Bitchin' Blog Posts
Novella or Prequel?
by SB Sarah | by SB Sarah | January 19, 2011 | Wednesday at 11:07 am | 53 Comments
I’ve spent the last few days knocked on my backside by Hella Flu, and in that time, I watched Vanilla Ice renovate a house (he crunked a pool, made a bathroom bling, and told me about single celled micro-organisms, and about encephalitis. No, really, I wasn’t having a fever hallucination. Vanilla Ice said “encephalitis” to me) and read a lot of novellas. I didn’t have the attention span or energy to read an entire book, so I was in a serious novellaly-minded mood. “Novellaly” is my new favorite word, too.
One of the books I picked up was The Guy Next Door, which will be available digitally and in paper come February. I flipped right to the Victoria Dahl story because I heard her tweeting about how it’s part of her new series that’s set in a microbrewery in Colorado, and I was in the mood for silly, sexy contemporary humor.
Y’all. I am so pissed. I’m not pissed at anyone in particular, though I may be glaring at the book cover a lot. I’m just pissed. It’s not a novella. It’s a prequel. It’s a tease. It was SO NOT WHAT I WANTED that when I got to the next page expecting more story and got the copyright information, I made a really strange noise, somewhere between a curse and a growl. Novellas are not prequels. Prequels are not novellas, and should not be sold as such. GRRRR. That makes me angry. ANGRY. ANGRY SARAH SMASH.
But what really pisses me off is that it was enjoyable and thought provoking, even while it was meanly teasing me. Beth Cantrell works at a sex shop and is embarrassed about her taste in very preppy, straight-laced men, while her coworkers are drawn to more edgy, outlandishly tattooed and dangerous-looking men. Beth’s sexually educated intellectually-speaking, but sexually fearful, as she’s bashful about her tastes in men as they contrast with her employment and her public image - yes, I had a hard time with that part, too. And particularly this line: “The men who asked her out were looking for a sexual savant. And deep in her heart, Beth wanted to be seduced. She was an old-school-feminist failure.” Yes, because feminism of any school is not at all about owning your own sexual preferences and is always about grabbing guys by the balls and leading them around, quickly. In comfortable shoes. No, wait, that’s lesbians. I get my stereotypes mixed up.
The hero, Eric Donovan, meets Beth at a local business convention, where their booths are nearby one another. He notices her, and tries to avoid being distracted by her adorable hotness while pouring samples and doing all the business and administrative stuff he does as part of the brewery. He is, for characterization’s sake, “the responsible brother,” and feels a little stifled by his role and responsibilities, so when Beth mistakes him for his brother Jamie, who has a definite playboy reputation, he stops himself from correcting her a few times, eager to experience for once the illicit thrill of a no-strings relationship. Yeah, because that always works in a romance novel or novella.
The story starts out in a confusion of expectations and I liked watching the characters slowly become a little more comfortable with themselves, and I should have seen there was too much going on to resolve in a short space but still. It really was like the opening chapters of a novel, and you know that rage of the thwarted romance reader denied her happy ending? Yeah. I got that rage RIGHT HERE. DAMMIT.
I haven’t read the Donovan story, though that’s on my radar to read in a hurry - nothing like reading an anthology backwards, right? I want to read something that finishes with a happy ending, not a tease for more. It’s a good thing I’m reading this anthology out of order, or I’d be even more irritable.
Has that ever happened to you? Does it bother you if a novella is not a complete story? Or do you look for the book that follows more eagerly because of it?
Filed: General Bitching, Ranty McRant
Tagged: victoria dahl, susan donovan, sex, series, romance, reading, novellas, harlequin, contemporary, anthology
AgTigress said on 01.19.11 at 12:11 PM • [link]
There are two definitions of novella: the older one is ‘short story, moral tale’, and the usual one used today is ‘a short novel; novelette’. Both of those require that the story is complete and free-standing. Not a prologue, a prequel, an excerpt, a teaser; it has to be a story that is complete in itself, albeit shorter than most novels.
So yes, I would be extremely irritated to be misled in this way, and I think the publishers deserve a sharp rap over the knuckles.
