There have been a lot of readers leaving poor reviews that have nothing to do with content or an author’s writing. These low-star reviews weren’t given for bad grammar or typos.
They were given because the books are TOO SHORT.
Books that are novel-length according to publishers, 80-120,000 words, are now being classified as a novella to readers. Why?
Here are a couple of my ideas:
1. The Boxed Set is at fault—when you box up 12 authors who each have 20,000-word stories, you end up with—I’m no damn good at math—I’m a writer—240,000 words for a whopping 99c.
Yes, the boxed set has its place. It gets your work in front of a wider audience and teases the reader to buy more from you. But are readers now becoming so used to a whopping book upward of 500 pages, do they feel gypped with a 250 page novel?
2. Huge books are popular. Look at Outlander and the other books in Diana Gabaldon’s series. Outlander is 850 pages in mass paperback. In Kindle it probably looks a hella-lot longer.
If readers are used to massive books, I’m sure they are feeling cheated by a 180-page novel I write. Samhain Publishing considers anything over 55,000 words a novel. My books hit that as do millions of other titles getting bad ratings because they’re too “short.” You can check out some awesome long books here (http://listverse.com/2009/06/06/top-10-longest-novels-in-the-english-language/).
Back in the day we went to the bookstore. We purchased paperbacks for $6.99-9.99 and sometimes higher. I don’t know about you, but I generally read a romance novel in a day. Didn’t you? I paid $6.99 for a day’s entertainment.
Now consider ebooks. The same book might be $3.99-$6.99. The pages are the same. You’re paying less plus you’re not storing thousands of books on your shelves at home. You can make room for things like canned goods and batteries for the coming Zombie Apocalypse.
Are readers happy with these prices for a day’s entertainment? I’ll ask you to weigh in with comments but first let’s talk novellas—much shorter in length.
I consider a novella 20,000 words to 55,000 words. Publishers have different viewpoints on this as do Indy authors. It takes me half the time to write a novella compared to a novel. It might take readers half the time to finish the book. If my novella is $2.99 and it takes you three hours to read it, it’s still less than going to the movies. Less than bowling, roller-skating, jumping in a bouncy house or buying a #7 extra value meal at McDonald’s.
Is that value to you? Are novels too short in your opinion? Do you prefer long or short books? Do you feel cheated when the story isn’t long enough for you?
Please weigh in!
BLURB:
Here’s a little peek at my smoking-hot cowboy menage REINING MEN (considered a novel LOL)
Reining Men out now!
The Boot Knockers Ranch, Book 3
There’s no escaping ranch policy—anything to please a lady…
The Boot Knockers Ranch caters to women in all ways. And now rookie Paul is officially part of the team. He’s had six months to hone his skills with the ladies and prides himself on being a prime catch.
Jack would agree. He can’t get the rugged cowboy out of his system. He wants Paul in his bed more than anything, but his best friend has always been resistant to relations with other men. Jack’s instinct says different, but he values Paul’s friendship too highly to push it.
Then Jack takes on beautiful new client Lissy Lofton and finds himself falling hard for the confident show jumper. He’s not the only one. Lissy has caught Paul’s attention, and the attraction is mutual.
But now Jack has a problem. Lissy’s sexual appetite is so ravenous, he doubts he can last the week without backup. Which presents an irresistible opportunity to invite Paul into their bed—where the incandescent heat brings all their walls tumbling down.
Warning: Contains two smoking-hot cowboys whose drive to please the same woman spurs a desire to please each other.
BUY Links:
Amazon B&N Samhain
BIO:
Em Petrova lives in Backwoods, Pennsylvania, where she raises four kids and a Labradoodle named Daisy Hasselhoff. Her dream is to buy an old pickup and travel small-town USA meeting people and hearing their stories. Her heroes are hardworking—in bed and out and she is known for panty-scorching erotic romance.
Website: http://empetrova.com/
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Thanks for reading,
Em Petrova
~hardworking heroes—in bed and out~
