Written by Teresa Burrell
Author of The Advocate Series
The answer is that sometimes it does and sometimes it
doesn’t. We all know the real issue is quality, not quantity. However, if it’s too short,
you can be left unsatisfied for sure. So, how long is long enough? This is the
question I’ve been wrangling with for the last few weeks. Of course, I’m talking about the
length of a novel, but you knew that, right?
I’m writing my latest novel and I do believe this one is
going to be a little shorter than the rest because frankly, I’m just getting to
the end quicker. Maybe I'm just getting better at this and it doesn't take as many words to make my point. Hmm... I could add another twist or turn, but if I add any more
twists I fear my readers may be too dizzy to finish the book. And you never
want them to say, “Yeah, that was a little too much.”
Most authors I know talk about the length of a novel in word
count. Readers generally refer to it as page count. Several of my author
friends say they write between 75 and 80,000 words. And I have to say, they
write great novels! Most of my books in the past have been around 90,000 words;
the last one was 93,000 because it took that long to get through all the
suspects in the case. So I was concerned that if I make this one much shorter
than that, my readers might feel cheated. Then I spoke with a dear author
friend who said, “It’s too bad we have to worry about such things. I think it's different with ebooks. Just wrap it
up and call it good. You’re working too hard.” This came from someone who
starts writing at 5:00 in the morning and is churning out four books this year.
Yeah, I’m the one working too hard!
So, here are my questions:
Authors: How long are your novels?
Readers: Do you ever consider the length of the book when
you make a purchase? And has that changed with digital books?
 |
| This has nothing to do with my blog. I just thought he was cute. |
