When is a book not a book?

HeavyAirship

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I'm in the process of writing my first non-fiction book and my aim was to hit 30,000 words on the first draft. But now I'm more that halfway through my notes and it looks like I will be lucky to hit 20,000 words. That's only about 100 pages. Can that really be called a book? Are there any word steroids I can use to beef up my MS? What are some things you do to find more content for your books?
 

Dennis E. Taylor

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Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt.

I wrote a story outline that was supposed to work out to 5 books or so. But when I'd finished writing the "first book", I had about 40k. So I ended up with a book with a part 1 and part 2, at about 80k, and a 2-3 book series.

Some people on this forum write a huge tome, then complain about having to edit it down. Some of us have the opposite problem.
 

sassandgroove

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You said it is non fiction. I don't know your subject, but is there a second subject that dovetails with yours that you could include? I hope that makes sense.
 

Siri Kirpal

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My first book is something like 120 pages. People still praise how much "good stuff" I got into it. But then it's illustrated.

If your work is going to be illustrated, then you won't have problems. If it's not, then we'd need to know more about the topic to know how to help with the problem.

And yes, Angry Guy, I'm with you. I write short rather than long, any day of the week.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal
 

plumone

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My first, and so far only, book is 143 pages, including index. It's a regular size paperback. I think it was around 40,000 words. People who have reviewed it seem happy with it.
 

Literateparakeet

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I think it depends on what you want to do with it? Trade publish or self-publish. I don't know the guidelines for trade publishing, but I don't think they will take anything that short. If you chose to self-publish though; it's not a problem. My first book is about 50 pages. The second is 145. :) What can I say, I'm laconic. Amazon even has a special area for short books...both fiction and non-fiction. You can check out Kindle Singles here:

http://www.amazon.com/b?node=2486013011
 

HeavyAirship

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Thanks for the replies everyone :)

My book is about worship and I've already started a thread in the Christian forum to ask for suggestions. Maybe I'll ask on some other websites as well. I haven't thought too much about how I want to publish it but if I went the trade publishing route what sort of expectations do publishers generally have regarding length?
 

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20k words sounds more like an essay than a book.

Simply trying to increase the word count is likely to dilute your message, and make things unnecessarily tedious and prolix.

More research could help with opening up the subject, or incorporating related topics.
 

sassandgroove

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Thanks for the replies everyone :)

My book is about worship and I've already started a thread in the Christian forum to ask for suggestions. Maybe I'll ask on some other websites as well. I haven't thought too much about how I want to publish it but if I went the trade publishing route what sort of expectations do publishers generally have regarding length?
There are a lot of different worship styles even within Christianity, but you could include other religions as well.
 

Siri Kirpal

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Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

What type of book about worship? You could do a series of essays, with what you've got as the main course. You could do book with a series on the varieties of Christian worship. You could do a book with a series on the varieties of religious worship to include other religions as Sassy suggests.

Otherwise, this is too short for a book. Unless as I mentioned earlier it's a how to book with illustrations. Or a photojournal essay.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal
 

HeavyAirship

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It's largely for people who are or want to become worship leaders. I try to keep it practical and draw lessons from my own experiences but I also touch on the subject of using worship for more than just opening church services. There will be a section on song writing so I might include a chapter on basic music theory. I don't want to get into doctrinal stuff too much because I want this to be useful across all kinds of Christian denominations.

I usually write pretty short in my first draft but I'm not going to have any time to revise this for a while starting in October so I was hoping to get a solid draft the first time around. I think I may ask around for personal stories that I can use to illustrate some of my points more clearly.

Thanks for the input. You guys have really helped jump start my brain.
 

plumone

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It's largely for people who are or want to become worship leaders. I try to keep it practical and draw lessons from my own experiences but I also touch on the subject of using worship for more than just opening church services. There will be a section on song writing so I might include a chapter on basic music theory. I don't want to get into doctrinal stuff too much because I want this to be useful across all kinds of Christian denominations.

I usually write pretty short in my first draft but I'm not going to have any time to revise this for a while starting in October so I was hoping to get a solid draft the first time around. I think I may ask around for personal stories that I can use to illustrate some of my points more clearly.

Thanks for the input. You guys have really helped jump start my brain.

Sounds interesting- I majored in youth ministry and worship styles has always been something I've enjoyed studying. If you ever want a review, or want to bounce ideas around, let me know!
 

Jamesaritchie

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Here's the true definition of a book. A book is anything a publisher says it is. Period.

I've read books a heck of a lot shorter than twenty thousand words, including several along the same lines as yours.

You check to see what lengths the right publishers want for book like yours. You might be surprised at how short many are. When the publisher releases it, that publisher will call it a book, and it is, simply because it's sold in the book section, and advertised as a book. It it looks like a book, smells like a book, and is stocked with other books, it's a book, not a goose.
 

turningpoint

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I guess I would be a bit like a high school teacher and say it should be as long as you need it to be to cover your topic in the best way you can. The rest of it publishers can figure out. I'd hate to think that there were writers out there just writing to get up their word count. I'd add pictures over fluff.
 

kdaniel171

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I think 20k words are enough

There are so many books that even come with fewer words than 20,000. Yes, it will surely be called a book. For you I would suggest to look "ezinearticle" website to search for content about your topics.