I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read a review (not mine) and become frustrated when an angry reviewer gives a novella one star because “It was too short.” You’re reading and that’s important. Obviously, you want to learn. So be sure to watch for certain words before you click on that FREE, $0.99 or $1.99 specials.
Short Story: That means exactly what it says. It’s a story that’s short. Probably around 50 pages or less.
Novella: Dictionary.com tells us, “A fictional prose narrative that is longer and more complex than a short story; a short novel.” I would say anything 51 pages to around 200 pages.
Part 1 (or 2 or 3, etc.): That book will be short. Can’t guess at the size as it varies and is up to the author (or publisher) of how many pages they want to make each part. But it’s like watching a 30 minute TV series that continues next week. You will only get PART of the story.
Okay, this is what you need to look at closely if you’re not sure.
For example, on Amazon they now tell you how many pages under Product Details. No guessing.
At Barnes and Noble, they don’t give you the number but if you see a File Size of around 126 KB under Product Details, chances are it’s short. If you’re still unsure, look at the reviews. Yes. People will complain about the length. Thus why I’m writing this post.
I checked Kobo and they don’t show pages or file size, but let’s use some common sense. Chances are if it is $0.99 and has the word(s) Novella, Short Story or Part 1, it will not be a full novel.
Now I’m not saying all $1.99 or lower price books are short stories. My books have been $1.99 and $0.99 before and they are full pledged novels, and I’ve grabbed up some great books for those prices myself. You just need to stop and read a little bit if this sort of thing pisses you off.
Authors love happy readers.
Carla Swafford, Author 