One common question asked by many writers is: "How long should my story be?"The simplest answer is: As long as it takes to tell the whole story.However, there are certain word lengths that editors prefer to see when submitting work.Here is an approximate guideline for story lengths.Micro-Fictionup to 100 wordsThis very abbreviated story is often difficult to write, and even harder to write well, but the markets for micro fiction are becoming increasingly popular in recent times. Publishers love them, as they take up almost no room and don't cost them their budgets. Pay rates are often low, but for so few words, the rate per word averages quite high.Flash Fiction100 - 1,000 wordsThis is the type of short-short story you would expect to find in a glossy magazine, often used to fill one page of quick romance (or quick humor, in men's mags) Very popular, quick and easy to write, and easier to sell!Short Story1,000 - 7,500 wordsThe 'regular' short story, usually found in periodicals or anthology collections. Most 'genre' zines will features works at this length.Novellette7,500 - 20,000 wordsOften a novellette-length work is difficult to sell to a publisher. It is considered too long for most publishers to insert comfortably into a magazine, yet too short for a novel. Generally, authors will piece together three or four novellette-length works into a compilation novel.Novella20,000 - 50,000 wordsAlthough most print publishers will balk at printing a novel this short, this is almost perfect for the electronic publishing market length. The online audience doesn't always have the time or the patience to sit through a 100,000 word novel. Alternatively, this is an acceptable length for a short work of non-fiction.Novel50,000 -110,000Most print publishers prefer a minimum word count of around 70,000 words for a first novel, and some even hesitate for any work shorter than 80,000. Yet any piece of fiction climbing over the 110,000 word mark also tends to give editors some pause. They need to be sure they can produce a product that won't over-extend their budget, but still be enticing enough to readers to be saleable. Imagine paying good money for a book less than a quarter-inch thick?Epics and SequelsOver 110,000 wordsIf your story extends too far over the 110,000 mark, perhaps consider where you could either condense the story to only include relevant details, or lengthen it to span out into a sequel, or perhaps even a trilogy. (Unless, of course, you're Stephen King - then it doesn't matter what length your manuscript is - a publisher is a little more lenient with an established author who has a well-established readership)Page CountsIn most cases, industry standard preferred length is 250 words per page... so a 400 page novel would be at about 100,000 words. If you want to see what size book is selling in your genre, take a look on the shelves. If the average length is 300 pages, you're looking at a 75,000 word manuscript (approximately)One reason it's harder for a new author to sell a 140,000 word manuscript is the size of the book. A 500+ page book is going to take up the space of almost two, 300 page books on the shelves. It's also going to cost more for the publishers to produce, so unless the author is well known, the book stores aren't going to stock that many copies of the 'door-stopper' novel as compared to the thinner novel.Remember, these word- and page-counts are only estimated guides. Use your own common sense, and, where possible, check the guidelines of the publication you intend to submit your work to. Most publishers accepting shorter works will post their maximum preferred lengths, and novels are generally considered on the strength of the story itself, not on how many words you have squeezed into each chapter.
Send questions, submissions and e-mails to Jdarrollhall@comcast.net I wish you good luck and good wishes for your writings.
JD
PS; My first book was 240,000 words @ 1157 pages of which the first 235 pages were hand written. I followed that with nine books @ 70k to 90,000 word concept novels. My first book I sell as an epic, a series, and as a sequel. This combination gives me seven sellable titles of which I now sell at least a book a day every single day. With my new contract with Amazon, if someone even just previews one of my books, I will receive ad commission for ever page viewed, so can you… Send me your content and you can as well… thank you…
Sunday, May 17, 2009
PART THREE READ LAST
PART TWO READ SECOND
Looking for
Erotic; romance,mystery,thriller,suspense, action adventure only
Menage and multiple partners sharing romance
Mainstream romance only
Requirements for all 3 lines
Story must be well written and have an interesting story line, strong conflicts, and well-developed characters.
Romance must be a key aspect of the story.
MUST have a happily-ever-after ending for the main characters.
Specific erotic romance requirements
Sex scenes must be red-hot using explicit, adult sexual language and leaving little or nothing to the imagination.
What will catch our attention!
Really hot sex scenes!
Western and cowboys,vampire,space,urban and suburban!
Menage a trois: M/F/M and M/M/F
Menage a quatre: F/M/M/M
Multiple partners: one woman shared by several men
M/M and M/M/M
Western and cowboys!
Series
Closed for submission
No happily ever after for the main characters.General fiction. Poetry. Non-fiction.
Automatic rejection
Not accepting: bodily functions, pedophilia, necrophilia, or incest.
Word count requirements
15,000 to 200,000 words
Print (Print-on-Demand only)
For titles over 55,000 words.
