I really don’t think it is the word count per se. Word count is one of those problems people notice when they are dissatisfied with some other aspects of the book, i.e., there is not enough of something else, be it plot resolution, character development, or what not.

But think about it – we're so busy with Twitter, Facebook, iPhones, Blackberries and every other damn device out there we're always afraid we're ‘missing something'. It's like your afraid a party will happen you don't get to attend, so we're always ‘on'.

THIS!

Visiting Dear Author and reading my RSS feed (mostly not even reading, often skimming blog titles) are my last vices because the internet was taking over my life. I died and came to get the Sony Reader from the SB Test Drive but the first month I “owned” it, I read sporadically because I kept getting online. I stopped tweeting because whenever I was away from the internet, I felt I was missing crucial conversations. I stopped visiting AAR–how could I talk about reading when I was doing none of it? I even put my writers loops on no mail because the temptation of talking about writing and the industry was stronger than actually writing. After being in this internet community for (sheesh) six years, I’ve got to learn balance. Ironically, the game has changed so much that everyone keeps pushing authors to spend time on the internet to gain a following. So it isn’t the internet cutting down on reading time, but the internet creating a new set of issues writers must face–which further cut into leisure time.

OTOH, I recently read MZB’s Witch Hill (horror, not romance), and I would have enjoyed another 200 pages of the story. It was tightly woven and thrilling to the end. This isn’t a recent title, for the obvious reason that Bradley is dead and has been for close to a decade, but the point is current: word-count is not what makes or breaks a story, nor should it be. Authors should be allowed to write the story they need to tell, and editors should trim the fat.

I’m always willing to give an old favorite a chance, but 9 times out of ten I’ve been disappointed. I love the fact, however, that authors like Jo Goodman or Jacqueline Cary still write a good, meaty story without compromise. I’m hoping Laura Kinsale’s next release will be the same.

Finally, if I want to read a favorite author now, I’ll go to my favorites boxes and pull out one of their older work. Those books are satisfying in a way that just doesn’t seem to happen that much anymore. Sigh…

Now, between work, husband, kids and ailing parents, it’s all I can do to find the time to sit down and read a book that’s 350 pages. When I do, I generally enjoy the books, but rarely do I love them since they usually lack much of the detail and backstory that is necessary for me to be safisified. I really do miss the longer, deeper tomes, but I just don’t have the time anymore to devote myself to them.

However, I still refuse to read the smaller, category books. They’re just too short to seem satisfying.

I look back on my ‘keepers’ and too many new ones are more novella than novels. I look at my older ‘keepers’ and they’re huge by comparison. I recently dug out Tai-Pan by James Clavell for a re-read. Nobody does books like this anymore. It’s a damn shame.

Kassia Krozer recently blogged on Competing For Eyeballs. Perhaps that really is the crux of the problem. Free time is in small bite sized pieces and it’s too damn hard to immerse yourself in a book in 15 minute increments. I’m one of those that reads several hours a day, so long books are no issue. But think about it – we’re so busy with Twitter, Facebook, iPhones, Blackberries and every other damn device out there we’re always afraid we’re ‘missing something’. It’s like your afraid a party will happen you don’t get to attend, so we’re always ‘on’.

I feel badly for those writers who are constrained by publishers, it must be frustrating as hell to have to limit ideas and stories. But mostly I feel badly for readers. It’s the price all of us pay for the change in our everyday lifestyle and that urge to stay connected. Overwhelmed by a mass of ‘meh’ books with unoriginal, copycat characters and predictable plots, romance – and many other genres – are getting buried in the mediocre and we have no one to blame but ourselves – because we BUY THE DAMN STUFF! So when you complain about the steep decline in quality books, the lack of wonderful long, complex stories, look in the mirror. Publishers print what sells, so if you’re buying it, you’re supporting the system that’s cheating you. That seems to be OK for many people. Me? I feel like 8 of ten books I’m reading are really old Reader’s Digest versions of gutted books masquerading as ‘full novels’.

I think your comment about setup explains exactly why I hate the shorter books, I miss teh setup, I miss seeing why somethings going to happen, or having a second to care about what will happen or even think about what’s going to happen, instead I erally do feel like readers are being hit over the head with scenes and problems, and with little setup I can;t work up the empathy to care .

I think your comment about setup explains exactly why I hate the shorter books, I miss teh setup, I miss seeing why somethings going to happen, or having a second to care about what will happen or even think about what’s going to happen, instead I erally do feel like readers are being hit over the head with scenes and problems, and with little setup I can;t work up the empathy to care.

