Why you should consider writing a novella

Not many people probably associate the old Nair commercial jingle with writing, but…that’s okay. Dancing to a different tune is what we authors do. Speaking as both an author and an editor, I can assure you, my royalties statements tell me lots of readers like shorts. And by shorts, I mean novellas.

If you haven’t tried your hand at one, consider doing so. Novellas are a low-risk way for readers to try out new authors. The price point of a novella is lower, and saving money is one reason many avid readers switch to ebooks in the first place. Shelling out $1.50 to read someone new doesn’t hurt much. Heck, even a bottle of soda costs more at the gas station. Also, the time investment (probably a higher priority) in test-driving an unfamiliar author is much smaller with a novella than a full-length novel. Ebook readers value their time; they’ve switched to ebooks so they can shop fast, buy fast… read fast.

So maybe you don’t plan on only epublishing. You should still consider writing a novella—it’s an excellent way to get your name out there. Novellas get the same attention as full length books: editing, cover art, reviews. For a relatively small chunk of writing time, you can start building a readership. You’re probably not going to make millions off one novella release (although I’ve made more off one novella than I have off either of the novels released before it), but you will get some valuable experience in the publishing process. Knowing the business is important for any author, and this will give you insight for future queries, as well as a nifty publishing credit for those query letters.

Some houses publish novellas beginning at 10-12 thousand words, although most require 15 thousand, and up to about 40k. This length (15k), will give a potential “fan” around 35-40 pages (under an hour? Depending how fast they read) to see if they like your style. Consider it a sample of you. A sample you get paid for!

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!
www.piperdenna.com

piperpatter.blogspot.com/

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