Royalty percentage
90 % of received commission
Royalty payments
Quarterly. Paid 30 days after the end of each quarter (January 1 to March 31 paid on April 30th, April 1 to June 30 paid on July 30th, etc.).
Submission requirements
Manuscript must be polished and free of grammatical and spelling errors. Or we can assist or refer if need be.
What to submit
Please attach your complete manuscript as one document in WORD, or RTF format.
Don't send sample chapters or partial manuscript. Don't send inquiries without attaching the complete manuscript. Don't send only the synopsis without attaching the complete manuscript.
Simultaneous submissions
NO SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS
How to submit
IN THE BODY OF YOUR EMAIL: Include your book's title, the genre, total computer word count of the finished manuscript, your pen name (if you use one), your current email address, your physical mailing address, and your phone number. Optionally, include a short bio and the URL of your writing website if you have one. In 200 to 700 words (and no more than that), give a detailed but concise synopsis starting with a hook, an overview of the plot, information on your major characters, the major conflict and resolution, and the ending.
ATTACHMENT OF MANUSCRIPT: Please label the attached file as follows:
LAST NAME - Story Title - Total Manuscript Computer Word Count.
EMAIL SUBJECT LINE: Please include in your Subject field: Submission: Story Title. To bypass the Spam filter, please remember to start off the Subject field with the word Submission.
ONE DOOR CLOSES A NEW ONE OPENS (READ FIRST)
I suppose several events have culminated in my reaching the decision to change my life and direction and publish books. Even though I will still work on my writings daily, publishing will now be at the forefront of my endeavors. I have spent four years in the book business when in reality all I wanted to do was write a book and see if a publisher would pick it up. Oh how the publishing world has changed, the changes in the two years since I had a marketable storyline and plot is amazing in itself.
Entire cottage industries have sprung up to rip-off writers and scam them out of money with no intention of providing the services that authors are actually looking for. It is bait and switch at level that the worst used car dealers would admire and envy. In the last four years I have encountered all these scams. Many of these scams simple want to lock up the rights to your work in case lighting does strike and you wind up with a damn good book or book idea.
I was fortunate that my past business experience and background allowed me to read and understand the fine print and legal jargon, and not fall prey to these scams. In hindsight I wish I had kept these contracts, but I was so furious each time that I proudly sent them straight to the circular filing system in disgust.
So why become a publisher?
As a course of business to sell and promote my own works I have had to become one. If I’m going to invest so much time in publishing why not open up to other writers and authors, that is now exactly what I plan to do. Today I have signed a contact with Google; prior contracts exist with Amazon, Sony, Palm, Borders and Barnes and Noble (pending).
Google book search and Adsense are either up and running or in process on our websites and my hope are that all of it can be fully integrated by the end of May.
Why are you posting this notice?
Two web sites will be fully operational shortly. These sites will allow other interested authors, writers, or those who may want to publish a work and need guidance and assistance in their endeavors will have a platform from which to learn and publish their work for profit.
If I had a work product ready to publish how long would it take?
I can have you work published in twenty-four hours and royalties would begin to accumulate immediately.
How much do I pay for this service?
Nothing; we take an agency representation fee of ten percent but that is only on paid commission. You keep ninety percent. This is a complete flip-flop from traditional publishers; they take ninety percent and pay you ten percent.
What services can you help me with?
· EDITING
· REVISIONS
· BROAD RANGE REVIEWS AND MARKET PREVIEWS
· FREE ADVERTISING
· COVER GRAPHICS
· PUBLISHING SOFTWARE
· DTP/PDF,RTF, DOC.X CONVERSION PROCESS
· COPYRIGHT
· ISBN NUMBER
· LAYOUT TEMPLATES
· COLOR GRAPHICS INTERGRATION
· WEB, BLOG, AND SOCIAL NETWORK INTERGRATION
· PAID AD FEES WHEN SOMEONE READS OR VIEWS YOUR WORK
· PLACE YOUR WORK IN THE NATIONAL LIBRARY NETWORK
· YOUR BOOK MAY SEARCHED AND PURCHASED GLOBABLY
· 24 HOUR ACCESS AND ASSISTANCE
· WEBHOSTING AND DEVELOPMENT
· SELL AND PROMOTE BOOKS ON YOUR WON SITE
· ACCEPT CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS
· CREATIVE CONSULTING
· BRAND DEVELOPMENT
What type of material are you primarily looking to publishing?
Any good and well crafted story or book idea, or new concept, my personal preference at this time is erotica, which is the fastest growing marketplace globally.
How long does my story need to be?
It must fit into standard marketable formats; i.e. short story, novella, novel, super novel. All sources of information and links will be available on our websites.
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