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More About Martha's Story
Why a Novella?
In the self-publishing world, novellas are a way for authors to entice readers to give their full-length (and full-price) stories a try. Think of a novella as you would a sample or trial-size product. I put just as much effort into this story as I do my novels, but it's not as long. My full-length stories are 65,000 - 85,000 words. This novella is just under 18,000 words. Isn't the Cover Beautiful? I love this cover, and I have to tell you how we procured it. This cover image is actually being used with permission, as it belongs to a delightful and talented woman who sews historically inspired dresses and sells them on Etsy. My cover designer took one look at this photo, which was advertising that gown for sale, and knew it was perfect for Martha. Thankfully, the Etsy vendor agreed. (The Tailorette Historical Dress Shop is the vedor!) Why Martha? Martha Gilbert makes a brief appearance in my first novel, The Social Tutor, with her husband George Brody. While they only have a short scene, I knew all about Martha and George and how much fun they were as characters. I really wanted to write their story, but I didn't want to go "back in time" to write a full novel. Other self-published authors were telling me, at that time, how important it was to have shorter works available for readers. So, Martha and George got their story. |