Ell said on 01.19.11 at 12:29 PM • [link]
I actually wouldn’t call it a prequel, either—to me, a prequel is a *complete* story that takes place before other stories already published in a series.
I also wonder if this is an excerpt of what will be published—it sounds like it.
Either way, mislabeling sucks, and yeah, I’d be pissed too.
Milena said on 01.19.11 at 12:48 PM • [link]
Honestly, anything that isn’t complete and yet isn’t clearly and visibly labeled as “incomplete” would get me in a major rage. I like reading teasers, and if they’re any good, I’ll jump on the book in no time. But if I pick up something that’s supposed to have an ending and then I don’t get it—no. Just… no.
Laura (in PA) said on 01.19.11 at 02:40 PM • [link]
That would just piss me off. I am totally on board with AgTigress’ knuckle-rapping.
Anonymousss said on 01.19.11 at 03:10 PM • [link]
I love these authors like hell on fire, but what you describe sounds a) yeah, absolutely rage-inspiring, and b) like a straight-up money-grab using these authors’ names as bait.
Bottom line, who wants to read - PAY to read - an imcomplete story? Pass.
Barbara W. said on 01.19.11 at 03:34 PM • [link]
I. Hate. Prequels. Especially when they’re bundled with novellas or short stories. I don’t want to be baited into reading something by someone in order to suck me into buying more of your next books. If I want to start your next series I will (I’m a series whore anyway, so if it looks good, I’ll be there without teasing and annoying me). With books as expensive as they are now too, I don’t want to pay for a story that I don’t want to read either.
I see a ton of freebie Kindle prequels, and while I know not everyone has a Kindle or other ereader, at least that doesn’t piss me off. Rachel Vincent does it brilliantly with her “Soul” seriels (she’s had two little tiny free stories so far).
Mireya said on 01.19.11 at 03:43 PM • [link]
I appreciate that you mentioned it, Sarah. I have this book in my wish list.
When I pick something for reading, I prefer to know what to expect and a “tease” is never it UNLESS I am expressly looking for a sample chapter or excerpt. In an anthology, I would be pretty pissed off if I didn’t know beforehand that a specific story is actually a teaser. I definitely would have reacted like you did, and furthermore, I would be even worse, because I would likely not be finishing the anthology, fearing a repeat in the other stories included.
I always like to know what to expect from a story: be it that it is a prequel or teaser, I like the blurbs as clear as possible, I don’t like misleading titles, etc. I mention all this because I recently picked up a book for review that I really thought would be a historical comedy based on the title. The blurb was not clear on that department and there were no reviews anywhere… and boy, was I wrong.
Diatryma said on 01.19.11 at 03:56 PM • [link]
I like complete novellas. Excerpts? Not so much.
I don’t always find excerpt and later book together, which is problem one. Then, if the excerpt is necessary to understanding the book, it’s probably been months since I read the thing and now I’m lost. If the excerpt is not necessary to understanding the book, then why was it written not to stand alone? Not everyone cares about the deleted scenes.
Mary Anne Graham said on 01.19.11 at 03:58 PM • [link]
Over at my place, Quacking Alone, I blogged a little while back about the length of ebooks. I think a lot of folks prefer shorter ebooks - even those who don’t have the flu - Get Well Soon, Sarah, the world needs Smart Bitches in fighting form. I’m trying to keep my WIP shorter to see how it goes.
Speaking of complete stories, I’m putting my WIP, Duke of Eden, out in serial form on Amazon for Kindle. It’s been an interesting experience. The first 2 parts are up and I’m working on the 3rd and last part which will be posted with the full ebook to follow shortly thereafter.
As a bit of shameless self promotion, over at the Marianne’s of Romance Blog my piece about whether readers like their dirty talk straight up or sugar coated. I’d appreciate y’all boogling by and giving it a read.
