I’m not talking about novellas (17,500-40,000 words) here. Or even the dead zone between novellas and novels (40,000-50,000 – definitions vary by source, but these seem to be the general boundaries). I’m talking about anything under 70,000 words being considered too short by traditional publishers (some places say 80,000).

[These are all general numbers that I’ve found, and don’t cover younger readers’ novels, or even young adults stuff. Different genres have different ranges according to different sources, but I’m sticking to what seem to be the generally agreed upon numbers. The fact there aren’t definitive sources on novel length is an irritation for another rant. Mainly because it shouldn’t be a factor.]

As a cheap alternative to therapy for some of my mental health issues, I wrote a psychological thriller that touches on suicidal depression and social anxiety. Unfortunately, it’s only just over 50,000 words. I only know of one publisher that’ll consider that length of novel, and accept submissions, but they’ve rejected it, which leaves me with a problem (in under a fortnight though, because they always seem to have a fast turnaround time, which is a nice change for trad. publishing).

Not that I don’t have plenty of other stuff to get on with, with another novel undergoing submission, and another half dozen in various stages of revision or waiting. But now I’ve expelled the personal stuff, which wasn’t easy, I find I want to put it out there. Which may be dumb, and it could have been rejected because it’s just no good.

But to not be able to put it out there because there are no avenues for something of this length is irritating, especially when the lengths are based (to my understanding) primarily on printing economics. Novels shorter than 70,000 words would be uneconomical to consider unless from an established name who could guarantee a certain level of sales. So there’s no opportunity to really know whether readers don’t like novels that short.

E-books mitigate this, but of course the traditional publishers are on the whole painfully slow to adapt to digital publishing. There’s always self-publishing, but I’ve no reason to think it’ll sell any better than the other dozen plus novels I’ve self-published, so I’m sticking to the trying trad. publishing for a bit longer.

Which leaves me with a problem. Do I try and revise it to add 40% (or 60% to be safe)? While I have some vague ideas, they feel like they could slow the pace too much, without adding anywhere near the required amount of padding. It feels like there’s a danger of making the story less appealing by padding it out, but without padding it I’ve no chance of anyone looking at it.

Structurally, I’m not sure how much I can add. There are only two main characters – only one with a viewpoint – the supporting cast falling aside as we progress to build a sense of isolation and claustrophobia. I don’t see how it can support additional subplots without feeling forced.

It may be that there are markets out there that would accept it at this length, but I’m just unaware of them. I’ve spent time searching, but the few places I’ve found are either no longer active, or not taking submissions.

I could do with an agent who knows this stuff. But the last round of agent submissions for my longer novel are looking like a bust, and I assume this one will be too short for them to consider. If the market in general considers it too short, then would submitting it to an agent make me look uninformed? I expect I’d just get no response for my stupidity.

I’ve considered emailing a prospective agent and asking whether they consider short novels, but I’m worried this could negatively influence them against me in the future. Also, the social anxiety stuff I mentioned earlier.

It’d be nice if the getting published side of writing didn’t feel like some esoteric art form. But I suppose if everyone knew the rules to follow, traditional publishers may not have the stranglehold on the industry they’re trying so desperately to maintain hold of.