During the last decade I have been working on a series of short novels or mini-novels, each about 10,000 words or 50 pages. To me at least the form is hugely attractive, and has a long pedigree.
Dickens used to pre-publish many of his novels in pieces of about this length in various magazines. It is approximately the amount which can be easily read at a single sitting of about an hour. The Sherlock Holmes stories are also of approximately this length. No doubt there are numerous other historical examples of similar-sized fiction.
For my own purposes, I make a distinction between the mini-novel and the short story or the novella. To me at least a mini-novel should be (as the name suggests) a short novel. It should have a beginning, a middle and an end, preferably at least one strong or sympathetic character, and (for my taste at least) some subtext or layering. Given these self-imposed rules, I have found it a demanding, fascinating and enjoyable form in which to write.
Most of the mini-novels to date have been satires or comedies of manners. Either the form lends itself to satirical expression, or that is my natural bent. Since I despair of the homogeneity and mediocrity of the British book-publishing scene, I have decided to publish the mini-novels in Amazon/Kindle first, and perhaps to look for a paper publisher at a later stage.
From an authorial perspective, the 20 mini-novels so far completed and published in Amazon/Kindle have been a highly demanding enterprise. Considered collectively, such a body of work could be regarded as the approximate equivalent of 4 full-length novels of, say, 250 pages each. One could argue, in addition, that 20 separate and distinct narratives, each with their own set of characters, is at least as difficult to accomplish as 4 full-length novels.
Most of the mini-novels to date have been satires or comedies of manners. Either the form lends itself to satirical expression, or that is my natural bent. Since I despair of the homogeneity and mediocrity of the British book-publishing scene, I have decided to publish the mini-novels in Amazon/Kindle first, and perhaps to look for a paper publisher at a later stage.
From an authorial perspective, the 20 mini-novels so far completed and published in Amazon/Kindle have been a highly demanding enterprise. Considered collectively, such a body of work could be regarded as the approximate equivalent of 4 full-length novels of, say, 250 pages each. One could argue, in addition, that 20 separate and distinct narratives, each with their own set of characters, is at least as difficult to accomplish as 4 full-length novels.
While on the subject of characters, one of the pleasures of writing mini-novels is that a character in an earlier mini-novel can reoccur in a later one. The protagonist of 5 of the mini-novels, for example, is a certain Lucien Bellamorte, a somewhat highbrow novelist who chronicles the sins of the upper classes, and who is described by his literary enemies as "a poor man's Evelyn Waugh". I am afraid, given my satirical bent, that I have used Bellamorte's progress through the literary world, including his bitter battles with the darling of that literary world -- the self-aggrandising half-Indian, half British "super-novelist" Siam Deishur -- to lampoon the literary establishment.
For the purposes of commenting on the mini-novels, I have set up another blog called, er, mini-novels, in which I have been writing a few words of background about each of the mini-novels published. As currently published in electronic form, the price of each is $0.99 in US dollars (the lowest price permitted by Amazon/Kindle), or £0.86p (with VAT) in pounds Sterling. Here is a link to the mini-novels blog.
Meanwhile, I hope some of the kind readers who have looked at my blogs may be tempted to sample one of the mini-novels. I suspect that any potential reader will know rather soon whether he or she likes the mini-novels. If not, I hope that reader may publicise that dislike, and not hesitate to give full vent to it because -- for writers at least -- most forms of publicity are good publicity. If, on the other hand, he or she does finds the experience enjoyable, there are currently 19 others from which to choose.
