[C. Rysalis]

I wouldn't pay $ 2.99 for 50K words, and I always look at page length. It absolutely does influence my decision to buy a book. I prefer longer works, and I'm on a tight budget - there are plenty of good reads that offer 400+ pages for 4 bucks. So I'd probably go with those, even if the shorter book sounds promising.

I can't speak for everyone, but I have a feeling at least part of your potential readership feels the same.

Downrating them just because you consider them not long enough for your specific tastes, even though they are well within common industry standards and aren't priced higher than those, is also not exactly an acceptable thing.

Both kinds of behaviour are absolutely not okay.

He didn't say anything about downrating. I thought his opinion was valid and respectfully written.

 

[Chinmoy Mukherjee]

How about making a 3 book series? Give first book for free and make lot of money from remaining two. 

 

[Matthew Stott]

I wouldn't pay $ 2.99 for 50K words,

Really? Huh. I mean, $2.99 is peanuts, it wouldn't cross my mind that a 50,000 word book that I was interested in would not be worth that rather small amount.

 

[C. Rysalis]

Really? Huh. I mean, $2.99 is peanuts, it wouldn't cross my mind that a 50,000 word book that I was interested in would not be worth that rather small amount.

2.99$ isn't peanuts for everyone. I live off 1500$ a month, and I read quite a bit. I can't afford to pay 2.99$ every day for books. That would be 300$ a month, which I need to eat.

So if I can get a 150K word novel for 3.99 or even less, that's much more value for the money, and there's so much affordable quality fiction out there. Like, Lindsay Buroker's Dragon Blood omnibus is 80 cent for 742 pages.

Why are all those bargain mailing lists so popular? Because the price isn't peanuts for a lot of readers!

 

[fantasy-writer]

So if I can get a 150K word novel for 3.99 or even less, that's much more value for the money, and there's so much affordable quality fiction out there. Like, Lindsay Buroker's Dragon Blood omnibus is 80 cent for 742 pages.

A number of authors price book 1 (or, in the example you listed, books 1-3) low in order to attract readers who will hopefully go on to buy the later books in the series at $3/$4/etc. Does the higher price tag of the later books in a series deter you from buying them?

I'm wondering this in general, not just for C. Rysalis.

 

[jd_ruthers_85]

A number of authors price book 1 (or, in the example you listed, books 1-3) low in order to attract readers who will hopefully go on to buy the later books in the series at $3/$4/etc. Does the higher price tag of the later books in a series deter you from buying them?

I'm wondering this in general, not just for C. Rysalis.

I know from experience, as both a reader and writer, that it does not deter readers from continuing with a series, or buying more of an author's works. Once you've committed to an author, paying extra (double, 3 times) is easier to justify because there is no longer the barrier of "unknown".

 

[D. Zollicoffer]

Today I learned: 50K is considered a novella! Guess I'll bump my upcoming book to 65K

To answer your question. I'd do two 50K ones over a 100K one. Just make sure it ends in a logical place.

 

[daffodils321]

I don't consider 50k a novella at all. Definitely a (short) novel. I classify a novella as less than 35k. I guess that goes against one of these "official" lists. Shrug....At the end of the day, all this arbitrary. There are no hard and fast rules.

I think Carol said it best

 

[cinisajoy]

A number of authors price book 1 (or, in the example you listed, books 1-3) low in order to attract readers who will hopefully go on to buy the later books in the series at $3/$4/etc. Does the higher price tag of the later books in a series deter you from buying them?

I'm wondering this in general, not just for C. Rysalis.

For a new author to me, I like the first book to be a lower price. It lets me see if the new author lives up to my standards. Let's say author puts first book on sale for 99 cents and it is fabulous. I won't hesitate to spend $4.99 each for the rest of that series.

If the author does not meet my standards then I am not out much money.

And note my standards are either very low or very high. Depends on how one looks at it.

 

[Donald Rump]

But quality trumps quantity.

Depends on how much quality vs. how much quantity.

An easy pitfall to fall in, I might add.

 

[JV]

I'll take off my writer hat for a moment and speak on this as a reader.

Personally, as a reader, I'd be insulted. If you originally intended the story as a 100k novel and decided to chop it up for profit reasons, to me, that's a kick in the teeth--like Peter Jackson turning the Hobbit into a 3 film snore fest. It would appear to me, as a reader, that you're not really a writer...you're more of a business man and schemer than anything, looking for any way you can to squeeze more money out of the situation, it comes off as sleazy.

Now, there are ways you can be both a business man and a writer without the sleaze part. You can put out the FULL story as it was intended to be and then run the promotions required to sell it. Promoting...that's supposed to be the business side of indie. Chopping up a story that was meant to be one whole piece for the sake of pillaging pockets...that, to me, is giving the craft a really bad name. You're handing out an inferior product...an incomplete product, by your own admission. It's like the crap food being sold at Wal Mart...full of chemical fillers so that the corporations can make their product go further.

Everyone needs to stop with this word count nonsense . Long books aren't "old school"...there's no "new school" and "old school", there are simply books, good ones and bad ones...and I'd say chopping one into pieces in search of an extra dollar qualifies it as a bad one. If you've got a book that's 100k words, then publish the thing. Stop looking for ways to string the reader along by butchering it and just write a sequel. Readers are smarter than you think, I know, I am one.

 

[cinisajoy]

I'll take off my writer hat for a moment and speak on this as a reader.

Personally, as a reader, I'd be insulted. If you originally intended the story as a 100k novel and decided to chop it up for profit reasons, to me, that's a kick in the teeth--like Peter Jackson turning the Hobbit into a 3 film snore fest. It would appear to me, as a reader, that you're not really a writer...you're more of a business man and schemer than anything, looking for any way you can to squeeze more money out of the situation, it comes off as sleazy.

