tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post3748110384867591124..comments2024-03-18T19:00:03.047-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: In So Many WordsLeigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-46557157901426871422013-06-14T20:13:40.408-04:002013-06-14T20:13:40.408-04:00Thanks! I was worried that I'd ticked them off...Thanks! I was worried that I'd ticked them off somehow! :)Jeff Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00316081079528920123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-10895843810584290422013-06-10T17:03:30.195-04:002013-06-10T17:03:30.195-04:00Jeff, thanks for the comment. I've heard some...Jeff, thanks for the comment. I've heard some say that submitting to The Strand Magazine is like submitting to Reader's Digest. If I recall, RD only let you know if you made it, not if you didn't--the things I sent them always got sucked into a black hole.<br /><br />But I must encourage you and others to continue to try The Strand now and then. They do in fact sometimes accept stories from less-than-well-known writers. (Picture me pointing to myself, here.)<br /><br />Hang in there!John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-54265988510382260102013-06-10T16:47:47.020-04:002013-06-10T16:47:47.020-04:00Congrat's John!
I've never gotten a reject...Congrat's John!<br />I've never gotten a rejection from The Strand. Really! I send a story off and wait about a year and never hear back from them! Nope they never bought anything from me!Jeff Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00316081079528920123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-81937077244455717712013-06-10T16:45:15.283-04:002013-06-10T16:45:15.283-04:00Thanks for the kind words, Dix. And I too enjoy f...Thanks for the kind words, Dix. And I too enjoy first reading stories that were written by folks that I either know or "e-know." It's amazing (I hate that word these days, but sometimes it applies) how many stories I've read that were written by our fellow SleuthSayers. Keep up the good work, everybody!John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-12702472101852197562013-06-10T02:23:13.664-04:002013-06-10T02:23:13.664-04:00Congrats on the Strand!
Gotta admit, I’m used to ...Congrats on the Strand!<br /><br />Gotta admit, I’m used to reading short-to-long when it comes to magazines and anthologies. But, lately, that’s been replaced by: read the stories by writers I “know”, then read short-to-long.<br /><br />As for overwriting: I’m GUILTY AS CHARGED! This upcoming Friday’s post runs 1,600 words. And, I’ve never added words to sell anything. I always have to cut. My hat’s off to you guys who can peg a winner at 700 words. My stories lie there and die on me, at that length.<br /><br />--DixDixon Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11220791609338404147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-54967764023781524532013-06-09T09:33:51.389-04:002013-06-09T09:33:51.389-04:00Thanks, Toe--I really appreciate the comment.
Bes...Thanks, Toe--I really appreciate the comment.<br /><br />Best of luck to you in all your writing endeavors.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-63885345851398887152013-06-09T00:29:11.015-04:002013-06-09T00:29:11.015-04:00John: Your post, along with all the comments it ge...John: Your post, along with all the comments it generated, is extremely helpful to someone like me. Unpublished, and still searching through the mist of a strange new world. I have always preferred short stories. Ever since I read "The Most Dangerous Game" in High School. Also, what was that story by Jack London? "To Build a Fire?" The impact of drama in stories like these far surpass most novels exceeding 300 pages. Again,thanks to all you folk at SS. Yours truly, Toe. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17407149021673167001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-35621853212579253002013-06-08T22:33:33.566-04:002013-06-08T22:33:33.566-04:00Leigh, I love novels too, but for some reason seem...Leigh, I love novels too, but for some reason seem to prefer the shorter stories. Go figure.<br /><br />Rob, I understand that reasoning. Might as well maximize your chances. And--again--I've always found it easier to cut than to add.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-25755453350478340482013-06-08T22:25:57.056-04:002013-06-08T22:25:57.056-04:00John, congrats on both sales. You can have the ba...John, congrats on both sales. You can have the banner when you pry it from my cold dead fingers, pal. <br /><br />There was a period of some years when every story I wrote came in at around 3000 words. It was absolutely bizarre how the story would always stop on page 11. <br /><br />I have never written deliberately to a market length, but I have shortened to one. When I wrote the novella I sent to the BONA I was egotistical enough to cut 500 words out. Why? So that IF I won the award and got it published it would be short enough to be eligible for the Derringer Award, which at the time topped out at 18000 words.Robert Loprestihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08844889305615182897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-69175801240900259032013-06-08T21:59:45.408-04:002013-06-08T21:59:45.408-04:00Congratulations! I confess A Ferry Tale appeals to...Congratulations! I confess A Ferry Tale appeals to my whimsical side. Although I’m sure John made the right decision, I’d trust him to make it worthwhile!<br /><br />With my ADD, I prefer shorter stories, but I also enjoy a superb novel, emphasis on superb. I’m not sure what makes this so, but I’m definitely in the camp that stories seek their own length.Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-80491284992243016232013-06-08T21:24:22.630-04:002013-06-08T21:24:22.630-04:00Thanks, Eve and Anita.
