Get My Book Published
I always thought that the length of a book is based on the number of words that it has but then I learned that it is actually based on the number of pages that the book has. (As stupid as it sounds, this was a big reason I didn’t get my book published sooner!) This has something to do with the readers’ expectations that the price of the book should be based on its number of pages, the thicker the book the more expensive it should be.
For me, the value of a book depends on its content, not on its length. A short book which can give me the entertainment and satisfaction that I am looking for is better than a long one which would afterwards leave me feeling that I have paid for something not worth reading at all. A writer would often ask, how long should my book be if I ever get my book published?
A lot of distinguished writers are at odds at determining the value of their written works depending on the length. Orwell and Hemingway both support the minimalist argument believing that great writers often write in concise, tight prose. Proust on the other hand, as evidenced by his Remembrance of Things Past, belongs to the group of writers who believe that for a book to be useful and entertaining it needs to have more pages to read.
But it all really depends on the kind of book that you write. If it is meant for educational and inspirational purposes and you need to be very specific and explain a lot of things, then you should write it with as many pages as needed. After all, the number of pages in a book can be made less or more by changing the font, margin and spacing of the pages.
Oftentimes, in a writer’s desire for a longer book, the outcome would become less than acceptable because of unnecessary words that are included in the book. Should I get my book published, I would choose to write a short but entertaining story because for me content is more important than length. But then I might write a long one if my mind is so full of ideas that it is necessary to put them all on paper.
Anyway, different writers have different styles and it is up to the individual to choose how to write his story as long as he can effectively convey whatever it is that he wants his readers to read and learn.