The number of words determines the classification of the book as a novel, a novella, or a novelette. However, that being said, there’s no real consensus for any of the classifications. Even the classification of a short story, a short short story, a long short story, and flash fiction are indeterminate.

Flash fiction usually refers to a really short work, perhaps six words in length like Hemingway’s famous “For Sale: Baby Shoes. Never Worn.” A real power punch of inuendoes, and incomplete, unwritten poignant stories, but it’s all there for the reader’s imagination to take hold. According to some literary magazines, the short short of flash fiction can be as many as 1,000 words. The main defining factor (other than being short) is that there can only be one central character, setting, scene, and plot, with a minimal, tight timeline (like only a few minutes).

I’ve written some short shorts, but certainly not the six-word shorts like Hemingway. It’s a great exercise to tighten the writing. I prefer the regular length of 1,000-plus word short stories and, of course, the novel length.

So, what is the length of these various books? A novel is a full-length work of fiction, usually 200 or more pages. My novels barely fit into this category as they’re just over 200 pages. A novella is longer than a short story but shorter than a novel, usually between 60 and 120 pages (or 17,000 to 40,000 words). Given that parameter, I’m surprised that my novels are not considered novellas, as the word length is less than 40,000, even though the page length is more than 200.

Now, if write your novella even shorter then you have a novelette. At 6,000 (plus) words, the novelette is longer than a short story (though it could be classified as a long short story), but shorter than a novella. There are other defining features of a novelette. It is, of course, an extended fiction story, a long short story, or a short novel. Perhaps the best example of a novelette is Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” It’s only 100 pages.

Confused? Me, too. The bottom line is that each writing form has no definitive length. My suggestion? Just write your story and don’t worry about the classification. If you consider it a novel, classify it as such. That’s what I’ve done with all my books. No one has ever argued with my classification. So, I guess my books are novels, even when they’re shorter than the suggested word or page length for a novel. Does it matter? The main thing is that we, as writers, accept and promote our work in the genre and classification that we choose. After all, we did write the work. If I say something of mine is a novel or a short story, then that’s what it is. Wouldn’t you agree? Take another look at your books and you decide what their classification is.