between a novel and a novella

Well from what I came across when reading all the word counts and stuff MG is 25K. YA's are as low as (and yes ladies and gentlemen it is possible to get a YA novel that's only 30K words represented) It happened to me and I was sweating it out, thinking my agent would say up the word count. She never did. I revised a few times changing the word count to 35K but that's because my ending was too abrupt and disrupted the flow of the book.

Good luck with it. You might be able to sell it as an e-book.

11,000 words is far too short for an MG novel.

However, it's a good length for a chapter book. Are you sure that's not what you've written? Perhaps read several chapter books to see if your book is similar in tone and voice.

Good luck.

Smish said:

11,000 words is far too short for an MG novel.

However, it's a good length for a chapter book. Are you sure that's not what you've written? Perhaps read several chapter books to see if your book is similar in tone and voice.

Good luck.

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Yes, what Smish said. As you read chapter books, pay attention to their sentence length/complexity and vocabulary. You can use the occasional challenging word, but you should make sure it can be figured out from context.

There are short MG books out there, though most of them were published in the pre-Potter days. SARAH, PLAIN AND TALL (8K) and THE WHIPPING BOY (13K) are good examples. And they won Newbery awards, so I don't think anyone would argue that they'd be better books if they were longer.

That said...the standard these days is to be longer. 25-30K. And if you read the Whipping Boy and compare it to a more contemporary fantasy novel, you can really see the difference. A longer book gives you more time to develop setting and character. It gives you a more satisfying reading experience.

Think of it this way: If I fall in love with the world and characters you've created, I want to stay with them for as long as possible. You know that bittersweet feeling you get when a good book ends?

Without reading your book, I have no way of knowing if you have simple perfection like Sarah, Plain and Tall, or if you have the bones of a story that would be more satisfying if you fleshed it out more. But I do know that your chances of getting it published are much better if you double the word count. And I don't mean adding random things to make it longer. I mean finding ways to make your story richer and more complex.

If that feels like the wrong thing to do, then Lmc is probably right. This might be something you want to pursue publishing in a less traditional way, like ebooks or small press.

It could be a novella. I have seen MG books that short. It's not mostly about word count. It's about having a good story.

Celesta said:

It could be a novella. I have seen MG books that short. It's not mostly about word count. It's about having a good story.

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You've seen commercially published MG novels at that length? In recent years? I'll need examples, please.

It's certainly true that a good story is what matters most. But 11,000 words is so much shorter than the average for an MG novel that agents and editors aren't going to be likely to even read it.

Now, if it's a chapter book, it's a different matter altogether, and 11,000 words is perfectly acceptable.

The only resource I have on hand is my own personal library and those books were not published in recent years. Next time I go to Chapters I'll take a look around for you

Thank you. Please don't forget to report back.

Oh, in that case I suggest you make it longer.

Averon, that sounds very much like the kind of story that should be a good deal longer. But the only way to really give you good advice is for us to read at least a short sample of your writing. Some writers are really good at saying a lot with only a few words. Maybe we'll read your sample and say, OMG, it's perfection, don't add a thing. Or maybe we'll be able to make suggestions about the ways you can flesh out the story more without feeling like you're bulking it up with random things just to build the word count.

I feel your pain on the short writing! My early MG novel originally came in at around 8K--even for lower MG that's too short. I ended up expanding the character's emotional arc over three separate episodes and now it's like 35K or something, perfect length for lower MG.

If your story is upper MG, and fantasy, you've probably got to be 40K at a minimum--those books tend to be awfully fat. You say the premise is complex but not the plot--perhaps the plot should be more complex?

Not sure what you want us to say, Averon.

Good luck! Feel free to drop in the Bouncy Castle for support. The All Things Middle Grade thread is a great place to ask MG-specific questions. And the Talk about the kidlit you're reading! thread is the best place for kidlit recommendations in the universe (in my opinion ).

Averon 2011 said:

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Dory: Keep on swimming.

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I sing Dory's song to myself every morning when I sit down to edit and rewrite. It seems like I'll never get there.