How do you know if your short prose is a short story or a novella? How long is a short story? A novella? What’s the difference? If you want to get your short story or novella published, you’ll need to know who is publishing your type of fiction—and you’ll need to know the best way to target your writing to literary agents and editors of literary magazines.

How long is a novella?

A novella is a “short book.” As such, a novella is considerably longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. A novella must be able to stand on its own as a book, but the exact word count is not set in stone: 30,000 to 60,000 words may be an appropriate length for a novella in most markets.

Who is publishing novellas?

Imagine the weight and size of a typical novel (80,000 to 100,000 words) when you hold it in your hand. Now imagine holding a slim, 30,000-word book—almost a pamphlet—in your hand. In order for a publisher to justify the production and marketing overhead of taking on a novella, the publisher must give the reader a valuable experience that justifies the price of the book.

The trouble is, the profit margin of a novella can be lower than the profit margin of a novel in certain circumstances. For that reason, few “big New York” publishers will take on a stand-alone novella—except in certain circumstances. When a novella is published, it is often bound in a collection of novellas by various authors or the same author, creating an anthology.

Because novellas are difficult to market as print novels, they have become very popular in the world of digital publishing. E-publishers are readily taking on novellas of all genres, and readers of e-books are on the rise. In fact, some e-publishers prefer novellas to novels because some readers of electronic formats prefer shorter books—and a good novella can pack a lot of story into a limited number of pages!

How long is a short story?

Although a short story could be as long as 30,000 words, stories of that length begin to become too bulky for their genre. These days, editors of literary magazines are readily publishing short stories of approximately 3,500 words, and they are shying away from longer works.

Short stories published in online literary magazines are often held to even smaller word counts, sometimes as little as 1,000 words or less. The Internet has dramatically changed the way that modern readers approach fiction and prose, and the trend is that shorter short stories are more readily published than longer ones.

Read more: Stories And Poems: Why Length Matters

Who is publishing short stories?

The best place to publish a short story is a literary magazine—be it an online journal or a print magazine. Literary magazines have a long history of being both cutting-edge and traditional; if you’re a writer, you can bet there is a literary magazine out there for you. It’s just a matter of researching the right literary magazines for your writing. (Note: Writer’s Relief can do this research for you.)

Many writers dream of publishing a collection of their short stories; however, the short story genre is not especially popular with the book-buying, mainstream public at this point, and in order for a collection to be appealing to a literary agent or publisher, the writer would do well to have a significant number of publication credits.

Read more:

How To Write A Query Letter For A Short Story Collection

How To Publish A Short Story Collection: Tips For Getting Agents’ And Editors’ Attention For Your Short Stories

Writer’s Relief is NOT currently working with writers of novellas. However, we do work with writers of short stories and, when merited, short story collections. Writer’s Relief is an author’s submission service; we assist creative writers with the process of making submissions. We lift the burden of researching markets and give our (invitation-only) clients more time to write. Learn more about how Writer’s Relief can help you submit your novel, short story, or short story collection.

This article is a follow-up to a previous post, entitled How To Publish A Short Story Collection: Tips For Getting Agents' And Editors' Attention For Your Short Stories. In it we discussed strategies for tackling the obstacles that can make it difficult to publish a short story collection, and we offered some solutions. Keep reading to learn how to write a strong query letter to pitch your short story collection.   

Research the market carefully and target only agents or publishers who actually work with short story collections. Then, research their submission guidelines and follow them exactly. Include your very best work—a professionally formatted and carefully edited group of stories, especially those that have been published. If you have any positive reviews for published pieces, include those as well.

In your query letter make it clear that you are submitting a collection of short stories, and include their genre (science fiction) or common theme (sports). Use vivid, powerful writing to capture the editor’s attention in the first paragraph and get them excited about your work. You may also describe a few of your most interesting stories in this section. If you have a personal tie-in with the agent or editor, this is the place to mention it.

In the next section, highlight your credentials—education, writers’ residencies, awards, and publication credits—and downplay the negatives. Do not reference past rejections or refer to yourself as an “amateur” or “weekend” writer. Never tell the editor that your stories still need some work, and do not ask for editing advice.

In closing your query letter, be sure to thank the editor or agent for his or her time and offer to send sample stories (if attachments are not welcomed) or the complete collection. Proofread your query carefully, run it by someone you trust, and don’t forget the self-addressed stamped envelope if querying by regular mail.

