Alright, I often detect confusion in regards to what is what when it comes to “types” of horror publishing.
Standalone: Novel-sized manuscript that doesn’t belong to a series. It “stands alone”.
Series: More than one book linked by a thread.
Collection: More than one story by THE SAME AUTHOR, collected in a book or manuscript.
Anthology: More than one story by DIFFERENT AUTHORS, normally collected by theme, on one book or manuscript.
Short story: A manuscript that doesn’t reach the length of a novella.
Novella: A manuscript longer than a short story but that doesn’t reach the length of a novel.
LENGTHS:
Short story: over 1,000 words, usually less than 8,000 words
Novelette: 7,500 to 19,000 words
Novella: 10,000 to 40,000 words
Alright, now
How to market NOVELLAS, SHORT STORIES AND COLLECTIONS – Perspective
Who is the audience for this kind of manuscript?
Busy people. You are talking to a busy audience. It happens to me, if I start a long book, next time I grab it I won’t even remember who the author is. So when you’re sharing one of this kind of titles, you need to know who you are talking to.
What do they aim for? A scary, quick read that takes them away from reality. Therefore, in your taglines and keywords you’ll want to write something like:
“An afternoon of horror!”
“Trip to Hell and back in one day!”
“The quick dose of horror you need in your daily routine!”
“A disturbing taste of […]”
How to market NOVEL-length books
The novel will stay with you for a few months, or one if you have a lot of free time. So it’s more of a romantic companion other than a quick bud.
There, you want to dive deeper into the characters, the thread, and the environment. The background of the story… the person who is going to purchase a novel is willing to hear the details and the shade of the story. Here you have lots of materials to work with.
Who needs a quick read, doesn’t have time to read an endless ad.
The person who wants to choose between novels will stop to see which one is deserving the few next months of their time.
That’s why you shouldn’t take lightly who are you selling to. Never forget that. Normally people are quite positioned in regard to these two options.
Know your audience. Dive deeper below.
This is just a piece of the puzzle. If you want to master your engagement and growth, join us 100% for free on our TBM Marketing Growth Program.
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