Small but perfectly formed...?

A writer got in touch recently to ask if we would accept a novella as a submission - in fact, not just one, but two very loosely linked novellas.

Why not, says I. A bonus of being a new kid on the publishing block is that we're not receiving 300 submissions a week and can afford the time to indulge our whims somewhat. Naturally, we'd love to be in a position where we are receiving those kind of numbers. Of course, we'd then just complain about being too busy...

The submission arrived yesterday, and I'm hoping to read it over the next few days, along with clearing a backlog of other submissions and assorted pieces. But it got me thinking. I like a good novella. There have been some fine books published over the years that were, in truth, novellas masquerading as full-length works, or that are widely thought of as novels, largely because of their reputation. Stories such as I Am Legend - Matheson's 1954 creation had just 160 pages - and Conrad's Heart of Darkness topped the scales at just over 51,000 words.

Yet, by and large, most acclaimed novellas are old works. They don't seem to be in favour in today's publishing world, although they are still around, often as part of an anthology of shorter stories. One such example is The Reflecting Eye, John Connolly's brilliant chiller featuring Charlie Parker, the central figure in his long-running series of novels. It closes the author's Nocturnes collection, and there is barely a wasted word in his 110 pages. It also introduces readers to The Collector, an ambiguous stranger who has quickly become one of Connolly's finest creations. Surely something as beautifully-formed as The Reflecting Eye can't be all bad?

Think about it - how many epics door-stops do you see produced these days? Not that many. What time do folk these days have to commit to reading books, particularly when they're catching up on blogs/twitter/facebook? Spare time is a scarce commodity in today's society. Books, generally, have contracted in size in recent years, and maybe novellas are the way to go. Certainly ease production costs for publishers, that's for sure.

But maybe I'm biased. Do other readers enjoy novellas? Are they long enough to truly develop a story and characters? And how much cash would you be prepared to fork out for a 100 to 150-page book?

Cheers
JQ