Jen H said on 01.19.11 at 04:29 PM • [link]
Ah, the ol’ bait and switch…Yuck. Just adds insult to your flu injury:( If it’s in a book of anthologies, it better BE a complete li’l anthology; I don’t care if it’s 20 pages or 120, it needs a beginning, middle, and end. (Yes, I do see how many commas I squeezed into that sentence—-scary, isn’t it?) I hope the other stories in the book redeem this epic fail for you, and that Mr. Flu hits the road asap.
quality69: ...um, versus quantity69? It’s all good, right?
Kinsey said on 01.19.11 at 04:47 PM • [link]
Novellas are shorter (not short) self contained stories with beginnings, middles and, necessarily, ends. Prequels and teasers are fine but should be explicitly labeled. And I only like them if they’re free.
I did a series of mini-prequels for the book I’ve got coming out in February - posted them on my blog and then collected them and put them on Smashwords, for free. It’s been downloaded 250 times so far, which is great. But I’d never expect anyone to pay for something so short, and something that basically doesn’t go anywhere.
total73: I had to yell at my Diva at least 73 times this morning to get her out the door. My throat’s sore.
Laurel said on 01.19.11 at 04:48 PM • [link]
Nonononono! No to the teaser being sold as a novella! I’m with everybody on the thread on this one. Bait and switch is bad business, especially if it’s my first experience with an author. Thing is, I might enjoy a teaser if I know what it is but if I step into it expecting a full story arc I feel like Charlie Brown after Lucy jerks the football our from under him. I feel the same way about cliffhanger endings to a novel. NO!
On the novella front, though, if you’re still in the mood, I just read a really great one by Tia Nevitt. The Sevenfold Spell (sold as a novel, but really novella plus in length) is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. It reminded me of the movie Ever After as a retelling of Cinderella…slanted tropes and empowered heroine. I did a review over at Jennifer Estep’s blog if you want to see a little more about it.
Lynz said on 01.19.11 at 04:50 PM • [link]
I would’ve been so pissed at that. I mean, I get annoyed when short stories that are part of a series and can’t really be understood on their own are included in an anthology, so a straight-up prequel masquerading as a novella? PISSED. If I bought a book like that, I’d return it.
The “old-school-feminist failure” line, sigh… I’m getting really sick of all the feminism-fail in romances these days. I’m really tempted to go to RWA in New York, force all the editors into a room, and explain tell that letting negative/just plain wrong references to feminism stay in their novels is a bad idea and needs to stop NOW. If not sooner.
Jen B. said on 01.19.11 at 05:36 PM • [link]
Aaaahhh! I hate that in a throw the book across the room and hit something kind of way. I love teasers if I know they are teasers. If I am expecting a prequel, I want a complete prequel. You know, I wouldn’t even mind it if the author said that the story was just an idea for a possible series and then when she decided to complete the series she decided to publish the little piece. Of course, she should warn that it isn’t complete.
amy lane said on 01.19.11 at 06:03 PM • [link]
Dude, I can’t even load samples onto my kindle. I HATE not having the whole thing there.
Hannah said on 01.19.11 at 06:04 PM • [link]
I’ve never encountered a novella that was a prequel/teaser in disguise. I think it’s an innovative idea actually, to put a teaser in an anthology but it should be billed as such on the cover so as not to enrage the reader who’s expecting a self-contained novella.
Ginny said on 01.19.11 at 06:13 PM • [link]
I would be feeling the same rage! I hope the rest of the anthology delivers happy ENDINGS! Get well soon Sarah!
Jinx said on 01.19.11 at 06:54 PM • [link]
Ooooo! I hate this so much! Get into reading what is thought to be a nice little story and the rest of it is in another book. No. Just no.
I read antologies mainly for a writer I like and to see if I like the style of the other writers. I know, that’s probably weird, but I expect the stories in anthologies to be complete. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth if it’s just a teaser. I can almost forgive the story if it’s a part of a series, if I don’t have to slog through 300 books in order to understand what is going on, but a teaser? Not cool.
Virginia Llorca said on 01.19.11 at 07:17 PM • [link]
Y’know how, when you are reading a romance with a mystery and the mystery is kinda starting to pall and you really just want to know how the romance works out? Someone should write more books where all you care about is the romance with maybe a little background stuff and ongoing life stuff to make it a little bit more interesting. And if those books teased just a little bit about how more books like that, maybe about the same people, in a way, that would be great. This book you mentioned, I would probably have to buy it for the cover and then maybe the words inside would relate to that guy on the cover. That would be nice.
