In some ways this is an experiment – writing a series of novellas. But I’ve talked with a lot of people who said they don’t read more simply because they don’t have time. They look at the novels being published which are 300, 400, or even 500+ pages and don’t even want to start one because they know it will take weeks, if not months, to get through it. So, I’m trying to provide something that really doesn’t exist in the market today — short books that can be read in a weekend, or on a business trip, or even in a few hours if you’re a fast reader. There are short stories (30 pages or less) and novels (300+ pages) but there aren’t many short works available that are long enough to provide a complex plot and interesting characters and yet short enough to be read in two or three days. These are not intended to be deep, thought-provoking stories. They are fast-paced with lots of plot twists and surprises. Pure escapism.
All of the books will be 75-100 pages long, depending on the ebook format. There will be recurring characters and subplots that will carry over from book to book. I plan to sell them individually as ebooks, and hope to publish collections of 3 or 4 in print. The ebooks will be available in the various formats required by the most common ebook readers.
The first book, Bearing False Witness, is now available for the Kindle at Amazon.com, for the Nook at BarnesandNoble.com, and in various other ebook formats at Smashwords.com. I hope you’ll read it and come back to this site and post your comments.
The second book in the series, Access Denied, will be available Summer, 2011.
Hi Merrill! I found you from Konrath’s board and thought I’d drop by and say hello.
I think the Kindle provides a new life for short and novella length fiction, something that, as you say, really hasn’t been tapped yet. It’s an exciting, brave new world!
I look forward to hearing more about your mystery series in the future.
Best,
- Nick
One More Day: A Modern Ghost Story
I agree with you that it is a rather unexplored concept (publishing wise) which is mostly due to the inability to make money off of short books in the traditional format. But e-readers have altered that way of thinking and has opened the doors for writers like you (and me). I also think it is great because many e-readers are not willing to pay a lot for e-books. So both writers and audiences can come to a happy medium by authors offering shorter works and readers paying less money.