Yesterday I posted on Facebook that I had finished the first draft of my new Lady Georgie book and felt it was a little long, so the next step was to bring out the axe. I was surprised this morning to see a whole lot of replies saying "please don't cut it. We want your books to be as long as possible." Some were kind enough to add, 'we don't want them to end." but others added, "We love long books."
So now I'm curious--do you love long books? Do you select books based on length? Are you turned off by big fat books or do you look forward to staying with them for a while? Is there a certain length that mysteries should be? (mine are usually around 300 pages. The Molly Murphy series goes a little longer, closer to 400 sometimes).
I'm actually re-reading the last Harry Potter book at the moment--as a sort of wind-down after all the frantic activity in my life this month and I have to say I am not finding the 700 pages to be a chore. it's nice to see, when I pick it up, that there are still a few hundred pages to go.
And of course with my new Kindle the question of the weight of a 700 page book is removed from the equation, isn't it? I can read War and Peace, holding it in one hand!! And speaking of weight--the thinness and lightness of Kindle was one of the factors in deciding to go with it over the iPad or even the Nook. But now I think I should get a case for it and you know what? The cases are heavy. Does that make sense? Can anyone suggest a light little sleeve that keeps out dust but doesn't turn my Kindle into a clunky object?
I like the first book in a series to be a little shorter than the subsequent installments so I can get through it and decide if I want to continue to live in that world. If I like the first book, I usually want the sequels to be as long as possible. Let me travel around the world with Georgie (and Darcy, of course) for hundreds of pages, let me fight off Death Eaters for days, let me tag along with Mary Russell for chapter after chapter... When I love the characters, I want to spend every waking moment with them.
ReplyDeleteIt takes a lot for me to pick up a book over 350 pages, especially from an author I don't know. It's a mental thing. If it takes me over a week to read a book, I feel like the book is too slow. And I read most 300-350 page books in a week.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, if the story keeps moving forward and has great characters, I can get lost in a longer book. I'm just less likely to pick it up unless I already know the author. And some of the Harry Potter books could have used some editting.
So my opinion is if you are going to write a longer book, make sure everything adds to the story.
The length of the book is irrelevant as long as the book interests me and is well written. The more I like the writer and the characters in a series, the longer I prefer the page count. I do not like books that have a high page count and contain extraneous information that has no relevance to the storyline. An excellent book is one where I get so immersed in the story that I loose all track of time. Those could go on for 400 or 500 pages as far as I'm concerned.
ReplyDelete250-300 words for the first in a series; 300-350 for a stand alone work for me. With the price of tradebooks going up and the page count going down, book buying becomes expensive. Kindle looks like a viable option.
ReplyDeleteLonger is definitely better for me, especially if I'm buying the hardcover which I like to do for my favorite authors (like you, Rhys) and those that I can't wait for the paperback (like Georgie and Molly)! Even when I find a new author, I always pick the longest book in the series to start with. Book buying is a VERY expensive pastime for me and I really like a book to last more than one evening.
ReplyDeleteI rarely pay attention to page count when choosing a book. Yours are so engaging, that I end up reading them in two or three days. So a longer book (as long as it was long b/c of interesting plot developments, not empty fillers) would be wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe Molly and Georgie are that long. Seems to be less than 200 pages.
ReplyDeleteThey really hold my interest,so I would say longer is better.
Well, I have to say that I really LOVE your books and my vote with with the longer the better crowd.
ReplyDeleteWhen I get hooked on a series I like the newer books to be longer and longer. I like to see the characters developing and relationships changing.
ReplyDeleteAs for your Kindle, try a neoprene sleeve like they make for the little laptops and notebooks.
Check out Etsy for homemade Kindle covers. I recently bought one for my Nook made out of a vintage book cover.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_query=Kindle+Cover&search_type=handmade
I don't really have a comment on book length. If I like an author, I'll read a longer book.
ReplyDeleteKindle is wonderful. I remember I sent back one of the heavy cases when I first got mine. The MEdge Latitude case is fairly light, and there's a neoprene sleeve already available for the new model that I think is also light.
I don't necessarily think that a longer book is always better..... However, I can definitely say that every time I get to the last few pages of one of your book I think "Dang, already done??!!" A longer book works for me!!! :-)
ReplyDelete