Novella

We like to pretend that art is art. That an author writes what they are inspired to write, with no concern but the voice of the muse. This is a useful fiction. It is good for writers to focus on the art when writing and worry about the business side later. But it is a fiction. Writers are aware of market demands, what kinds of novels get buzz, and what subjects award judges gravitate towards.  Read more

After releasing his 2014 novel Analogue Men, Australian novelist Nick Earls began kicking around a few new story ideas. He assembled the best five and instinctively felt they would each hit the 20,000 word mark - the "novella" grey zone between a short story and a novel.

"My first thought was no publisher is going to welcome me knocking on the door with that," Earls explains.  Read more

Toby Clements in the Telegraph says that many novelists would love to write novellas like Ian McEwan, but publishers are only interested in the shorter form if it has the name of a bestselling author attached to it