FORMAT

• One single-spaced page is sufficient. Use one-inch margins all around, and adjust if necessary to keep it to one page.
• Use standard (8½ x 11 in U.S.) letterhead. Avoid overly colorful stationery and hard-to-read fonts.
• Include your current contact information and a word count of the entire collection.
• Address the query to the appropriate agent or editor (with the correct spelling, of course).
• Use formal salutations, and use the editor or agent’s full name.

For more information about how to write a query letter, please begin with How To Write Cover and Query Letters That Get Attention. At Writer's Relief our submission strategists compose professional cover and query letters on behalf of our Full Service and A La Carte PLUS clients. Contact us today (info@relief.com) for more information.   

We’re approached by countless writers every year who want us to help them submit their short story collections to literary agents. The short story is a unique art form that many writers enjoy. But few writers ever truly understand how to get a collection of short stories published.

It takes talent to make short stories work. Some novelists begin their careers writing stories and working their way up to longer works (novels or memoirs). Other writers prefer to work in the short form and, eventually, find themselves with a stack of stories inches high, wondering, “Why not turn my short stories into a collection?”

Short stories are becoming increasingly popular, not only because they are mini works of art, but also because busy people have shorter attention spans. There are hundreds of literary magazines and journals looking to publish individual stories (and Writer’s Relief keeps tabs on all of them), but finding a home for a collection of short stories is no easy task.

Major publishers want novels because they sell and infrequently consider novellas or collections of short stories. Short story collections are harder to place because editors are unwilling to take chances on unknown writers; unless you’re Alice Munro or William Faulkner, you will find it considerably more difficult to sell your work. Publishers tend to do some marketing for their novels, and perhaps if the same marketing momentum were applied to short story collections, authors of short stories would stand a greater chance of landing a deal with the big boys.

Before you protest about the number of successful anthologies on the market, be aware that anthologies are generally collections of stories by a number of different authors—collections appealing to those who are looking for a particular theme or subject matter. Anthologies of work by a single, unknown author are very difficult to sell.

Don’t let us thoroughly discourage you from trying to get your collection published—there are some things you can do to increase your chances.

Publish selected works. It’s easier to sell a collection if you’ve had at least a few short stories previously published in reputable literary journals. Submit individual stories to quality magazines on a regular basis, and with each publication credit, your credibility will increase. At Writer’s Relief we highly recommend that writers build their credits first rather than approaching agents with a collection of unpublished stories. National exposure in quality magazines is key to attracting an agent or editor’s attention.

Theme. It also helps if the stories have a common theme or subject to tie them together. James Herriot was a country vet, not an aspiring author, but his collection of stories had a cohesive theme, and the series is still popular today.

Go for a novel. Some agents recommend scrapping the whole idea of a collection and refashioning the collection into a novel. They might also recommend selling the collection as part of a two-book deal, with the story collection designed to generate interest in the second book, which would be an actual novel.

Win big. Enter as many short story writing competitions as possible. An award-winning story can land a publishing deal. It can also boost a writer’s self-confidence—always a bonus.

Market. Many writers get frustrated and end up self-publishing their work, especially if they’re simply looking for limited quantities to give to family and friends. But for a writer looking to sell a decent number of books and see his or her collection at the major bookstores, the marketing process can be a nightmare. When you self-publish, you are responsible for nearly all the marketing and publicity efforts.

Consider small presses. There are far more small presses than big publishing houses, and they tend to specialize in niche marketing. They also tend to publish out of love for the genre and may be more receptive to a short story collection if they love the quality of your work.

Get an agent. If you have an agent, your chances of selling a collection are better than for unagented writers. To be a writer who gets an agent for a short story collection, you’ll need a strong bio. Also it may help in your query letter to mention that you have a novel in the works.

Get schooled. Short story collections are far easier to sell when their authors have top-notch credentials: publication credits in quality magazines, awards, grants. Graduating from a quality MFA program is a plus as well.

To learn more, check out How To Write A Query Letter For A Short Story Collection. We help writers submit their individual stories for publication because we’ve found it’s the best way to help writers improve their bios (so that they can be competitive when approaching agents). If you would like Writer's Relief to help you submit your individual short stories for publication, or if you would like us to consider working with you on a collection, please give us a call!