Is 7k words too many for a short story? I wouldn't typically think so, but on the SYW forum most short stories shared seem to be between like 500 and 2000. I have a hard time writing stories that short.
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Is 7,000 words too many for a short story?
- Thread starter Dom Perkins
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In SYW, you're not necessarily sharing the whole thing; 2K words is about as high as I'd go, too, because more than that is asking an awful big time/effort commitment from people. Generally, if there's a problem with your writing (overuse of adjectives, poor punctuation, lack of clarity, etc.), it'll show up in 500 - 2000 words.
Too many words is more words than the story needs - some stories only need 500, others need 7,000, and some need 100,000 or more (obviously that would be a novel rather than a short story). But that's a rather abstract answer. 
More pragmatically, what counts as too many words will probably depend on where (if anywhere) you're intending to submit it. Most places will have recommendations and/or limits on word count for submissions.
Regarding SYW, I'll defer to what Brightdreamer wrote since I'm still quite new myself. I think the 2,000 word guideline is motivated more by respect for the time of others than any specific belief about how long a short story should be.
More pragmatically, what counts as too many words will probably depend on where (if anywhere) you're intending to submit it. Most places will have recommendations and/or limits on word count for submissions.Regarding SYW, I'll defer to what Brightdreamer wrote since I'm still quite new myself. I think the 2,000 word guideline is motivated more by respect for the time of others than any specific belief about how long a short story should be.
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Thanks for the replies. In the future, I'll probably only submit parts of the story. Atleast at first.
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Yep yep what they said, the SYW stickies advise how much to post, and it's good advice since a deluge might turn readers off.
Length-wise in the real world, short stories can go up to 7500 words, then up to 17500 is a novelette, then up to 40000 words for a novella. Market calls for short stories usually give a size limit so sometimes it's best to check those out first before limiting yourself, but if you gotta write long then you gotta write long.
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Length-wise in the real world, short stories can go up to 7500 words, then up to 17500 is a novelette, then up to 40000 words for a novella. Market calls for short stories usually give a size limit so sometimes it's best to check those out first before limiting yourself, but if you gotta write long then you gotta write long.
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FWIW, how long a short story should be depends on where you hope to sell it, too. Anthologies are often open to longer short stories, while print publications tend to seek shorter ones under 3500 words. Much of the preferred length may be genre-dependent as well.
I have a short story in its third revision thats now just over 8400 words, so I presume its fine. but much more and its pretty much in between short story and novella.
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Yup, a "novelette". But, as dpaterso said, what matters in practice is the word limits set up by the magazines, webzines, and publishing houses, who take short stories. It's the submission guielines and the house style that matter more, in the day to day business of writing and publishing.
In today's market, whatever the size of the short--there'll always be places seeking stuff like that.
When we put in "8400 words" and "electronic submission" in the Grinder, it spits out over 400 markets https://thegrinder.diabolicalplots.com/Search/ByFilter
Of course, when we narrow it down by genre, the number will dwindle, and if we go only for high-prestige places the sea will turn into a puddle, but still. The choice is there.
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The_Merovingian
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The first short story I wrote/sold was 7800 words. But I did struggle to sell it at that length.
I've submitted it to a reprint market this year, with an edited version of 6500.
I've submitted it to a reprint market this year, with an edited version of 6500.
That length is fine. Anything under 10 should be fine for a short story, though that depends on who you're writing it for.
Duotrope and Grinder provide guidelines (1,000 - 7,500 for short stories), but those are only guidelines. You must adhere to the publication's Submission Guidelines. Nearly all of them will provide their length requirements. Most are 10k or less. Some are 5k or less. I've seen some at 2,500k.
I'm publishing part one of a three-part blog series this Saturday on how to publish short stories if you're interested. There is a method to the madness, but it all comes down to the publication's submission requirements and following them.
I'm publishing part one of a three-part blog series this Saturday on how to publish short stories if you're interested. There is a method to the madness, but it all comes down to the publication's submission requirements and following them.