Word Count

Depends on the genre and the market.

Also, however long it needs to be.

jamesaritchie said:

Short Short: Under 2,000 words
Short story: 2,000--7,500 words
Novelette: 7,500--15,000 words - General fiction
Novelette: 7,500--17,500 words - SF & Fantasy
Novella: 15,000--30,000 words - General fiction
Novella: 17,500--40,000 words - Sf & Fantasy
Novel: Over 30,000 words - General fiction
Novel: Over 40,000 words - SF & Fantasy

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Story Lengths

Lengths also depend on the country you're writing for.

Short stories for the American market are much longer, generally speaking, than stories for the NZ, OZ and UK markets.

From the markets I submit to I've found that:
50 or 60 words is a postcard story.
(Several women's and general interest mags in the UK buy these.)

100-500 words is flash fiction.

500-1000 is a short short.
(Much beloved for the coffee break read in magazines.)

1000-3000 is the short story length preferred by most magazines.

1000-5000 is usual for literary journal stories.

Perhaps Mike Coombes can tell us where the 5000-10000 word story belongs. I've not submitted that length and don't know of markets for it outside America.

10,000-30,000 was a novella last time I wrote one for a UK market.

The golden rule, of course, is to read the market guidelines and see what the editor wants.

Every potential market I've ever looked at has specific statements concerning preferred word count. There's no categorical answer to your question. Do some research.

caw.

Research your market. Many lit mags will take stories up to 10k words; the proviso being, of course, that you can hold a reader's interest for that long.

Ezy Rider said:

I have written 4ooo words so far and my aim is to 10000 or there about. That wont be hard, keeping it tight will be the hardest thing.

Keeping them interested… well it’s got a Lady stripper who meats an Alien and a fleet of ships that are poised to destroy the earth, might even have a sex scene?

Keeping it tight is going to be hard, my sex scenes are very detailed, I just seem to get enthusiastic. Will the alien have a big shlong? That is the dilemma I am facing right now. You see, I don’t want guys to read it and feel inadequate, but then again I want the women to read it and get all horny. How do you please everyone?

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Uh... you're kidding, right?

Seriously...!

Yes, some of the SF zines and magazines will take 10,000 words. Try to match your story to the market.