“Part 22” No, maybe just one, two, three, and four. . .
Karen H said on 01.19.11 at 08:30 PM • [link]
I would also hate this! I read for the HEA and if there’s no ending, then by definition, there’s no HEA. I actually never read excerpts, though I get lots of author and authors’ community sites email, because I remember too well and I’ll pick up the book months later in the store, read the first few paragraphs, recognize it, and think I’ve already read the book. If I was reading an excerpt that I didn’t realize was one, I would be very upset.
Isn’t the market hard enough without publishers treating their customers this badly and possibly turning them off their entire line? What were they thinking?
Sorcha Mowbray said on 01.19.11 at 09:24 PM • [link]
I hate prequels. I avoid them like the plague, I want my ending. I love novellas, as long as they have an ending. I want my HEA!
Carin said on 01.19.11 at 09:40 PM • [link]
To me a prequel or teaser is advertising. It’s free. It’s on an author’s website, or as a sample for an ebook, or even in the back of another novel with the disclaimer: “If you like this, then you’ll also enoy this sneak preview blah blah blah.”
I’d have been furious at the bait and switch! And Victoria Dahl! I’d have done the same thing, flipped right to her “novella” and then raged when it was “over”. Thanks for the heads up!
Jody W. said on 01.19.11 at 10:08 PM • [link]
A prequel to me is a complete story that happened before the other complete story. The original Star Wars had a prequel trilogy, for example. This is an excerpt or teaser, yes? I’ve seen that happen a lot in anthologies. I remember one with whaserface…LKH…with the first couple chapters of her upcoming hompity book billed as a “novella”. No thanks!
orangehands said on 01.19.11 at 10:21 PM • [link]
That’s so shitty. A short(er) story is a shorter story, not an excerpt or tease. I would buy a novella (and have.) I would never buy a prequel or excerpt. And I rarely buy a (new-to-me) author without reading an excerpt because you can have the most fascinating book cover, but if I don’t like your writing I don’t like your writing. But to pay for that tease? Seems way too greedy. And stupid.
And feel better!
Hell yes. I’ll help you Lynz cause this pisses me off to no end. It actually ruins the story, so no matter how much I like it they’ll always be that little nagging WTH in the back of my mind. And I’ve seen it pop up more and more. Not necessarily about sex/sexual preferences, but jut some little line of “she knew it went against her feminist ideals, but she wanted to have kids/wanted to be seduced/wanted to X/wanted to Y.” Hi, author, please stop listening to media’s portrayal of feminism and look at actual feminism.
GrowlyCub said on 01.19.11 at 10:43 PM • [link]
I read it via Netgalley and was kind of stunned when I came to the ‘end’. Especially since the book for this couple will come out *last*, which means it’s not out till November.
Major bad mojo to the publisher for that stunt and loss of good will. I didn’t bother reading the other stories, I was so annoyed.
SB Sarah said on 01.19.11 at 10:50 PM • [link]
HOLD UP @growlycub. It’s the third book, the prequel in this anthology?
*cues boo-birds*
BOOOOOOOOOOO. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Noelle said on 01.19.11 at 11:13 PM • [link]
Oh man, double whammy! First it’s not even a proper novella, then they make everyone wait several months to read the ending.
Clearly they really wanted Dahl’s name on the anthology, so when she told them she didn’t have time to write a novella they just told her to submit a few chapters from a future book and that would work just as well.
I hope that’s not the future of anthologies!
Jennifer Echols said on 01.20.11 at 12:33 AM • [link]
I was the CP on this book. It never once crossed my mind that someone would have a negative reaction to it. Maybe that’s because I see the big picture?
This novella is about Eric and Beth starting an erotic relationship that they don’t continue because they’re not in the right place. But it does have a beginning, a middle, and a satisfying ending (though not an HEA).
The first novel in the series, which is coming out in September, is about Eric’s little sister. It is hilarious, sexy, and full of awesome.