Anita, good luck with the ...Thanks, Eve and Anita.<br /><br />Anita, good luck with the revised story!John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-8028993837149051442013-06-08T20:29:53.513-04:002013-06-08T20:29:53.513-04:00John, very good news about the Strand sale.
I gen...John, very good news about the Strand sale.<br /><br />I generally let the story decide the length, but I just trimmed 1500 words off a 6,000+ word story for a particular market. I wasn't sure it could be done without gutting the story, but in fact, as you might guess, the story was better for it. Anita Pagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06542864159416870373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-36093939481985484592013-06-08T17:49:20.923-04:002013-06-08T17:49:20.923-04:00John, congratulations, and I'm looking forward...John, congratulations, and I'm looking forward to reading the story.<br />Michael, John has you pegged.<br />Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-64644462798396201072013-06-08T16:03:19.784-04:002013-06-08T16:03:19.784-04:00Pat, I was interested to read your take on novella...Pat, I was interested to read your take on novella length. And you're right, those WW mysteries and romances might be defined as either short-shorts or flash fiction. (Sounds like you have perfected the 1737- to 1740-word story!)<br /><br />Michael, congrats as always on your story output. You are indeed a lean mean writin' machine. And I was glad to see your thoughts on optimum salable length for a short. <br /><br />Jan, thanks for your perspective on this, also. As you said, it seems the 3 to 5K range is comfortable for a lot of writers.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-31812241699150687252013-06-08T15:45:51.848-04:002013-06-08T15:45:51.848-04:00Hi, John--congrats on all your recent publications...Hi, John--congrats on all your recent publications and sales. If I listed them all, there'd be no room for other comments. LOL I do both--write a story with no market in mind, so it can be any length, or if I want to write one for a particular market, I usually don't have any trouble hitting their word-count target. I really prefer to write in that spot between 3,000 and 5,000 words, though. Fascinating discussion--thanks for posting it.Jan Christensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02027877440748580764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-42277003838265873032013-06-08T15:20:07.742-04:002013-06-08T15:20:07.742-04:00The vast majority of the stories I write these day...The vast majority of the stories I write these days are written for specific markets, so I usually know my target word count before I type the first word of a story, and I self-edit as I write--tightening my style for short word counts and loosening it for long word counts--so that I don't have to do significant revisions to fit word count after I've completed a full draft.<br /><br />Beginning in 2009 I've kept track of my production, including total stories written, their word counts, and the yearly averages:<br /><br /><br />2009: 75 short stories, with an average of 2,884 words.<br />2010: 42 short stories, with an average of 3,451 words<br />2011: 52 short stories, with an average of 3,465 words<br />2012: 46 short stories, with an average of 3,272 words<br /><br />I sell almost every story I write, so it appears--based entirely on personal experience and not an actual study of all writers and all markets--that the sweet spot for a salable short story is 2,800-3,500 words.<br /><br />The reality, though, is the shortest of those stories is a mere 10 words and the longest is 6,600.<br />Michael Brackenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01072019804281421944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-78284116808779203872013-06-08T14:54:11.030-04:002013-06-08T14:54:11.030-04:00John, first let me congratulate you on your recent...John, first let me congratulate you on your recent success. Two WW mini mysteries, back to back, and now The Strand. Way to go!<br /><br />I write as many words as needed to tell the story and worry about cutting or adding on the second draft. My comfort writing zone is 500-2000 words. However, I have writing both shorter and longer.<br />Snowbird Christmas Volume 2anthology just accepted my “The Christmas Train – South” story at 1,740. In my cover letter, I had apologized that the story was over word count but when I rechecked the guidelines, I realized the specified word count was 1,500-2,500 words. My previous story to them, “Kindling a Flame in the Dark” was 1,737. I’m seeing a pattern word count here. LOL<br /><br />Because I usually write romantic suspense, I consider novellas to be 30K up to 45K. Short stories are all over the place with word count. It always cracks me up that WW romances are 800 words which in reality is a short-short or flash fiction. Ditto on the mini mysteries. Since that’s the market where most of my rejections are from, I’d say that is a word count I work toward. Probably why I haven’t sold to WW. I guess I don’t work well in the small count. Who knows? Only two of my rejections came from the first reader. My manuscripts usually make it to Johnene and take 6 month for a rejection. Only three have ever had comments—two were mysteries and one was a romance.<br /><br />I, also, tend to write as little character and setting description as I can get away with—don’t like to read it, don’t like to write it—unless it’s important to the story.