Questioning Length

Ok, so I've been told a few different various quotes on what length is what. Publishers require certain levels and if the agreement of length isn't set then how are we to know what they are. This is the latest list (according to Writer's Digest) so do you all have a length frame in mind when writing or once the work is edited?

Micro fiction: 100 words
Flash Fiction: 100-1,000
Short Story: 1,000-7,500
Novelette: 7,500-20,000
Novella: 20,000-50,000
Novel: 50,000-100,000
Epics: 100,000+

Most of my stories fall within the Novella and Novel categories. So I'm concerned with my rejections. Am I being rejected because my work is no good or am I not paying attention to the word count handed by the publishers who simply request novels without a direct word count listed?

I never have a length frame in my mind when I write. I used to think that I can't write write a story, so I didn't even bother to try it. But lately I gave it a try and I surprised myself. I was happy with the way my stories went and recognized that there is more fantasy in my mind than I thought could be.

Now to come back to your question Baby:

There is more than just one reason why you get rejected by a publisher; He didn't like the title and didn't even bother to read it, he's not in the genre your story is written in, the word count failed, or just simply he didn't like it. I'm pretty sure there are other reasons for rejections, but I can't think of any right now.

There are billions of people in this world. Some like Stephen King others don't, some like country music others don't. You see where I'm going right? If we all would like the same, believe me, life would be pretty boring.

I'm sure it is hard getting rejected for something you worked so hard for, putting questions into your mind like 'Am I not good enough?' etc., but that can also be a good thing. It might move you to going over your story again. Checking it again for some mistakes or just things in general you could make better.

I've read your books and your stories are great. There is excitement from A-Z. You have serious parts, romantic ones and sad ones, and that in my opinion is worth a lot. You're writing is great. I know you're tired of getting rejected, tired of waiting to finally be published. But keep on working, because in the end it'll be worth it.

I don't know how many publishers are rejecting novel submissions based on word count, but certainly when it comes to short fiction word count matters. There are a lot of reasons for this but mostly it has to do with space and cost.

As for rejections in general, there are literally tons of reasons a publisher might reject something.

You will be rejected because they don't consider your story saleable. That means that they will not be able to sell it to a certain large group. It must fit the genre, the proper style, the proper type of hero, the proper PoV, basically fit the mold that they consider the mass audience to want (to buy).

You will also be rejected because they don't know who the Hell you are. Sorry, but that is probably the reason you just got rejected. They read your name and did not like it. You see, Stephen King can write crap because people will buy his crap. People won't rush to the store to buy your stuff on name alone, even if it is good, so your wonderful story gets rejected.

Thus, getting published is more of a story of getting noticed than writing good material.

TerishD wrote:

You will be rejected because they don't consider your story saleable. That means that they will not be able to sell it to a certain large group....

And in large part you, the author, has to be salable to the market.

I don't know how to say this without sounding horrible politically incorrect, but women have a harder time in certain genres then men. So do racial and religious minorities. It's not fair. It's certainly not logical. And it's very sad. But it is something many editors and publishers think about and is therefore something we as writers have to think about and work around.

Generally, my main stuff falls in the realm of Novel, although I'm currently working on a series that will definitely end up in the Epic category.

As to publishing, I haven't tried to have any of my finished stuff published. I'm fairly confident it wouldn't get much attention. But not having tried, I have no clue how to advise you. Like Terish said, big businesses speak only one language: $$$. They'll take what they think they can make money from. I don't think length would really play too much into it, but hey. What do I know?