Day 54: What if my novel is too short?

[@TimBartja]

On the topic of novellas, is there a market or opportunity for selling a collection of novellas as a set as opposed to individually? I have the opposite problem where my word count typically mounts to be too high/bloated, and I wonder if it would be a good idea for me to practice keeping a story within 30k-50k. My thinking is that it could compliment the world my novel takes place in and give me an outlet for sharing information about the world that my story has no room for.

[@bradpauquette]

If you're willing to self-publish, and you have the money, time, and expertise to do it right, you can create a market for just about anything--novella, collection of novellas, etc. Traditional publishers are extremely risk averse, so it's very unlikely that they'd be willing to do anything with it, unless some compelling factor assuages that risk--like a proven author (Stephen King can get a contract for whatever he wants to write). I might be misunderstanding the last part of your comment, but I recommend that everything you put out, especially in the early stages of your career, should be super high value. Any kind of auxiliary materials (even a complete story, even a sequel!) should be by reader demand. I would publish that stuff because lots of people are reading the first/primary book and demanding more. A common mistake is to plan and write sequels before the first book has shown any potential. There might be a similar principle to apply to whatever you're considering with your novellas. Write a series or build out a universe of materials only because the primary book has proven the concept and there's a captive audience for more.

[@TimBartja]

@@bradpauquette Thanks for the in depth response. It seems I'm in the middle of a common mistake, writing a sequel before my first has been published, but I'll call it a venture for the love of writing and take on something new next time. My cousin, half a generation below me, who was in my target audience loved my first book and asked when the next one would be ready, and the 90 day challenge has been a good excuse to write it. 😅