Writing: The Novella

I called my "Death and a Kiss" a novella. It probably falls short of fitting into thay category. It is several thousand words short of 20,000 words but I am not fond of the word novelette.

HOW LONG IS A SHORT STORY? AND OTHER FAQS

Novelettes are longer short stories, generally between 7,500 words and 17,500 to 20,000 words, or up to about 100 pages. These stories sometimes read more like a short story and sometimes more like a novel.

I purposely wrote "Death and a Kiss" to be its current length. I did not think the story could fit within a short story and I did not want to work on another novel. The form was to be an experiment.

Its length also is why it is on Booksy. I could find no market for a story of its length. (It was also in electronic format, I had broken my laptop in October, my PO has yet to approve the new laptop, and I had a desire to write while waiting on my PO.)

I do not think What is a novelette? And is it Worth Writing One? answers its question. It provides no downsides to writing a novelette. 

In short, a novelette is more focused than a novella and more complete than a short story. The number of words is important, particularly if the novelette is to be entered into competitions, but the concise yet complete aspect is what really sets them into a category of their own. It’s also the reason they are so incredibly beneficial to both short story writers and novelists.

 A Professional Editor’s Perspective on Novelettes and Novellas seems to confirm what I saw as the form's weakness:

A word of warning: anything over 10,000 words is really, really hard to sell....

 But also a benefit:

The good news about writing at the novelette or novella length is that if you can get these particular things published, there is not a lot of competition. So if you write science fiction or fantasy novelettes pieces at those lengths, it’s a good thing. When awards season rolls around, if you build some buzz for your novelette or novella, there are a lot less contenders in that category.

As for novellas, go read Victoria Shorr on the Art of the Novella.

sch 5/17/22