The classic measurement for a printed book is 250 words per page. So 10,000 words yields roughly 40 pages of printed text. But over the years, font sizes, page size, and margins have become so diverse that it might call into question the classic measure. It’s especially suspect when discussing eBooks. Most reading devices allow the reader to change font size and because you can read on so many different types of devices, it becomes hard to even define what a book page means.

Average Story Lengths

Writing World has one of the better approximate word counts for most common story formats. Using this and several other sources online as a guide, I came up with this chart to illustrate the difference between story types:

Approximate Story Word Counts

The sweet spot for a novel seems to be somewhere between 50,000 and 90,000 words. To me, 90,000 words is really pushing the line of a “pick up and read” book. Colleen Lindsay (who currently works for Penguin Books) has an awesome blog post discussing the “why” behind story word counts. It basically breaks down to this:

• Novels that are longer than 90,000 words cost more to print (more printed pages increases the cost per book).
• Longer novels are almost exclusively for published and established authors who have the flexibility to break the rules.
• The general guidelines for the word counts on the graph above are actually more specific to a genre. For instance, a fantasy novel will typically be 25% longer than a mystery novel.
• There’s also an interesting trend lately towards even shorter novels.

My word count goal for Tales of the Macabre West is 70,000 words (about 280 pages). I’m splitting the middle of the typical novel range. Technically, since it is a collection of short stories, it is more like 7 novellas that range between 5,000 and 13,000 words. I’m thinking 280 pages is a respectable number and honestly, there’s just no reason to pad anything. I want the stories to be tight, well-paced, and readable. But the above was helpful in deciding on when I was “done.”

“Wait, what? You’re writing a book?”

After the shock subsides, I usually get an immediate follow-up question. “What’s it about?”

I will be the first to admit it. This book is weird. I’ve had many chances to hone my book’s “elevator pitch” by now. So how do I explain what the book is about? Simple.

“It’s a horror story set in the old west.”

What had begun as a look of excitement now turns to confusion. Most of the people I tell this to do no read horror. And in truth, it isn’t really a horror story. In fact, it isn’t even one story. It’s a collection of short stories all happening in the same time period and general location. A better description might be:

“A collection of short stories set in the 1860’s old west of America each containing elements of suspense and horror.”

But that takes way too long to say so I keep it simple. Besides, let’s be honest, this is not “mainstream” literature. There isn’t even a genre at the local Barnes & Noble for “Horror / Suspense / Western.”

It’s Fun to Write this Book

But here’s the thing, I love the concept. The ideas are just gushing from my fingertips. Each story has creepy ideas, interesting characters, and a sense of mystery. The characters have come alive. When it comes to writing for me, whether it be novels, comic books, screenplays, or composing songs, you have to create what you love. I am fully aware this is not a “commercially viable” novel and I am completely fine with that. I love it and that’s good enough.

The book will be titled: Tales of the Macabre West

I’m on track to finish the first draft by the end of this year (2013). Then I will be editing and revising for a publish date in early 2014.

Why am I writing a novel?

1) The world and characters are fabulous and the ideas just keep coming.

2) I wanted to see if I “could”. Writing a novel is a challenge. It requires intense focus. It is something I’ve always wanted to do. So this has been a year of seeing if I had the discipline to sit down and write daily and if by the end I would know whether I absolutely hated it or if it was fun. It turns out, it is really fun.

3) I want to learn more about publishing for both digital and traditional paper books. This is a great project to see how things work.

So there it is. The potential audience for this book may be able to be counted on one hand but I love it. And that’s all that really matters.