape his anxiety he and his best friend Benji go to a haunted house the night after Halloween where the scary thrills of the attraction trigger the memory of Miguel’s funeral. Running out in tears, he encounters Carlos, the school bully, who chases him and Benji all the way to a cemetery. Pushed to prove he’s not a coward, Jose enters the cemetery, but once inside the voice of an otherworldly being making a strange request sends everyone running. This ghostly encounter sets off a dangerous mission and the plans of an ambitious yet crazed scientist whom Jose must stop to fulfill his promise to a dead boy.
It’s available on my blog under fiction. www.mymiseducation.org