Length of Novels - It Matters

Happy Friday! Welcome back to the humble ablog! Exciting things coming for you next week! Here's the current lineup: Monday - Author Interview with Christina Mercer, Tuesday - Your First 100 Words, Wednesday - Book Review: The Fly House, Thursday - Crypt Keeper Tour K. A. Young, Friday - Fractured Glass Cover Reveal. Yeah, so you wanna come back for all that.

Also, I'll be putting together the official reading list for UtopYA. A page will be dedicated to that endeavor. Be sure you check that out, as well as voting for the official poster design (coming soon)!

Today, we're gonna talk about the length of your novel and why it matters. Remember that post on genre from yesterday? We're keeping with that theme. So, grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going!

Let's begin by thinking about why page count plays into your novel writing. If you write epic fantasy, your books will be really long (think LOTR) because you'll be taking time to explain things and build characters and worlds so the reader can see and feel them. You can't label a book that's 100k words in length as epic fantasy and not expect backlash from fans of the genre. In contrast, you don't want a contemporary romance to end up with a 300k word count, either.

So how to know?

Your research lies in the best seller list. Go look at the most popular books in your genre and see how many pages they have. I'll get to the math on factoring an approximate page and average word count in a moment. Write down the top three best sellers and navigate to their Amazon pages. See how long they are.

Now for the math.

I'm gonna use some numbers I grabbed really quickly from the Young Adult list here:

320 pages: If I Stay by Gayle Forman
337 pages: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
306 pages: Where She Went by Gayle Forman

See a trend? Yeah... So, we now have a page count that we'll average. Add all the numbers together:

320 + 337 + 306 = 963

Divide by three:

963 / 3 = 321

For every four pages, you have about 1k words. So, divide by four:

321 / 4 = 80.25

Multiply by one thousand:

80.25 X 1000 = 80,250

Now, I don't know about you, but I've heard Young Adult books range from 35-75k. Our number is slightly more. Go figure.

So, you can gather readers of Young Adult enjoy a length of around 80k. 

This matters because you don't want to try and sell a 300k word novel to a crowd that enjoys, on average, 80k words. You won't do well. After all, you write so others will read your work, right?

I hope this helps you in some way.

What do you think? Did you try it for your genre?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

What's in a Genre?

Happy Thursday, everyone! I bet you're all sighing with relief that the weekend is right around the corner. I know I am. Today, I'm gonna talk with you all about genres. Ever wondered where your book fits in? Grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going.

Why does genre matter?

First off, there are many readers who know exactly what they like and don't like. If they're in love with young adult books, for example, they'll want around 50-100k words, language they don't have to look up, no curse words or sexual situations, and a certain amount of teen angst. If they prefer epic fantasy, they'll be looking for 200-300k words (probably a trilogy of such beasts), massive world building, and a more complex makeup of plot and language.

It matters that you understand the genre you write in. Fans like to know what kind of story they'll get beforehand.

So, if you're swimming in uncharted waters, do some research to find out what readers will expect from the genre label.

Moving on!

I'm not going over every genre out there, just the most popular ones.

• Children's - Books for kids age 7-12. Should be easier to read and not as long.
• Young Adult - This has everything to do with the main character's age. They should be 13-17. Typically deals with coming-of-age type stuff.
• New Adult - Again, it's about age. Usually 17-23ish. Deals with those college years or the first time a character sets out on their own. Can contain more sexually explicit material than young adult.
• Chick-Lit - Books for women. Most commonly contemporary, but has elements of love and sex like a romance. Women empowering.
• Mystery - Deals with solving something.
• Horror - Scares you so badly you have nightmares or soil yourself as the antagonist terrorizes those around them.
• Thriller - Keeps you turning pages because you don't know what will happen next. Deals with possible world issues (biological, political, etc...).
• Fantasy - All about other worlds. Fantastical creatures and magical powers abound.
• Historical - History that can fall into the realm of fiction or non-fiction. Never set in the present unless involving time travel.
• Romance - Usually from the woman's point of view. Centers on two people that eventually fall in love and end up together.
• Erotica - X rated fiction. Very explicit scenes.
• Western - This one is all about setting. Usually the old West (American).
• Legal Thriller - Suspenseful story centering around a trial of some sort.
• Dystopian - These novels deal with the creation of a different society.
• Hen-Lit - Novels for older women. Contemporary, but very little sex (although there may be romance).
• Contemporary - Set in this day and age.
• Science Fiction - Usually futuristic, always deals with some kind of technology. Can include other planets and all that encompasses.
• Literary - Centers on theme rather than plot. People walk away with a changed mindset.
• Urban - Setting is a city, but focus is more about the underground (hidden) section. Usually has a lot of profanity, violence, and sexual situations.
• Time Travel - As the name implies, commonly deals with messing with the natural order of things via time travel.
• Paranormal - Werewolves, vampires, and other creatures that go bump in the night. Or with special abilities of the characters (think X-Men).

Now, these genres almost always cross in some way. You can have a young adult science fiction mystery, dystopian romance, or children's western. Fractured Glass, the anthology I'm working on with four other amazing writers, is young adult sci-fi paranormal horror fantasy magic romance. Yeah, try that on for size. *grin* Basically, you can throw your hat into more than one pile because of the story elements. Just do your research and get on it.

What are you working on? What genres does it fall into?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Book Genres and Niche Writers

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! Today I'm talking about writers who stick to one genre and why they might choose to do that. Open discussion, feel free to jump in and add your thoughts!

Have you ever thought about writing something way outside your usual genre? What prompted that desire? Why didn't you do it?

I see a lot of authors with no specific genre. Then I look around and see a lot of them who only write to one audience. What's the better avenue to take?

I have no idea. But, I've considered a few of the pros and cons of being genre specific.

Pros:

• Your fans will always be fans of the genre you write. They picked up your book for a reason, right?
• You can become a recognized authority of your genre.
• You'll always know someone, somewhere, will be looking for your name if they enjoyed your books.
• Eventually, your name could become synonymous with the genre. Think: Stephen King - Horror, Dean Koontz - Thriller, Fern Michaels - Chick/Hen Lit, Rick Riordan - YA Fiction/Mythology.
• You could gain a huge following if you write in a popular genre.

Cons:

• If you branched out from Romance to Fantasy or Horror, your current fans may leave you.
• Being a YA author with an Erotica title isn't usually a good idea.
• You're stuck writing that genre for the rest of your life unless you gamble fans will follow no matter what.
• You could become confused and screw up the story.
• If you use a different pen name for each genre, that's twice as much (or three times as much) marketing you have to do.
• If you have a publisher, they may not want you to write outside your genre.

I consider myself when I talk about this. I don't write in one genre; not sure what I'd do with myself if I had to. Which genre would I choose? I loved writing Yassa (Historical Fiction), but I also loved writing The Bird (fantasy) and I'm loving the Mystic series (New Adult/Paranormal). I just don't know how I would choose one over the other. A great story idea hits me when I least expect it, and the genres have a wide range.


Have you thought about this? Do you write in one genre or have many pen names? What are some of the drawbacks or hurdles you've had to overcome?

I'm interested. Let's discuss!!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo