Novelettes range in length from 7,500 to 17,000 words. Some readers and publishers insist that novelettes represent a niche market only and that they often have trivial themes, but that isn’t necessarily true. Nor is it accurate that a novelette is just a novella squeezed down or a short story expanded beyond regular boundaries.
I’ve read several articles by authors and agents who warn writers to refrain from writing novelettes because they’ll have trouble finding a market or audience. Yet, since nearly everyone has a cell phone now, today’s fiction market includes a lot of people who prefer shorter stories to novels because they can read them during a commute or lunch break. To me, this includes novelettes. I’ve written seven novelettes that share the same spec fiction theme, which I plan to publish as a collection.
Novelettes gained popularity in the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in pulp fiction and magazines. Magazines like Saturday Evening Post, McCall’s, and Collier’s used to print short stories and novelettes, but magazines like those have mostly disappeared. Nevertheless, I don’t think novelettes are a dying format. They provide a middle ground for readers seeking engaging narratives that can be consumed in a single sitting or over a couple of leisurely sessions.
Sometimes I’m writing what I had assumed would be a short story but which turned into a novelette, simply because the story didn’t want to end until I wrote over 10,000 words. Some authors and readers like novelettes because they allow for more depth and complexity in storytelling than a short story. Novelettes are long enough to allow for more world building, suspense, and good character development without adding a host of characters and subplots. And, unlike most novellas and novels, novelettes don’t take as long to write.
I enjoy writing novelettes. The length allows me to develop more complex plots and characters than a short story, while still honoring brevity. Although many publishers categorize novelettes as either whimsical or sentimental, modern novelettes include a lot of speculative fiction, crime, and romance.
For many decades, an esteemed organization has offered writing awards in the novelette category. These are the Hugo Awards, which have been awarded every year since 1955. The 2024 Hugo Awards were presented at the 82nd Worldcon in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2025, these awards will be presented at the 83rd Worldcon in Seattle, Washington. Luminaries like Piers Anthony, Ursula LeGuin, Orson Scott Card, and Poul Anderson have all won Hugo Awards for novelettes. Isaac Asimov, Fritz Leiber, and Connie Willis have each won three Hugo Awards.
This is a short list of some famous novelettes. I admire how these authors told an exciting and memorable tale in less than 17,000 words:
- The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka – 11,500 words
- The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe – 11,165 words
- The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft – 11,905 words
- The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy – 16,500 words
- The Birds by Daphne du Maurier – 12,000 words [the original story]
- Graveyard Shift by Stephen King – 15,800 words
- The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde by R. L. Stevenson – 13,500 words
I’m excited about publishing my collection of novelettes this year. It’ll be interesting to see how well are received. My fingers are crossed that readers won’t judge these stories on their word count before giving them a chance. Maybe I shouldn’t advertise that the stories in my collection are novelettes…I’m still thinking about this. 😊
Happy writing!
Ann