As your readers have indicated, many of them are impatient with thick tomes of backstory. They want the action to happen immediately and the story to progress quickly from there. While being emotional, fulfilling, and well-told with characters they love. No pressure there. “G” To reach these readers and make my publisher happy, I have learned to write much, much shorter than in the past. I adore setting up my characters for a crash, but now they must do so immediately instead of later. Lingering romantic scenes now are packjammed with emotion in tightly woven sentences. I do NOT envy new writers entering this market.

So yes, story counts, but size doesn’t matter if you like your stories fast-paced.

St. Martins Press is the worst offender. Someone mentioned above that the publisher is the cause for all the ills in the world (paraphrasing) Yes they are in mine. I don’t spend my money going to the movies or buying DVD’s I find my pleasure in reading books.

It boils down to content. MMP you tend to let things slide it was 7 or 8 bucks and it entertained you even with minor quibbles. When I buy a book for 17-26 bucks well I expect more, not LARGER font and double spaced and HUGE margins. I’m not an idiot, I can see what’s going on. The last SK book was the final nail in the coffin with buying Hard Cover. The entire book with it’s copy and pasted passages from previous books to the LARGE font and the passing off a novella length book with hard cover prices.

Suzanne Brockmann had a hard cover novella out, which she donated to a cause dear to her heart. I bought it. One, I knew it was novella length and two, I felt since she always gives I wanted to give back. But SMP is not so forthcoming and it’s deceptive.

Same goes for ACE with the Sookie Stackhouse books. Novella size priced at 26 dollars. I mean really. Give me a break. Same goes for Feehan’s Carpathian series. I will now wait for paperback or wait for a sale and Kindle it.

I don’t always want/need a story that is 370+ pages, but I do like those stories to be available when I want a meatier read. So many of the books I am buying are so short and fast that I am left wanting at the end. The depth of the character and twists in the plot are definately lacking.

I will pick on a favorite author team of mine, Moira Rogers. Her e-story (I simply cannot call this a book), Sexual Healing, was available online and at a rate I am used to paying for full length books, like those of Lorelei James, Jaci Burton and Maya Banks. The book was 58 pages!!

I feel like publishers are taking a page from the grocery industry, dropping the weights of snacks and other items while keeping the packaging and price the same. They think no one will notice and by the time they do, we will have grown used to the “new way” of things.

Personally, I like a book I can read in a day. I want to sit down and read from front cover to back withough large interuptions (even meals, if it’s a really good book). For “average” type and margins, this clocks in at around a 250-300 page book maximum. This hasn’t stopped me tackling significantly larger, but I find if I’m still slogging through a week later I’ve ‘accidentally’ bought several more books, and I lack the self control to stop myself from starting them! The original book ends up on the arm of the chair or next to the bed, continually second in the to-read pile.

I was reading a book in a multi-author series a while back (Star Wars: NJO, if I’m being completely honest). It’s was well acknowledged that there was a lot of editorial control, to prevent authors writing simultaneously from crossing their wires and make sure the books came out at about one every six months. It became apparent towards the end of the series that some of the writers might be struggling with either deadlines or wordcounts. At least one really caught my attention because the first 15 or so chapters were well paced and tightly plotted, very enjoyable, and the last two finished the entire book off at painfully high speed. Everything slammed to a crashing halt, and I was left staring at the inside of the backcover with a vague feeling that perhaps a couple of chapters had fallen out. It really felt like the author had hit either a deadline or a word limit, and hadn’t edited the book well enough to hide the problems this brought up.

As for the lastest, if you’ve read the series there is a lot of information in this book both on past characters and a boatload of new ones. But check it out of the library.

However, I too have noticed some books getting smaller while others are too long. Feehan’s Burning Wild was long. too long and the book that was out by Kenyon after Acheron, the name escapes me, was so short I totally felt ripped off. I think I did a word count on it and figured out it was under 80k which for a ST book is a total joke. I’m assuming because Acheron was massive she and the publisher felt they could get away with putting out a lightweight but I didn’t like it.

While I must admit I enjoy the quick reads, I do think there is room for some expansion on word counts for some authors and/or some genres. I mainly read paranormals and UF these days, and it sometimes seems to me that to fit the desirable length we either lose out on part of worldbuilding or part of the romance. While I still often enjoy the story, I am left feeling that something is missing.
The person above somewhere who wondered if it has something to do with pushing the series & getting more books out of the storyline has me thinking and leaning more and more towards hating book series.

Though all that said, the books still need to be tight and fast paced. As much as I am a fan of Kenyon, I have to concur with #55, I probably would have enjoyed Acheron a bit more if that had been shortened/tightened up and about half the length that it was. (And if the romance had been better. JMO lol)