Oh my! I’ve been proving the truth of this verse far too much this year! I had such big plans for how much writing I’d get done this summer. All charted out in a carefully laid-out schedule, complete with a target word count or editing goal for every day.
Um, no. Seems God wanted me doing other stuff instead! Between my health issues and my husband’s health issues, my creativity took an extended vacation. Last week, I deleted most of my beautiful schedule. I’m so thankful that ideas are finally popping again. Time to get back to work. But the only way to possibly get all the books for multi-author projects I’ve committed to done on time will be to write just that bit shorter.
My friend Alexa Verde and I had an email discussion last week about the challenges of writing shorter but satisfying romances when we’re used to writing longer ones. Writing Christian romance makes it a little tougher – we need to fit in the faith elements, too! I’d love to hear what you think as a reader about story length.
Most of my stories are long novellas, between 35,000 and 40,000 words (around 150 to 180 paperback pages). I have a few that fall into the short novel category. My longest story is 68,000 words (around 250 pages). Those are mostly my first written and published Christian romances, after quite a few “practice” books that would need very big changes to ever be published. The editor I worked with at the time taught me a huge amount, and I’m so grateful for that. But she always wanted me to write more, more, more!
The wonderful editor I work with now, Deidre Lockhart, always tells me when more words are needed, but she’s a lot more likely to rein me back from overwriting. Since working with her, I’ve tended to write shorter books. I felt comfortable with the long novella, and it seemed my “natural” length. So much so that when last year I sat down last year to write Least Expected, aiming for a 12,000 to 15,000 word novelette to give as a gift to my new subscribers, I ended up writing 38,000 words.
Twice as long as I planned! Oops!
So earlier this year, when I felt guided to write a story for the First Street Church Romances, part of Kindle Worlds, and heard the target word count was 25,000 words (less than 100 pages!) I prayed hard. How could I fit my story into that few words? The characters I’d committed to writing about had conflicts way too big and too much to overcome in so few pages, when I’d been accustomed to write so much longer. Also I know some readers find short romances feel unrealistic and rushed.
The solution I found for this story meant giving them a lot of history. Jumping over any “getting to know you” stage entirely, and getting them working through the issues that kept them apart from each other and from God a lot faster than I usually did. Thanks to God’s leading and much-appreciated support from my editor and my critique partner, the book I ended up with, Love’s Healing Touch, has been well reviewed. So far my readers seem to have found that this shorter-length read is still a complete and satisfying romance. Phew!
But my next challenges are even bigger. Or maybe that should be smaller!
I also hope to write a Christmas romance in the same series, where the target word count for authors in this launch is just 15,000 words. That’s not even 50 pages! I’m getting in practice now for this length story by working on a new novelette to offer as another subscriber gift. My aim is to make this one even shorter, 12,000 words if I can. Gotta admit, I’m finding it tough. Fewer pages to play with to get to that ahh-worthy happy ending can make writing slower, not faster!
So I’m curious. As a reader, do you have a preferred book length? What are some very short but satisfying romances you’ve read and can recommend? One comment on this post before September 21 will win a free ebook copy of Love’s Healing Touch.
And if you’re not already on my subscriber list and would like to be, you can sign-up here!
USA Today bestselling author Autumn Macarthur writes romances full of faith and hope, celebrating God's love as well as a man and a woman finding their happily ever after. She prays they’ll warm your heart and make you smile. An Australian transplanted to Britain, Autumn lives just north of London with her lovely English husband and three demanding cats, in a very small house with a teensy tiny garden. She loves talking to readers, so please get in touch! And get a free Christian romance novella when you sign up for her reader newsletter at http://bit.ly/Autumnsubscribe
One great thing about reading a shorter book is you can read more at a faster pace. With an ever-growing TBR pile, this is a very good thing. :) I love the cover of Love’s Healing Touch, Autumn!
Hi Autumn, having health issues makes each day more of a challenge, so congrats on still keeping faith and finding energy to be creative (and write:) I have to confess, I prefer longer stories- I grew up reading the Thoene’s Zion series, so enjoy the opportunities presented in a longer story. However, life gets busy…so I have learned to appreciate short stories, Meredith Resce has a couple great short ones, Liwen Ho’s True to You, Rachel Rossano’s Word and Deed are just a couple I have read lately that have a well developed feel to them (and make me want to read more!)
Blessings:)
Hi Autumn! Interesting thought provoking question about our reading habits. During my teens, twenties, & thirties and before ebooks, I preferred a longer read – 300 + pages. As I hit the sandwich years, with three kids at home working full time, being a pastor’s wife while caring for my aging parents a 200 + book was fine. Now that I am in my sixties and retired while caring for my grandchildren Monday thru Thursdays with a wealth of ebooks, I prefer a shorter read – about 150 pages. My attention span is shorter and my eyes tire more quickly.
