How to Share Your Story ( It’s Much Easier Than You Think)
Photo Credit: Florian Klauer on Unsplash
Let’s say you aren’t having trouble with the ideas or getting them down, but you don’t know how to tackle the idea of a book or novel.
And let’s be honest, most people want to write a book.
Like a book book. But let’s look at the numbers:
Flash Fiction 53 - 1,000 words 1-4 pages
Short Stories 3,500 - 7,500 12-25 pages
Novelettes 7,500 - 17,000 25-57 pages
Novellas 17,000 - 40,000 57-134 pages
Novels 40,000 + words 134 pages or more**
Novels are long, guys. Like really long.
What most people want, is to tell a story and have people buy it.
Now, in our culture, a novel is the most appropriate book length. It’s just what people are used to buying and reading.
But the other formats, in my opinion are highly underrated.
Flash Fiction, Short Stories, and Novellas are how you build your writing chops AND your audience if you play your cards right (this is where the literature on marketing comes into play).
Because here’s the deal, first time authors do not make it.
First time anythings do not make it. And that’s okay.
Bestselling, Debut books are not a thing. They are beautiful little unicorns that happen in magical fairy land.
What I am saying is, even if you have the most touching, devastating story up your sleeve, it is STILL highly unlikely you will see yourself as a debut author with Penguin Random House and Oprah’s book club will name it book of the month, and then Netflix will do an original television series adapted from your novel.
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. And more importantly that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t write.
And as a side note, many of those debut authors you hear about are not debut writers.
Okay- author seems to be a term reserved for Novelists? For some reason. But I assure you, these people have written and published other works before.
Like- ahem- novellas, short stories, essays, flash fiction, articles, etc. etc.
My point? You don’t have to write a novel to be a writer.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO WRITE A NOVEL TO BE A WRITER.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO WRITE A NOVEL TO SHARE YOUR STORY.
Some stories are short. And that’s more than okay, that’s how that story is meant to be told. Ever hear of Flannery O’Conner? One of the most celebrated writers of all time?
Short story writer.
All of her stories have IMPACTED our culture and they are a few dozen pages long, give or take.
Still not convinced?
Here’s a little piece of marketing advice. Because like I said, most people want to write a story AND have people buy it.
The best way to market your book is to write the next book.
From a sheer numbers level, the probability of you being discovered by a reader is increased if you have more products/books.
And we have already established that novels are LONG and take quite a bit of time to write.
But short stories do not.
If you write 5 short stories, that’s essentially the same length as a novel. But now you have 5 products with your name on them. Not just one.
Side note, I also think our culture is moving towards shorter formats. People are busy, and have less time than ever. But they still want to be entertained. So don’t underestimate the short story!
Another thing to note, is that if you can write a short story, you can write a novel.
Like I said before, 4-5 short stories is the length of a novel. Easy.
So that takes care of the time commitment.
And by Story #5 your skills will be improve SO much that a novel will be that much easier for you to tackle.
And anyway, what is a novel but a few short stories (aka chapters) strung together?
You can do this. It’s just a matter of perspective and humility.
Short story or flash fiction writing is not a lesser sport. In fact it comes with it’s own set of challenges.
Mark Twain was the one who said that “If I had more time, I would’ve written a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.”
What does this mean?
Short is not easier or lesser, in fact it is superior to longer works. Concision requires thought and patience, but boy does it pay off.
If you want to write a short story, you must be concise. You need to boil the story down to it’s essential elements. Because now, you are limited by what you can include. And every element of the story must work in unison to make the story function. But that brevity is what creates impact in short stories and novels alike.
And wouldn’t it be nice if you could hone the skills in a short timeframe?
If you are ready to take your skills to the next level, sign up for my FREE 5 day short story course where I go through all of the essential training to get you started.
You’ve got this.
Reach out anytime,
AK