What is the optimal E-reader story size?

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by DavidKitson

Thankyou for all the responders and the discussion. This is actually quite a departure from what I expected to find... I guess I hear some writers saying "130K pages max" so often, it had started to sink in.

Word counts are more important for technical reasons in printed books, as the word count affects the number of printed pages the book must have to hold the story. Since the vast majority of publishing is still print, word counts are a factor.

It's not that longer stories don't get written, but when I speak to those authors they all seem to feel that long stories are a problem. I wonder if it's related more to the publisher reticence to publish longer stories from new writers that is behind it?

The question is how long the story is, and how big the book has to be to hold it. If the book is big enough, it may be necessary to split it into two print volumes. An editor might ask for cuts on a book simply to fit it into one MMPB edition.

Though with talk of pages, it does make me wonder... I would have thought pages were somewhat obsolete in the e-reader world. I take it I'm wrong there and that people still think in terms of pages, even with an e story?

They do, but a "page" in e-reader terms will vary - how much text will fit on the screen of the device you use in the configuration you prefer? Each screen can be thought of as a page.

Meanwhile. add me to those who don't have a preferred length. I have short and long stories on my device. The proper length is the one needed to tell the story.
______
Dennis

[ebusinesstutor]

I read full size novels on my iPhone. When I want something quick, I read a comic or an RSS news feed on it.