Now, there are ways you can be both a business man and a writer without the sleaze part. You can put out the FULL story as it was intended to be and then run the promotions required to sell it. Promoting...that's supposed to be the business side of indie. Chopping up a story that was meant to be one whole piece for the sake of pillaging pockets...that, to me, is giving the craft a really bad name. You're handing out an inferior product...an incomplete product, by your own admission. It's like the crap food being sold at Wal Mart...full of chemical fillers so that the corporations can make their product go further.

Everyone needs to stop with this word count nonsense . Long books aren't "old school"...there's no "new school" and "old school", there are simply books, good ones and bad ones...and I'd say chopping one into pieces in search of an extra dollars qualifies it as a bad one. If you've got a book that's 100k words than publish the thing. Stop looking for ways to string the reader along by butchering it and just write a sequel. Readers are smarter than you think, I know, I am one.

I LOVE YOU. Can I adopt you?

 

[JV]

I LOVE YOU. Can I adopt you?

Depends, do ya'll have cable?

 

[cinisajoy]

Depends, do ya'll have cable?

We have Dish.

 

[JV]

We have Dish.

That works.

Life is all about compromises.

 

[Donald Rump]

I'll take off my writer hat for a moment and speak on this as a reader.

Personally, as a reader, I'd be insulted. If you originally intended the story as a 100k novel and decided to chop it up for profit reasons, to me, that's a kick in the teeth--like Peter Jackson turning the Hobbit into a 3 film snore fest. It would appear to me, as a reader, that you're not really a writer...you're more of a business man and schemer than anything, looking for any way you can to squeeze more money out of the situation, it comes off as sleazy.

Now, there are ways you can be both a business man and a writer without the sleaze part. You can put out the FULL story as it was intended to be and then run the promotions required to sell it. Promoting...that's supposed to be the business side of indie. Chopping up a story that was meant to be one whole piece for the sake of pillaging pockets...that, to me, is giving the craft a really bad name. You're handing out an inferior product...an incomplete product, by your own admission. It's like the crap food being sold at Wal Mart...full of chemical fillers so that the corporations can make their product go further.

Everyone needs to stop with this word count nonsense . Long books aren't "old school"...there's no "new school" and "old school", there are simply books, good ones and bad ones...and I'd say chopping one into pieces in search of an extra dollars qualifies it as a bad one. If you've got a book that's 100k words than publish the thing. Stop looking for ways to string the reader along by butchering it and just write a sequel. Readers are smarter than you think, I know, I am one.

There are other reasons, such as breaking up a large story into smaller, more manageable chunks in an effort to get it out the door. Is it desirable for the reader? Not always, but sometimes these stories languish for years because there isn't enough time/willpower to create 100,000-word drafts.

But 25,000 words? Now that's achievable. And with every new release, the process becomes addictive. Suddenly writing is fun again, and there's a very good chance you'll finish the project.

Do you have to advertise each installment? No.

Can you pull down the serial releases when the compiled version is ready? Absolutely!

Sometimes the process has to benefit the writer as well.

 

[Cherise]

people who are not into my writing style won't like it...

This is absolutely true, and length won't do anything to change it.

 

[JV]

There are other reasons, such as breaking up a large story into smaller, more manageable chunks in an effort to get it out the door. Is it desirable for the reader? Not always, but sometimes these stories languish for years because there isn't enough time/willpower to create 100,000-word drafts.

But 25,000 words? Now that's achievable. And with every new release, the process becomes addictive. Suddenly writing is fun again, and there's a very good chance you'll finish the project.

Do you have to advertise each installment? No.

Can you pull down the serial releases when the compiled version is ready? Absolutely!

Sometimes the process has to benefit the writer as well.

Yes, but that's not what I was saying. I'm saying if you've got a 100,000 word completed story in front of you and you chop it up simply to make more money, that's sleazy, that's a blight on the craft, in my eyes, you're not really a writer, you're a schemer that threw some crap on paper with the intent of pillaging pockets. If you've got a good product there's no need to dilute it, give it to the reader at its intended strength and trust your ability to put out more.

If you're anguishing over a story and can only get it out in chunks, that's one thing. But I'd say if you have no problem getting out those 100k word novels...and if you've done it previously, and now you're only putting out chunks because you want to try to soak as much money as you can, yeah, that's sleazy.

Just my opinion. But it's my unfiltered opinion and I'm not going to dilute it.

 

[Donald Rump]

Yes, but that's not what I was saying. I'm saying if you've got a 100,000 word completed story in front of you and you chop it up simply to make more money, that's sleazy, that's a blight on the craft, in my eyes, you're not really a writer, you're a schemer that threw some crap on paper with the intent of pillaging pockets. If you've got a good product there's no need to dilute it, give it to the reader at its intended strength and trust your ability to put out more.

If you're anguishing over a story and can only get it out in chunks, that's one thing. But I'd say if you have no problem getting out those 100k word novels...and if you've done it previously, and now you're only putting out chunks because you want to try to soak as much money as you can, yeah, that's sleazy.

Just my opinion. But it's my unfiltered opinion and I'm not going to dilute it.

Ok, fair enough.

 

[Cherise]

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Association calls 17,500 to 40,000 words a Novella.

Sorry, misread you at first! Yep. Here is the breakdown:

Nebula Awards will be made in the following categories:

Short Story: less than 7,500 words;
Novelette: at least 7,500 words but less than 17,500 words;
Novella: at least 17,500 words but less than 40,000 words
Novel: 40,000 words or more.

https://www.sfwa.org/nebula-awards/rules/