Me, Write a Novella? What a Novel Idea!

In 2015 I was part of a collection of short stories that Guideposts put out. I’d seen the previous year’s books, a set of two collections, contemporary and historical stories beautifully packaged with hardcovers. I was so impressed, I sent my proposal in the following year when Guideposts gave the call. And to my surprise --  and fear -- they bought my idea! Now, I only had to write it.

What was I thinking?! I can’t keep a 100,000-word book below 120,000. I had to have been crazy. A moment of insanity I’ll call it. But I took on the challenge and learned it is much harder to write a short story than a full-length novel. That did teach me to stay clear of anything shorter than a full-length book.

So how did I end up in a novella collection?

Life happened and I realized I needed to reevaluate my writing. My debut, Sword of Forgiveness released in 2015. As book 1 in my Winds of Change medieval series, it sold well beyond my expectations. I had this grand plan to release one of my 19th-century books while I was writing the sequel to Sword of Forgiveness. I wanted to keep my readers engaged, but I hadn’t started the medieval sequel yet. So, as it happens with most people, life threw me a curve -- my husband was diagnosed with an incurable cancer. That was a huge bump in the road! After getting a second opinion, we realized we had to move to Houston, Texas for almost a half of a year to be near MD Anderson Cancer Center. It was my husband’s only hope of beating it—a clinical trial.

Okay, I could work with that. I had no responsibility except my husband while we were there. My 19th-century novel released and about four months later, my husband started his chemo. I planned to sit in the hospital and write until I could type “The End” on my medieval. I had hopes that it would be finished by the time we returned to South Carolina and all the pressures of normal life.
 
The plan was perfect. What I discovered was I had no -- and I mean zero -- creativity while I watched Joe go through one of the hardest chemo regimens out there. When he finished his cancer treatments, we returned to our home and tried to pick up where we’d left off. I started working on my sequel to Sword of Forgiveness, encouraged by emails and IM’s asking when the sequel was coming out.
 
I couldn’t write any faster than I was because I was keeping grandkids, cleaning house, cooking, church responsibilities—you know, we all have them. But God had a plan. It wasn’t on my radar but it was on His. An opportunity came open for me to write in a novella collection. A novella? Yikes! Hadn’t I already decided that shorter stories weren’t my forte? But when one is quiet and listens, you often will hear the Lord whispering in your spirit. My heart told me this was my answer. I quickly emailed the publisher and asked if I could use a character from my book. The answer came back yes. So I dove in head first and took the spot.
 
What I learned is I CAN write shorter stories—in much less time than a full-length story. And I learned that being in novella collections has many perks. To start with, as I said above, it takes a fraction of the time. With 20,000 being the word count -- okay for me it was more like 28,000 -- I was able to put out that novella in about a fifth of the time. Things have to move along quickly in a novella, so the story flows fast. There is no time to wonder what your hero or heroine might do next because they don’t have nearly as long to do it!
 

So in writing "Sword of the Matchmaker" for the Summer Lov’N collection, I was able to satisfy my medieval readers with a shorter novel while I continued to work on the sequel. They had a chance to reconnect with all the characters they’d fallen in love with, and it gave me a chance to give one of my characters a story. Thomas needed his own story and my readers were glad to see the man finally marry. It bought me time while keeping my readers engaged with the series, allowing me the opportunity to finish the sequel before people lost interest.
 
So what if you don’t have or want to write a novella that is connected to one of your books? How can writing a novella help? A shorter story means its faster to write, and has a quicker turnaround time than a full-length novel, allowing you to get something in front of your reader’s eyes in between longer projects.
 

Another perk to a novella is you are sharing this collection with four or five other authors -- authors who may have written other books and have a following. If a reader buys a collection, chances are they are going to read the others in the set, making an opportunity for you to pick up new readers.
 
And, of course, other authors mean more promotion. Almost every author does some promoting of their books. If four other authors are sending out emails, newsletters, tweeting, FB, and Pinterest, then they are reaching their fan base, which most likely will expand your own readership.

It’s pretty much a known fact that the more books you have up for sale for the general population of readers, the better your chances of gaining readers—and increasing your income.

So what about you? Do you find it hard writing shorter pieces of work? Have you ever written a novella? Can you think of any other ways that writing these shorter pieces work to our advantage?

GIVEAWAY:
Debbie is giving away a copy of "Sword of the Matchmaker" (if you have purchased the book you can choose another of Debbie's books). Leave a comment or answer one of the questions, and you're in the draw! And check out the Rafflecopter giveaway at the end of this blog!

"SWORD OF THE MATCHMAKER" NOVELLA:
Penelope Beatty made up her mind long ago she would live and die a Scottish warrior, not a wife. But when nearly all her clan is killed and she is betrayed, she loathes doing the unthinkable -- seeking the help of an Englishman who owed her father his life.


 
Thomas Godfrey never married, but when a Scottish warrior lass shows up needing his aid, he finds her both annoying and irresistible. The last thing he wants is to marry a woman who fights alongside him. If he was going to marry—which he isn’t—it would be to a soft, submissive woman. But when the Lady Brithwin meets the Scottish lass, she’s sure she’s found the perfect match for Thomas and nothing is going to stop her from seeing a summer wedding.   

Purchase link for "Sword of the Matchmaker" HERE!
 

SWORD OF FORGIVENESS NOVEL:
After the death of her cruel father, Brithwin is determined never again to live under the harsh rule of any man. Independent and resourceful, she longs to be left alone to manage her father’s estate. But she soon discovers a woman has few choices when the king decrees she is to marry Royce, the Lord of Rosencraig. As if the unwelcome marriage isn’t enough, her new husband accuses her of murdering his family, and she is faced with a challenge of either proving her innocence or facing possible execution.


Royce of Hawkwood returns home after setting down a rebellion to find his family brutally murdered. When all fingers point to his betrothed and attempts are made on his life, Royce must wade through murky waters to uncover the truth. Yet Brithwin’s wise and kind nature begins to break down the walls of his heart, and he soon finds himself in a race to discover who is behind the evil plot before Brithwin is the next victim.   

Purchase link for Sword of Forgiveness HERE!

BIO:
Debbie Lynne Costello has enjoyed writing stories since she was eight years old. She raised her family and then embarked on her own career of writing the stories that had been begging to be told. She and her husband have four children and live in upstate South Carolina. She has worked in many capacities in her church and is currently the Children's Director. Debbie Lynne has shown and raised Shetland Sheepdogs for eighteen years and still enjoys litters now and then. In their spare time, she and her husband take pleasure in camping and riding their Arabian and Tennessee Walking horses.

MEDIA LINKS:

Web page
www.theswordandspirit.blogspot.com
www.HHHistory.com 
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Goodreads
Google+
Amazon

RAFFLECOPTER 

Don’t forget to enter in the rafflecopter, too! There will be lots of ways to earn points. Debbie will be giving away choice of a Kindle Fire with "Sword of the Matchmaker" loaded on it or $50 Amazon gift card, $15 Amazon gift card and much more!

a Rafflecopter giveaway