Short, Category, or Full?

Buy Lace, Lightning & Multiple Orgasms HERE

by Azura Ice

Short fiction. Novellas. Category-length novels. Full Novels...

I write many novella and category-length novels. It seems as though these two lengths sell really well in the indie publishing world. My theory is this—people take their e-readers on the run, so they probably prefer shorter fiction. I see their point, too. Bus rides, train rides, turns commuting with neighbors driving into the city, subway trips, lunch hours, flights to other states all make good reasons to open a 30K novella on your iPad, Kobo, or Kindle. It’s read in one sitting.

But what about longer works? The—dare I utter the words?—full novel?

Like I was saying...I write novellas, and since writing for Decadent, I’ve been penning category-length novels of late, too. Of course each publisher usually has its own standard of what constitutes a novella, etc., but overall the lengths are relatively close.

This is just a guideline, so it’s not cut into stone, but it’ll give you an idea if you’re unfamiliar with the book lengths.

Short story - 3K to 7K

Novelette - 7K to 15K

Novella  - 15K to about 35K

Category length – 35K to about 50K

Novel – 50K and up

But what about the novel? Do you read long works? Do you have time? Also, do you think the full novel is a dying breed?

Personally, I feel the novel is geared for a different category of readers. There are the Readers On the Run, and then there are what I call the Sedentary Readers, the ones who don’t have to race here and there, so they read on their porch during the heat of the day or they lounge in the tub for a couple of hours or even read for a long time before turning the light.

I love it when I find a full novel that yanks me into the book and won’t let go until I read ‘the end.’ I’m writing one now that I hope to send to my agent very soon, but as I write it, I’m always working on shorter manuscripts and tossing around ideas for another 1 Night Stand book.

Decadent Publishing has developed a large readership following the 1 Night Stand books. They’re all awesome tales full of sexiness and wonderful characters. I’ve recently submitted another manuscript for this series—this one a paranormal m/m with steampunk elements—so my fingers are crossed, but until then you’ll find my first one, Lace, Lightning and Multiple Orgasms, at Decadent and most other e-book distributors. 

Grab a copy of it and while you do, pick up a few written by my fellow 1 Night Stand authors too.