Length of Stories

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AOD23

AOD23

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Right well, I wasnt exactly sure where to put this, so here it is. If it needs to be moved, well I'll notice its been moved *shrugs*

Anyways, I was wonder, whats the minimum number of words or pages or paragraphs or whatever the standard is to judge them, is for the size of Novels, Novella's, And Short Stories. Also the maximum size for Novella's and Short Stories; Novels...well I figure they dont really have a maximum in length although I'm not sure, if I'm wrong please correct me on this.

Also is it harder to get Novella's, Short Stories or Novels published...like is it any hard to get one published than another.

And yea...incase anyone is curious why I got curious about this, well its really only because I am currently writting a story and have no idea what it will end at in length, but would prefer to know these things in advance so I know for when I am trying to get it published. (Which probably wont be for awhile, but well I always ask things in advance...avoids asking down the line when you have other problems..least thats my theory for it.)

So yea, any and all answers to these questions would be nice.
 
Cathy C

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If you go up to the sticky in this same forum called "Formatting Manuscripts, All Your Questions Answered" your question is . . . answered! ;)


Manuscript Length
Definition: The length of a manuscript (word count) to determine what term to call a piece of fiction is often confusing to aspiring authors.
Use in industry: The industry standard for length of manuscript varies by type and genre. A good definition was provided by Jamesaritche on these boards, so I’m using his post to give general guidelines:

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


There's lot of other goodies in that same thread too. Hope that helps!

As for whether they're easier or more difficult to sell, a lot depends on your genre. Novellas and short stories find good homes in romance or horror. Some other genres have more difficulty.
 
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AOD23

AOD23

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Thanks, sorry I hadnt noticed it in that thread or I wouldnt of started this one if I had.
 
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