Regardless of length, a book has to draw me in within the first 5 – 10 pages. Elizabeth Maddrey’s Cookies &
Candlelight immediately drew me in and even with many interruptions, I finished the book in a day. Nice length for a stand alone at 164 pages. As a retiree price is a determining factor. As an avid reader, trying to limit my reading habit to $25 bimonthly – I look at how many pages I get for my buck. Since 2014, I have read many boxed sets. The last box set I read was Picnics and Promises, where I enjoyed your Proverbs 31 story – good length. So for boxed sets, I prefer shorter stories and boxed sets around 10 or less stories in the set. Hope this helps. Best wishes and Happy Writing.
I enjoy books that move quickly and can be read in 2-3 hours. I’m. It sure what that looks like page or word count wise, but I’d guess it’s similar to most of your books.
When I don’t have much time I enjoy the novellas. Other times I enjoy the longer novels. Lord bless your writing and your health.
I think that there’s a time for each kind of book.. there are times I prefer a long novel and sometimes a short story is what it’s needed. It must be really hard to write a short story, though
I like to read novellas and longer novels. I tend to read more novellas because it is easier to find the time to read them.
In the past couple of years, I’ve tended mostly to WRITE the Love Inspired length of about 55,000 words. My paperbacks come in around 220 pages. I’ve also found I really like that length to read. I’m reading a longer one now and sometimes I’m feeling impatient at the slower pace. I like writing the 28-30,000 word novella, too, but I agree it’s easier to make them satisfying if the couple has that deep history already. I prefer reading the shorter lengths in box sets and/or with Christmas themes.
I really like short reads. I appreciate the shorter time commitment and the sense of gratification I get from a shorter read. One thing the does bother me though is when a writer has a great story going then all of a sudden the book ends–that’s when I know they are not used to writing short and and realized “oops I need to wrap this up.” As a reader that drives me batty. That being said, I still prefer a short read over a long one.
I prefer longer books, around 300 pages. That being said, there are times when I like shorter books, say around 150 pages. For me, less than 100 pages typically doesn’t flesh out the storyline and characters well enough.
I seem to prefer longer books, but I’m really started to love the shorter ones. The great thing about them is you can still get the full story, the character development and that they resolve the issues (like you said), but just in a more compact, shorter version. I do love both though. :)
If the book is really good, I don’t want it to end! After reading a long, satisfying book, however, I often turn to a shorter novella, kind of to “cleanse my palate” :-)
I usually prefer novels so I can definitely get a really good immersion into characters’ lives. However, I’ve read once or twice a good short novella. (I’ve read a lot of short ones, but seldom a good one.)
Sometimes a short read is a good distraction from reality (some me time), but not enough to start a new novel I know I won’t have time to finish.. recently I’ve been reading shorter books all together for lack of time, but I’m starting to realize I’ve read so many unsatisfying books that I wonder why I ever thought they would be worth my time at all. (And I agree it is probably harder for a Christian romance because you can’t add elements of faith and love without lacking on one or both..)
Typically I like reading full length novels best but there have been a few novellas that I’ve read and enjoyed. I don’t know if I’ve ever read one thats’s as short as your anticipated Christmas story. I can see how it would be challenging to write to that length when it’s not what you’re used to.
i prefer longer novels. I like to get to know the characters and the story better. I do read novellas from time to time for variety though.
I prefer shorter novels because I have so many books to read that I know I’m not going to live long enough to read them all. I like shorter novels because then I get to know the author and know if I want to buy more of their books. That is how I have discovered authors that are my favorites.
No preferred book length. I’ll read any length story, as long as the plot grabs my attention!
I will read any length with one caveat – I do not like an abrupt ending. So even with a 50 page novella, one paragraph to wrap thing up makes a huge difference to me.
As a reader, I prefer novels anywhere from 50,000 to 95,000 words, no longer than that. As a writer, I’ve been challenged like Autumn to write novellas for a set. So far I’ve done two that come in around 35,000 words and one that is only 19,000 words. I surprised myself with that last one. I wasn’t sure I could write that short, but I managed.
I hear you on that TBR pile, Jill! Mine is HUGE!
I love that cover, too. :)
I think shorter books CAN be just as enjoyable as longer ones. And…when I read more shorter books, I feel like I’m accomplishing more. :) I really enjoyed Then Came You by Becky Wade, Surrendered Hearts by Carrie Turansky (not super short at almost 200 pages), and A Brush With Love by Rachel Hauck to name a few.
Thanks Wendy! Yes, I’m finding the health issues are a major creativity zapper. Especially as the part of my brain most affected by this pesky illness is the bits to do with creativity!
Thanks for the book recommendations. I’ll look at those. Liwen is a wonderful author.
Thanks Renate! I’m so glad you enjoyed that set. :)
Good point about the way our reading habits change at different stages of our lives. That’s so true!
Thanks Melynda, Most of us are squeezed for time now, and that is a big point in favor of shorter books. My main regret about writing is that it eats up all the time I used to read in!
Thank you, Diana! Agreed, it’s great to have a range of lengths in our Kindle or TBR pile, so we can choose to read what we have time for.
I do find it a lot harder to write short than long, that’s a fact. hen I was at college, the lecturers all wanted short stories, but short, short, more like flash fiction, just a few pages. Those we fun and easy. It’s the longer short stories and novelettes I’m finding tough!
