What’s the difference between a novel and a novella and a short story? Does word count matter?

I love to read short stories from my favorite authors, they are a great way to connect more with their work or pass the time waiting for their next full-length novel. And I like to write short stories. Not every idea I have is good or even novel worthy. Some are about the length of a short story. Let’s dive in an define the different short fiction lengths:

https://blog.reedsy.com/word-count-novella-short-story-length/
Reedsy had the answer here for the lengths and some grrea examples:
Lengths
Novella – 17,500-40,000 words
Novelette – 7,700-17,500 words
Short Story – Less than 7,500 words

For those of you looking to read short fiction, more major retailers have a category for short fiction for stand alones or anthologies. For readers who need to close out their end of year TBR goal, short stories are a lifesaver!!

For authors we have different reasons for writing short stories. One is the story just doesn’t need to be a full novel. Two, maybe we are writing a side story to offer as a bonus for our subscribers who love the world we created. They want more and we can give them that in exchange for a newsletter sign up, yay! Everyone wins.

Some authors write short fiction to sharpen their craft.

And there are also literary magazines who still print short fiction.

When I was looking to submit Interview with a #Vanlifer to literary magazines last year I saw a lot of submission requirements in the 5,000-6,000 word range, but then they had a category for Short Fiction that extended up to 10,000 words. Every magazine differs on their category definitions so always read the fine print closely

What is the market for this?
Yes, there is absolutely a market for short fiction. It isn’t a big as the other genres, pun intended. But it exists. And Matty Dalrymple, a long time friend of this channel and phenomenal writer, has a book and an entire podcast episode all about leveraging short stories for your author career. I’ll link to both below.

List of Book Genres: 36+ Popular Genres for Writing


Promote Matty’s The Short Tack

The Indy Author Episode: https://www.theindyauthor.com/142—a-new-era-for-novellas.html

List of Book Genres: 36+ Popular Genres for Writing

So, do you like to read short stories? If so, please link your favorite one below so I can check it out! Do you write short fiction? If so, what tips do you have for your fellow authors? Let’s keep the conversation going in the comment below.

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