Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Anyone ever sold a novella?

This is topic Anyone ever sold a novella? in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by skadder (Member # 6757) on :

I have written a short story that all the critters have said really deserves to a novel or a 'novella'.

Whats the deal with a novella...how long are they? Do they sell in the same way a short story does or do they sell like a novel?

Anyone had any experience selling one, or writing one?

Posted by Igwiz (Member # 6867) on :

According to Wikipedia, a novella is any piece of fiction between 17,500 words and 40,000 words. And I hear (though don't know) that it's the hardest market to sell in, because a piece that long doesn't fit in a magazine, but can't be marketed well as a stand-alone. Supposedly, it costs too much to print a novella like a novel, and the publishers worry that nobody will buy it.

The only real example I have of novella's selling is when they are in a collection by the same author. I'm thinking Stephen King here, when he compiled 4 novellas into a novel-length book called Different Seasons. Of course, they were also rockin' stories, since 3 of them have been made into movies...

"The Body" = Stand By Me
"Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" = The Shawshank Redemption
"Apt Pupil" = Apt Pupil

I would love to see "The Breathing Method" done, as it's actually the scariest of the four, but nobody seems to have jumped on that one yet...

But long story short... I would write it if your heart tells you to write it, but I would also expect it to be a bear to market and publish...

[This message has been edited by Igwiz (edited December 20, 2007).]

Posted by skadder (Member # 6757) on :

Fills me with desire to write it..

My main aim is to write stuff that sells...maybe i will try to cut it shorter instead.

Posted by wetwilly (Member # 1818) on :

Stephen King has actually written a couple collections of novellas. It works for him because he's, well, Stephen King. The man could crap in a sack and put it on bookstore shelves and be guaranteed a bestseller. In fact, he has done exactly that a few times. If you happen to be cursed with not being Stephen King, then novellas are next to impossible to sell, from what I've heard.

But then, I've never sold anything, so don't let me discourage you. If that's how many words the story takes to tell, then write it that way.

Food for thought: I would think a collection of novellas would be an easier sell than a single novella.

Posted by rickfisher (Member # 1214) on :

It's not necessary to have the status of Stephen King, though status certainly helps. Enough novellas are published every year for there to be a "Best Novella" category in the Hugos, and there are always a winner and four runner-ups represented. It's hard to believe they'd all get on the ballot if only five were published, so one can suppose there are substantially more.

However, most of those are probably at the shorter end. If a magazine feels like it can print it in one piece, the odds are certainly better, though there aren't many slots for stories of such length. And if it can't be printed in one piece, and still leave room for enough other material, well--I'm afraid I haven't been reading the magazines lately; Analog is the only one I remember that published serials, and I don't know if they still do.

But collections of novellas are still possible, as is a novella within a collection of short stories.

Probably the best way to get a novella published is to expand it (or extend it) into a novel. In the the latter case especially, a magazine will be more likely to publish a work which stands on its own but is part of a novel which already has a contract, and it's good advertising for the novel, as well. One of the best examples of this was Anne McCaffrey's "Weyr Search," which won the Hugo in 1968 and became the first quarter of her first dragon book. (Actually, I don't know if the rest of the book had been written or was under contract at that time, but that's how it was used, anyway.)

Posted by JeanneT (Member # 5709) on :

Go take a look at the novella market say in Duotrope. There are very few markets for them. I'm not saying not to write one, but it is limited.

[This message has been edited by JeanneT (edited December 20, 2007).]