I think that’s why I read more novellas now, too. If I start a story, especially if I love it, I want to be able to read it all in one session, something that’s caused many sleepless nights with longer books!
I used to think 50,000 to 55,000 words was my natural length, too. It’s probably my preference to read, unless I’m really pressed for reading time. But the shorter ones can be great to write and read too! Especially around Christmas when we all seem to get so much busier than usual!
LOL, that is so true! And what makes writing shorter more challenging. I have to work extra hard to keep a sense of where the romance needs to be at a particular word count to avoid the rushed ending. Hopefully I’ve managed it! :)
Shorter books or novellas can be just as entertaining as the longer ones. I realize I can finish a shorter book in a shorter amount of time and that way can read more. I like longer books too as there is more meat to the stories and gives more background and let’s you know the characters more. So either way, I will read all the books I can.
Thanks for commenting, Sherri! Getting a good feel for the characters and their relationship in the lower page count is certainly one of the big challenges of writing short.
LOL, I’m pretty sure that could be part of my writer’s block with trying to get this very short book done. It possibly would have been quicker to write a longer story!
Hi Britney! That’s what I’m finding as a writer, too. There’s a place for all story lengths. Some stories where the characters have to deal with bigger conflicts and relationship issues simply NEED more words. But sometimes simpler issues can be resolved and feel real and satisfying in a lot fewer pages.
Oh yes, Margaret! I know that feeling of loving characters so much I just want to keep reading. I’ve been known to finish a book then go right back to the start and read it again, because it was that good!
It’s a real issue, getting that balance right. Exploring the characters and their issues in enough depth to be satisfying, but not so deeply that issues needing a hundred pages to explore suddenly get wrapped up in two.
It’s certainly going to be interesting trying to write so short and still have a story that is satisfying to read!
I’m guessing I will go over word count for sure. Though I can’t go TOO much over! I just remembered the Christmas story I started writing years ago for a publishers call for submissions, with a 15,000 to 18,000 word count requirement. My first draft ended up at 24,000, so even after I trimmed hard was rejected for being too long. So I revised it as a 40,000 word long novella, but it still felt rushed. The version I eventually published ended up at 68,000 words, after going though several rounds of edits and additions!
Longer novels were definitely my preference when I had more reading time. I love going that deep in the characters and their experiences.
That’s so true, Linda! So many books, so little time! It’s definitely a great way to try out a new-to-you author.
So true! A well written shorter story is better than a long badly written story any day!
Me too! So unsatisfying to read! Definitely a pitfall I hope to avoid with my shorter books. :)
Which is the 19,000 word story, Merrillee? I’d love to read it to get more feel how you managed the shorter length!
Great authors and good suggestions, Ellie! Thank you! :)
Good points, Donna! There are advantages to all length stories. Happy reading!
I’m with Donna M………I love to read so much that I will read any length of books! I read some print and some E reads.
I enjoy reading,shorter novellas but as a reviewer shorter makes it harder.
Harder to not give away spoilers.
I don’t mind book length. If it’s a short, well-written novella type, the author can jam pack a lot in it and I’d feel like I wasn’t missing anything! Those stories are great for times when I don’t have a lot of time to read a full length novel or maybe in-between longer ones. I have read novellas where they aren’t satisfying at all!
Of course I prefer longer novels, but I say as long as it’s good quality writing, well-written and keeps me engaged, then size doesn’t matter :-)
It’s great to have a mix! There are definitely times when only a longer book will do, and times when we’re frazzled and time-pressed that a short read is just right. I still love reading paper, even though most of my reading is now on my Kindle!
I hadn’t thought of that as an issue, Linda. But yes, it must make a reviewers job much harder!
I’m learning to jam pack more in and still make sure the story isn’t rushed. I hope! ;)
To me, there is a “natural” length.
I like both the shorter novellas and the longer novels, and I read both. I think there is a place for both. As long as it’s well-written and keeps me interested, I will read it. The shorter novellas just mean that I can find time to read more of them. But I never like a good book to end because I am never ready to leave “their world”. That’s why I also enjoy series so much, because I get to catch another glimpse into their world. Teapots & Tiaras was such a fun read, and I am really looking forward to reading more Autumn Macarthur stories!!!
I’m sure there is! The characters and their story will have a length that is needed to resolve their issues and get to a satisfying resolution.
The trick is to recognise which characters and which conflicts will fit when the author is working to a specified word count. I’m still learning that one!
But that’s the joy of writing, and pretty much everything in life – we’re in a constant God-directed process of learning and growing. :)
Thanks so much, Becky! I’m so glad you enjoyed Teapots & Tiaras. :)
I love writing series, too, for the opportunity to revisit the same characters at the same time as showing a whole new romance. T&T was a lot of fun to write for that reason. I hoped to release the next book in the series this fall, but the pesky health issue has gotten in the way. Hopefully next year!
Love both long books & short !!! Doesn’t matter to me as long as it’s well written & very interesting
Me too, Nikki!