48,000 words: Enough?

Short is en vogue, but that's awesome short! I suggest a good beta reader who can give suggestions on how to expand it (at least to 60, if not 75k). Post the first chapter in SYW and if I like it, I'll crit it, and if you like my crit, you send me the whole shebang. Deal? I don't offer this, like, ever, but supernatural thriller is my thing.

I'll look for it.

Fiender said:

I finished my novel months ago, at 44,000 words. When I say I finished it, I mean I ended the story of the book out like I wanted to. I was then told it may not be enough words, so I tried to write more and I was able to get the total count up to 48,000. Is that enough for a supernatural-themed thriller?

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Um... Probably not.

Fiender said:

I finished my novel months ago, at 44,000 words. When I say I finished it, I mean I ended the story of the book out like I wanted to. I was then told it may not be enough words, so I tried to write more and I was able to get the total count up to 48,000. Is that enough for a supernatural-themed thriller?

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No. What you have here is a 'novella,' not a novel. For a proper novel that a publisher might be willing to publish, you're looking at 70-80K and above. Not many outlets where you can place a novella, by the way, so you'll want to either bulk that bad boy up to 75K+ and call it a novel, or strip it way down and call it a longish short story.

No not enough. Boost it up to 80,000 words. If you can't get there, try for 65 - 70 and market it as an 'airport' type novel.

Get it right and your timing is good. The thriller/supernatural thriiler is enjoying a good run at the moment.

JJ

ETA - Why would you post a supernatural thriller under science fiction / fantasy in SYW?

Many ebook pubs do novelettes too

JJ Cooper said:

ETA - Why would you post a supernatural thriller under science fiction / fantasy in SYW?

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Why wouldn't you?

I personally like short novels. I love little 1/2 to 3/4th inch thick novels. I like being able to get through a novel in a day. I'm busy and don't want to invest a million years reading one of these huge novels. I love to be able to turn around and read it again. They are little gems. A huge novel-- I don't even want to get started on that. My interest begins to dissipate at 80K words. I think though, for publishing purposes, a 70-80K novel is the best size for a little novel.

48000 is an okay length for YA... don't suppose your thriller is geared to teens, by any chance?

Use Her Name said:

A huge novel-- I don't even want to get started on that. My interest begins to dissipate at 80K words. I think though, for publishing purposes, a 70-80K novel is the best size for a little novel.

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Guess you won't like mine, then. Revisions are taking it past the 131,000 word mark.

allen

You can't write a novel too long for me, so long as that length is necessary, like meat on the plate, or delightful, like little dishes of savories and sweets served between the main courses. The sheer heft of a big novel is delicious. Short novels are okay, too, but only if their stories dictate that brevity. A novel starved to anorexia just to fit an arbitrary low word count is no fun at all. It's the celery of literature.

Keep in mind you can't just pad a ms. in order to bring up the word count. It won't be interesting. Make sure you absolutely need to add those extra words. As Cassidy said, would it make it in the upper YA market? Is the MC no older than 20? Is it a book that older teens would enjoy?

BAH!

C.S. Lewis had a novella for most of his Narnia series. He threw in some illustrations and made the idea matter weigh in. Why a novel has to be within these parameters makes me laugh and shake a fist. Writers should be allowed to write as they want to. But if you want to publish it has to be by their rules. Unless you go the self publishing route.

Fiender,

To continue what stormie said, you probably shouldn't simply go back and pad out your scenes. You might end up with bloated chapters that are all too long.

What I might suggest is that you look at your subplots and try to build on them. Or, choose a strong secondary character and build a subplot on him. Look at that character and see how the main story is affecting him and characters that revolve around him. His subplot will be secondary to the main plot, and must influence the story as a whole.

That is, assuming you haven't done this already. If so, try to build on what subplot(s) you already have.

allen

I have a similar issue. A few months ago, I finished a book which is 45,000 words. Given that it's a sequel to an unpublished book, I have no idea whether it's worth my time submitting it anywhere.

Why does that matter, as long as it's enough to tell the story.

BlueLucario said:

Why does that matter, as long as it's enough to tell the story.

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It matters if you're writing for publication.

He, I'm facing a similar predicament. I finished the storyline for my WIP at, wait for it, 28k words. Yeah, laugh at me. I've since added a great subplot that's steered my novel into Magical Realism and is making it much better and stronger than it already was. I've managed to bring it up to 30k words, and I'm just starting to explore the new subplot. If all goes well, it will get me at least to 50k words, and I'm already starting to consider a third, very interesting subplot that will get me to 60 or 70k words.

Queen of Swords said:

It matters if you're writing for publication.

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Okay... So there's a minumum word count that must be met for publication? I though books like Of Mice and Men were perhaps about that size.

Weird....

That's like your teacher making a minimum word count of 1k words on your essay, but 500 words is all you could write to express your ideas.

BlueLucario said:

I thought books like Of Mice and Men were perhaps about that size.

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Well, not every author is John Steinbeck.

Once you're established, you could probably get away with publishing novellas. Until then, an author should plan to write 60K+ words. Especially a new author.


allen

BlueLucario said:

That's like your teacher making a minimum word count of 1k words on your essay, but 500 words is all you could write to express your ideas.

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Then you keep practising your skills until you're able to write 1K or over.