By:
Nancy Martin
What
exactly was Rhett Butler doing when he was “blockade running?” What went on in
Boo Radley’s home? What kind of crime does Morelli fight when Stephanie Plum is
busy catching bail jumpers?
Questions
like these are writer heaven. Sure, we know what our secondary characters are
doing while the main character is busy telling the story. But readers rarely
get to find out.
Until
now. I think we’re entering
the Golden Age of the Novella.
Me,
I write a mystery series and publish one hardcover a year. When I’m at the top
of my game, it takes me about nine months to write a Blackbird Sisters Mystery.
By contrast, when I made a good living at romance novels years ago, I could
write two or three books in the same amount of time. But those romances were
only 200 pages in manuscript and featured a streamlined A story. The B story
was very short, and the C story nonexistent.
My
Blackbird books are driven by a convoluted mystery plot and embellished with B,
C, D and E stories—and sometimes more. I may have several plot
threads going--each addressing some current event or subject that takes
research. Plus after the draft is finished, I like to tweak the
language to make the book more fun to read. Bottom line? I can’t dash off a
full-length mystery in a few weeks.
Can
I get tacky here and talk about money? Because I can only write one
book a year, I only get paychecks twice every twelve months. And royalties come
in dribs and drabs. That makes for tricky cash-flow.
So
I looked around and noticed other writers were supplementing their A writing
with some B projects. The short story has been around a long time in
all genres, but not very lucrative. The novella e-book can be priced in the
sweet spot of 99 cents to $2.99 and make real money. Which
makes it good business for writers--especially when our readers are clamoring
for more, more, more, faster, faster, faster.
Creatively,
the novella can be a blast . . .
Read the full article HERE!
~*~
If
you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they
are again:
- You Need to Ask this Question Every Time You Sit Down to Write http://ow.ly/BdQLJ
- Succeed At Writing: Taming the Inner Critic http://ow.ly/BdQXc
- Putting Author Thoughts into Author Action - Where Writers Win http://ow.ly/BdRai
- 12 Most Freeing Reasons to Scrap a Blog Post http://ow.ly/BdRev
- Aimee L. Salter: The Difference Between Being Critiqued and Being Edited http://ow.ly/BdRub
- Better With Age: Giving Elderly Characters the Spotlight | LitReactor http://ow.ly/BdRxG
- Character Talents and Skills: Re-purposing - WRITERS HELPING WRITERSWRITERS HELPING WRITERS http://ow.ly/BdRF2
- There's More to the Story http://ow.ly/BdROW "I think we’re entering the Golden Age of the Novella."
- ThrillWriting: Transforming Your Beta Heroine into Her Full Alpha Potential w/ Danielle Serpico http://ow.ly/BdS2M
- Fiction University: 5 Guidelines for Approaching Book Review Bloggers http://ow.ly/BdSk4
- Kill me now – what do I do about a negative review? | Nail Your Novel http://ow.ly/BdSpq
- Build Your Reputation As A Writer With These Seven Techniques http://ow.ly/BdSt3
- 7 Ways to Use Pinterest to Promote Your Business - Plus Infographic http://ow.ly/BdSAW
- The 5 Step Voyage of Creating Awesome Content : @ProBlogger http://ow.ly/BdSG6
- How to Craft a Book Idea that Sells - How to Blog a Book http://ow.ly/BdSLw
- Overcoming Fear So You Can Finish and Publish Your Books | Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors http://ow.ly/BdSPI
- Anne R. Allen's Blog: The Biggest Mistake New Writers Make and 5 Ways to Avoid It http://ow.ly/BdSXR
- The Creative Penn Blog: Helping you write, publish and market your book | The Creative Penn http://ow.ly/BdT9j
- 3 Reasons I’m Glad I Chose Self-Publishing | Lindsay Buroker http://ow.ly/BdTmp
- Reviewer Databases: An Author's Best Friend - The Author CEO http://ow.ly/BdTW6
- Live dangerously. Use an adverb. | @Belinda_Pollard http://ow.ly/BdUum
- Self-Publishers Looking for Book Design inspiration Can Find it in the History of Printing — The Book Designer http://ow.ly/BdUAt
- Are You Building Your Writer Platform at Gunpoint? | Your Writer Platform http://ow.ly/BdUOe
- From Grief to Glory: 5 Perfect Moments to Start Writing a Book | http://ow.ly/BdV2d
- The Kill Zone: POV 102 - How to Avoid Head-Hopping http://ow.ly/BdV7v
- ThrillWriting: EMTs and Gunshot Wound Information for Thriller Writers http://ow.ly/BdVq3
- 52 Ways To Sell More Books - Tip #50 http://ow.ly/Be6FC
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