Does Size Matter?
A valid question to ask yourself, when writing a story or a book, is how long should it be? I'd like to say there is some formula for the type of writing you do, but the fact is there isn't. You can write a story that is 10,000 words long or you can write a novella that is 10,000 words long. It just depends on what you wish to call it.
But in the end, what someone calls their writing, be it a short story or a novella, it really doesn't matter. What matters is the size of the story. If you are able to tell your story in 10,000 words - or perhaps even 1,000 words! - then it's the right size.
Book Length In This Digital Era
One of the things I've moved to is writing shorter novels. A decade ago, I wanted to write all novels that were in that 50,000 to 100,000-word length. To a certain extent, that is still true. What has changed is how I deliver those 50,000 words. As a reader myself, I don't want to spend $10 on a 100,000-word novel (or longer) and end up disliking it. Its a waste of money! I decided to follow suit with something Stephen King did years ago. When he wrote The Green Mile, it came out in these small 100-page books that only cost $3 (okay, maybe it was $4). Each month a new book would come out. If I liked the first book, I'd certainly spend more money on the subsequent ones. And that was what I did! I ended up spending probably $18 or $20 for all six books. So it was a gamble for me as a reader, but the payoff was huge for King. He made twice the money he would have made with me otherwise.
Now my motives aren't quite that simple. I don't want to piece up a book so I can make more money! Not at all. I am breaking up my larger novels so that the cost of each piece is lower in case someone doesn't like it. And on top of that, then the eBook can be cheaper. If I was to sell an eBook of a 100,000-word book for $8, I could turn around and sell three eBooks 33,000-words in length for $3. For me, it's about the price. Most people will shell out $3 any day of the week. But $8? Or $10??!!!
Easily Digestible
What I decided to do in the end was to make most books that I write, eBook-ready. And that means they'll be in that $3 range when they get published and they'll be in that 100-page (which translates to anywhere from 20,000 to 35,000 words) range. It's the size of a book that someone can read in an evening or on a multi-hour plate flight. Of course, this is what I choose to write. You may have other ideas on how long things should be when you write. I mean, who wouldn't like to write a 100,000-word book every month? But that is a lot of time and dedication, which is just fine if you're a full-time writer.