Elevation by Stephen King

There is much to be said about this delightful little book. For now, I'll focus on the most wonderful thing about it, IMHO: it got published! 

At about 30,000 words, it is half the length of Stephen King's Carrie. It is also around half the length of most of Agatha Christie's novels. Though it is labelled "a novel" above the author's name, a work of this length has traditionally been called a novella. 

For instance, Double Indemnity by James M. Cain is about the same length. It was first published in Liberty magazine and then in a book entitled Three of a Kind, containing three novellas.  

In a previous blog post, I wondered why traditional publishers currently demand longer books. My guess: big books justify big prices.

So how did Elevation get published? Stephen King has earned a large following. He sells lots of books. Even if this one is less profitable than, say, The Outsider, the publisher will do just fine.

And that's wonderful! Short books are enjoyable in their own special way, and anything that delivers an enjoyable experience for the reader is good. 

Can an author who is not a superstar write and publish a novella? Yes! Look for them wherever ebooks and print-on-demand paperbacks are sold.