: Is a novel with 50K words more likely to sell than one with 40K? I'm asking this because I wrote a novel with 40K words, but somehow I feel it would sell more, or at least be more like

I'm asking this because I wrote a novel with 40K words, but somehow I feel it would sell more, or at least be more like a "novel" if I add stuff until it's 50K (I checked on Amazon and most best-sellers are 60K+). Now, the stuff I'm adding isn't entirely unnecessary: they fix some plot holes and add some background to the characters. Still, the novel reads just fine with the 40K.

Is my novel more likely to sell/become popular if it has 50K words? Or it won't make any difference?

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@Hamaas631

Since @what 's answer and your comment clarified that it is neither MG nor YA, 40k is way closer to a novella than a novel.

A manuscript standard length is about 100k; the general range is 80k-120k.

Yes some best-sellers may be short, but the author name can help sell a thin book.

Now, it does depend on genre too, in some genres 60K may be the norm, while in others 150k-200k may be more common.

Personally if I am hesitating to buy a few similar books, Iâ€™ll decide based on width to get the most â€œbangs for my bucksâ€.

So yes, size matters :)

NB:
Some great novels are created when 2 smilingly different ideas are merged. So maybe you could develop another concept to novella length and intertwine it with this one.

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@Eichhorn147

I can't see that padding it out will make it sell better. It would put me off.

A novel doesn't have to be long to sell well. Look at 'Of Mice and Men', 'A Christmas Carol', 'Animal Farm', etc.

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: Is a novel with 50K words more likely to sell than one with 40K? I'm asking this because I wrote a novel with 40K words, but somehow I feel it would sell more, or at least be more like

More posts by @Candy753

: For advice on the more creative aspect of writing, see Tommy's answer. As for how to start from a structural standpoint: The plot diagram of most stories is well defined, and a version of

: What are the elements of a good blurb? I'm writing a blurb. To do so, I'm using my favorite novels as examples. Here's one: Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. Kafka on the Shore follows

: Is the following deus-ex-machina? If so, should I remove it? I wrote a novel called Animal Suicide. It's a mix of romance and dark humor. It's about a girl who, after a weird incident, postpones

: How to make a character that doesn't speak about himself relatable? I have a character in my novel, De-Shi, who's the mentor and love interest of the protagonist, Li-Mei (nicknamed Hanging Pup).

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