Many agents and publishers won't take on short novels. The minimal word count requirement varies, but it can be as high as 60,000 words.
They will, however, accept short novels by established authors. Stephen King would have no difficulty, but if the writer is not well-known, the door is usually closed.
Translation: The following books, if written by unknown writers, would not be considered by many publishing houses and agents today:
Animal Farm, The Pearl, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, The Old Man and the Sea, Heart of Darkness, The Metamorphosis, A Christmas Carol, Of Mice and Men, The Stranger, The Little Prince, and The Death of Ivan Ilyich.
All of which brings to mind the great observation by historian Robert Conquest:
"The behavior of any bureaucratic organization can best be understood by assuming that it is controlled by a secret cabal of its enemies."
Think Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist is also technically a novella. Would be interesting to see how many of Oprah's "book" club choices were actually novellas.
ReplyDeleteI find the restriction to be especially strange when many people shy away from large novels. The key criterion, of course, should be quality.
ReplyDelete