The “novella” is an interesting literary type, isn’t it? I became fascinated with novellas last year, when I was preparing to try my hand at writing one. In time, that effort became Love in the Details (which just released). Yippee!
Even though novellas have a long history — they were first written in Europe around 1350 during the Renaissance — I’m guessing that most of us are much more familiar with the novel or with the short story than we are with the long-suffering, anonymous middle child that slots into place between the two. Poor middle children! Remember Jan from the Brady Bunch?
Romance Writers of America defines novellas as stories that range in length from 20,000 – 40,000 words. To put that in perspective, full length novels typically range in length from 80,000-110,000 words. ….Unless the author is Tammy, me, or Julie Lessman. The three of us love to shoot past 110,000.
Short stories are the right length for magazines. And novels are the right length to package and place on bookstore shelves. But novellas are too long for magazines and too short to stand alone on shelves. Before ebooks became a thing, publishers addressed this issue by occasionally releasing print novella “collections” that contained three or four stories. I have fuzzy memories of general market romance publishers doing this back in the day. Typically, one bestselling author would ‘headline’ the collection and the publisher would use the joint project to introduce the newer authors to their bestseller’s readers.
Nowadays, writers can place their novellas on virtual bookshelves at online bookstores side by side with novels, which has opened up a whole new realm of possibilities for the novella. Have you noticed how novellas have taken off in recent years?
Publishers are giving away e-novellas for free to launch a new series. Like these offerings from Bethany House….
Other publishers have created a series of e-novellas, which will later enjoy second life as print collections. Zondervan’s back-to-back Year of Weddings novellas ring in at a very wallet friendly $3.99 each. Here are the last three releases in the current series….
Aren’t these covers great? Personally, I love how modern they are.
For some reason I can’t explain print collections also seem to have risen in popularity. Am I right in thinking this? Does anyone know why? Maybe because we’re all more time-pressed and thus more appreciative of a shorter format these days? Maybe because readers who discovered novellas in e-book format are now also willing to consume them in print?
Here are two recent print collections from Barbour….
I thoroughly enjoyed writing Love in the Details. 1) It gave me a chance to stretch myself as a writer by trying something I’d never tried before. 2) It was lovely to write a full story in weeks instead of months. 3) Rewriting my novels sometimes feels like wrestling an enormous octopus. That is to say, nearly impossible and dreadfully complex. But rewriting my novella was like wrestling a shrimp. Easy!
I didn’t grow up reading novellas because I fell into the “if-a-book-is-wonderful-I-also-want-it-to-be-LONG mindset. When I began reading novellas recently I was completely surprised by how much I appreciated them. For this working mom of three, it was nice to complete a full story in one evening. Yay! Closure! I actually completed something!
Also, novellas pack a lot of dramatic punch. They’re concentrated. With a novella, you get a straight forward, fast paced, focused story… which might explain why Hollywood has made so many novellas into movies.
Did you know that the following were all novellas?
Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, Stephen King’s Shawshank Redemption, Ira Levin’s The Stepford Wives, George Orwell’s Animal Farm, John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Charles Webb’s The Graduate.
I’m interested to hear about your experiences with novellas. Did you read them growing up? Do you enjoy them? Read them often? On your e-reader? In print?
To celebrate the release of Love in the Details, I’m running a giveaway! Below, I’ve included a glimpse at the grand prize package, but I’m also giving away ‘mini prizes’ every day or two. Head here for more details about how to enter.
One of the options for entering the giveaway for the grand prize is to create your own Dream Fall Wedding Pinterest board. A Pinterest board isn’t mandatory for the grand prize, only optional. But if you do create a Pinterest board, you’ll also be eligible for all the ‘mini prizes’ I’ll be giving out! Here’s a peek at my Dream Fall Wedding board!
Becky Wade
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Add me to the long-winded list when it comes to novels. Several of mine have reached 140,000 words. I think I would have a hard time writing a novella but they’re fun to read. Congratulations on the release of yours. Love the cover.
Ah! So you’re part of the long-winded group, too, are you Lynn? We like depth and complexity in our books! ….and we also like to make writing harder on ourselves, don’t we? Sometimes I shake my head and ask myself, “Why oh why did you make this so LONG?!” 😉
Novellas are growing on me. At first, they seemed shallow and incomplete to me. The better they’re written, the more fun they are. And I agree it’s fun to complete something quickly.
I think part of the trick to saving a novella from feeling “shallow and incomplete” is to come up with a premise that is suited to a shorter story in the first place.
For example, I knew from the outset of writing my novella that I needed a couple who already had a long backstory. I didn’t have room to introduce them on page one and give them time to get to know each other. And I knew I needed conflict that wasn’t going to be as layered and difficult to resolve as the conflict I saddle onto my full length novel characters. At the same time, I wanted to give the story plenty of drama and emotion. So I had to keep working with my story idea until I felt I’d hit on the right thing.
Second-chance romances make great novellas! Can’t wait to read yours.
Love your background on novellas, Becky. They seem like such a modern thing that I was shocked that you dated them back to the middle ages. Wow!
I remember reading general market novella collections that came out around Christmas. That seemed to be the only time they came out back then, but I loved them for the reasons you mentioned. A quick fix during a busy time of year and festive enough to enhance my holiday spirit. I still enjoy a good Christmas novella.
I love the titles and covers of the novellas in your wedding series. They tie together so well yet have their own unique spin. And the covers are gorgeous. Very nice!
Just yesterday, I put the finishing touches on my next novella project. I love how fast they come together in comparison to the full-length novel. And you’re right about them being more focused stories. No time for convoluted subplots here. In fact, in my latest effort, the entire tale takes place in a single day. A long day with lots of adventure, but still, just one day. The characters were introduced in the novel that came before, so they already have history together, and this single day is when their relationship finally progresses to the next level, showing the life-changing events that lead to that change.
Wishing you all the best with Love in the Details, Becky!
“A quick fix during a busy time of year and festive enough to enhance my holiday spirit. I still enjoy a good Christmas novella.” Yes, novellas seem especially suited to Christmas. We all like festive things at that time of year but we’re also all extra busy. 🙂
A novella set over the course of one heart-pounding day sounds like an intriguing idea, Karen!
I read Of Mice and Men and Animal Farm in Jr high school. I never thought about the fact that they aren’t full length novels! I’m with you in the whole “the longer the better” mindset but I am enjoying the into novellas Bethany House has been doing
Denise,
I didn’t realize the classic novellas I listed weren’t full length novels, either!
Novellas fascinate me as well! I had no idea about their history, but appreciate the fact that I can start and finish one in an evening. I have compared them in the past to a shot of espresso. If they are good, they are GOOD! They can stand on their own as their own, pure, luscious entity. But if they are even just a little bit off, they could use some sugar and a good dose of foamed milk to dilute whatever went wrong. In other words, they should have been a novel! I look forward to reading yours!
Ha! I love your espresso analogy.
Becky, off to Starbucks because I’m now desperate for espresso. 😉
I love reading novellas. They are great for reading on the go: car rides, waiting rooms, etc, when I have just a short time to read but want a complete story. I also love how some authors are using the novella to give a brief update on characters that we met in longer novels. Makes it fun to get a quick revisit of characters that we love.