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I entered a contest where authors are required to write a story of 3000+ words. The winners will be those who make the most sales in Amazon Direct Publishing (ADP).

I already have the plot, but I'm not sure whether to make it a short story or a novella (I only have two weeks to finish it).

So I was wondering, what's a minimum recommendable word count if I want to generate as much sales as possible?

(Considering I'm an unknown author, and given that I'm using the minimum price: 0.99 cents).

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    Sorry to disappoint you but I think it is the quality, not quantity that counts. I am unsure why there is an obsession on story length. Ask yourself: would you enjoy a crappy story that is 4,000 words long or a nice one that is 2,000 words.
    – Javeer Baker
    Commented Jul 8, 2013 at 6:07
  • @Javeer Baker I totally agree, Javeer. Nevertheless there's still a sale gap between short stories, novellas, and novels. Correct, me if I'm wrong.
    – wyc
    Commented Jul 8, 2013 at 6:13
  • Ditto JaveerBaker. Write your story as you envision it and see how the length turns out. You don't want to add scenes that don't contribute to the development of the plot or characters just to pad it out to some pre-determined length. Nor do you want to cut things that DO contribute just to stay within some maximum. If this contest has rules saying minimum 3000 words, then that's the only restriction you need to worry about.
    – Jay
    Commented Jul 8, 2013 at 13:10
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    @Jay Ha, OK you guys convinced me. I'll just let the words flow.
    – wyc
    Commented Jul 8, 2013 at 13:29
  • Did you finish the story?
    – Jonathan
    Commented Aug 16, 2013 at 12:56

1 Answer 1

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The answer to this question is simple: there is no minimum recommended length.

Write the best damn story you can possibly write, regardless of length. Put every ounce of blood, sweat and tears into it. Forget to eat, lose sleep, neglect your family — truly immerse yourself into the book. Then you edit, re-edit and maybe edit some more until you are left with nothing less than perfection. Length is just a number.

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