<br />Pat Marinellinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-77710767691745508002013-06-08T14:33:56.006-04:002013-06-08T14:33:56.006-04:00Thanks, Jacqueline, that's kind of you. As He...Thanks, Jacqueline, that's kind of you. As Herschel said, we all have dry spells--I've just been fortunate lately.<br /><br />Yep, I think we all have to try to follow guidelines as closely as we can: if they give you a range, shoot for the middle if possible, and if they specify a minimum or a max make darn sure not to go below or above those. What can be frustrating at times is that every ellipsis counts as a word (at least is does with my word processor), so I try hard not to use many ellipses in stories to markets that require an extremely low wordcount. (I wish, of course, that that was my only frustration.)John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-31766771170885517102013-06-08T13:58:45.627-04:002013-06-08T13:58:45.627-04:00Congrats, John, I'm very impressed by your con...Congrats, John, I'm very impressed by your continued success! Not long ago I was asked by an editor to shorten a story for a publication. The editor it seems was very strict about word length. So I guess it is important to follow guidelines exactly when submitting. Jacqueline Seewaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09177500620940251009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-14884849771551917212013-06-08T13:52:54.698-04:002013-06-08T13:52:54.698-04:00Herschel, I like that advice: "Don't worr...Herschel, I like that advice: "Don't worry about the word count while you're writing."<br /><br />As for your "dry spell," it doesn't sound all that dry--I saw one of your mysteries in WW a couple of weeks ago. Keep up the good work . . .John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-10802383875125862012013-06-08T13:39:39.508-04:002013-06-08T13:39:39.508-04:00John, first of all congratulations on your sales t...John, first of all congratulations on your sales to Strand and AHMM. (Not suprising, however).<br /><br />Most of my shorts run about 3000 words. Like Fran, I use the number of words that it takes to tell the story, and, with the exception of WW, don't worry about the word count while I am writing.<br /><br />Lately I have hit a dry spell, with a word count of a dozen or so--totally unacceptable for most editors.Herschel Cozinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06097703750150309319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-62044841361626403162013-06-08T12:08:03.550-04:002013-06-08T12:08:03.550-04:00R.T., I'm with you on character description, a...R.T., I'm with you on character description, and description of settings as well. I think less is more, there.<br /><br />As for the average length of your stories, I've heard others say that 4K to 8K is ideal, for most shorts.<br /><br />I've been in the same position as you at times, on having to add a few hundred words in order to make the length suitable for a particular anthology or magazine. For some reason I find that harder to do than deleting a few hundred words. (That should tell me something, right there: I probably "overwrite" a lot, and NEED to trim things down.)John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-23667011562619046832013-06-08T11:06:35.037-04:002013-06-08T11:06:35.037-04:00John, congrats on the Strand sale.
My stories are...John, congrats on the Strand sale.<br /><br />My stories are written to whatever length the story needs, but sometimes to my chagrin I have to add or delete words to match the guidelines. Had to add about 100 words to "The Delivery" to get into the 2013 MWA anthology. Most of my stories to AHMM come in at 4K to 5K, with my longest being 8,100 words. I tend to run on the sparse side when it comes to character description, preferring to let the reader picture the character themselves, except for maybe one physical or other trait per character.R.T. Lawtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15523486296396710227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-24516864179970469792013-06-08T10:51:49.254-04:002013-06-08T10:51:49.254-04:00Liz, I think between 3000 and 4000 is a pretty &qu...Liz, I think between 3000 and 4000 is a pretty "comfortable" length for most shorts--and that length seems to be especially acceptable for a lot of publications.<br /><br />David, I agree that 10K is probably the upper limit for AH and EQ despite what the guidelines might say. I've seen few stories there longer than that. I also agree that the length of an SS post depends almost completely on the subject.<br /><br />I think it's interesting that almost every entry in the <i>Novel & Short Story Writers Market</i> says "also publishes short-shorts."John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-15234848512741273632013-06-08T10:09:23.779-04:002013-06-08T10:09:23.779-04:00My stories generally run 4000 to 6000 words---some...My stories generally run 4000 to 6000 words---sometimes longer. The upper end for AHMM and EQ seems to be 10,000 words. They're loath to take anything longer, because it uses up too much space, and you'd push somebody else out of the issue. They like to mix up different story types and styles. <br /><br />I try to cap my SS blogs at 800 to 1000 words, although I've certainly run long. Depends on the subject.David Edgerley Gateshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05302818835018859164noreply@blogger.com