| Money, money, money. The size of your book will | | | | stretch into multiple books making them all |
| determine how expensive your book is to print. | | | | classics, do so. A series will sell much better than |
| So think carefully before writing as many pages | | | | a single massive volume. And selling books is the |
| as you possibly can as this will make it more | | | | name of the game. |
| expensive. A more expensive book means fewer | | | | Having said that, if you feel like you only have |
| copies are sold. Now this doesn't mean you should | | | | enough ideas for one book only write one, rather |
| make your books 100 pages, it just means | | | | than a series. People will prefer a single well |
| consider the cost when writing your book. If | | | | written book full of brilliant ideas than 3-4 books |
| you've got the information, why not write a | | | | where it feels like the writer has just written |
| series rather than one big book that requires | | | | more for money. |
| super-human strength to lift. | | | | Hardcover is more expensive than paperback, |
| Your readers and the market control you. After | | | | there is no way around it. Because of this people |
| all, you need them so you must give them what | | | | have a tendency to pick up the soft cover, and |
| they want. | | | | it's also easier to transport. If you have a good |
| For example, currently there is a push to make | | | | fan base then a hardcover is a good idea for |
| large books that will require a lot of time to read, | | | | libraries and serious collectors. But otherwise you |
| especially in Science-Fiction and Fantasy (SFF). This | | | | should start with paperbacks. People have to |
| doesn't mean you should write big books for the | | | | know they're spending the money well by |
| sake of writing a big book. However, if your book | | | | purchasing a book they know they'll enjoy when |
| is pulp length (70,000 words or 200 to 300 pages) | | | | they buy an expensive hardcover. If they don't |
| you are probably going to have problems selling it. | | | | know you're a good writer they won't be willing |
| When people find a character, or group of | | | | to spend the money - normally. |
| characters, they like, they want more, more, and | | | | The best way to find what your book needs is to |
| surprisingly, more. This means that they want a | | | | look at other books in the genre. Look at the |
| series of books. It doesn't mean you have to | | | | length that is most common for the top books, |
| write a series, but it does mean you should | | | | and use that as a baseline of where you want to |
| consider it. Especially if your book is on the long | | | | aim for. There are normally 250 words a page, |
| side. After all, a fan of the first book will normally | | | | and for SFF books there're either 400 or 700 |
| buy the next books in the series. After a few | | | | pages, roughly. This amounts to 100,000-125,000 |
| they will probably try reading some of your other | | | | and 175,000-200,000 words respectively. |
| books. If you have an idea that you can easily | | | | |