The second novel is about Eric’s irresponsible and irresistible younger brother. I haven’t read it because Vicki just finished writing it.
The third novel is about Eric and Beth giving their relationship another go. This is the one I’ve been dying to read, precisely because I loved the novella.
When I read, and therefore when I write (because I always try to write the book I want to read), I love for characters to have a past together. Sometimes that past is so delicious that it threatens to take over the book with backstory. In this case, wouldn’t it be great if you could take all that backstory and give it its own space to let it bloom and grow on its own? That’s how I view this novella.
Noelle, this is not what happened. Imho Vicki’s novellas are so wonderful because she takes the same care with them that she takes with her full novels. I felt absolutely sick yesterday when she told me she forgot to enter her FDIC novella in the RITA.
GrowlyCub said on 01.20.11 at 12:52 AM • [link]
It’s great for you, Jennifer, that you are privy to ‘the big picture’, but readers are not. All they see is a story where the h/h are walking away from each other. That’s not a romance and - as it was packaged as one in a romance anthology - that’s a big problem.
I think it’s one of those ideas that look great to the writer/editor (and obviously CP) who are aware of what’s planned for the future, but it’s a really, really bad idea in real life. I predict lots of ill will as I certainly felt it and I have loved every Dahl book except for 1, so am certainly not negatively predisposed towards her and her books. I think it’s precisely because I’ve loved her books (especially the FDIC novella) that my sense of ‘oh no, she didn’t’ is so outraged.
This would have been a wonderful teaser to put up on the website as a free mid-summer read to get readers excited for the trilogy. As a paid ‘romance novella’ it fails abysmally.
Virginia Llorca said on 01.20.11 at 12:52 AM • [link]
I think this is a very nice response, saying that as a non-professional in the industry. But, also being new to this blog, what is a CP, and FDIC, and a RITA? My husband used to work for the FDIC but it was the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. then. I love you guys. Y’all.
I think they pick these robot filter codes with deliberation. reading56, 57 and probably 58
SonomaLass said on 01.20.11 at 01:02 AM • [link]
FDIC is Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, Virginia—Victoria’s novella in the previous anthology featured main characters who worked for FDIC.
CP is critique partner, and the RITA is the Romance Writers of America award for best published books/stories in various categories each year.
I’m halfway between Sara and Jennifer on this one. I didn’t feel like the story was incomplete, but the ending was not romance to me. Which is okay, because I read a lot of fiction that isn’t romance, but I can see why some readers will react with a lot of rage.
Jennifer Echols said on 01.20.11 at 01:13 AM • [link]
GrowlyCub, I hope not. I loved this novella and I honestly can’t wait to read about Eric and Beth again in the novel.
Virginia, a CP is a critique partner. I read Vicki’s books before they’re published and tell her what I think, and she does the same for me.
The RITA is a prestigious award given by the Romance Writers of America. Vicki was a finalist last year for her romantic comedy Talk Me Down. I think she would have been a finalist every year for her novellas but she always forgets to enter them.
The FDIC is indeed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. They too were astounded and they interviewed Vicki for their newsletter. The FDIC novella is called Midnight Assignment and it’s in a collection called Midnight Kiss with Robyn Carr and Jean Brashear. It came out late last year.
HelenMac said on 01.20.11 at 01:18 AM • [link]
Ugh, YES.
OH HELLS YES. A novella is a COMPLETE shorter story, I paid whatever amount expecting a complete story, I expect a happy (ever after or for now, I can deal) ENDING.
The complete opposite, actually - it hacks me off so much, I make a point of AVOIDING the ‘whole’ story. Which is a shame, because other times, a well done proper novella can totally sell me on a author. Eileen Wilks’ short ‘Only Human’ in the Lover Beware trilogy was so lovely, it made me buy other anthologies with her writing in it and made her ‘World of the Lupi’ series an autobuy for me.
Maria said on 01.20.11 at 01:35 AM • [link]
I prefer full-length novels pretty much exclusively, so if I purchased a novella for some reason, there would be a purpose for that (your purpose, for example, might suit). I’d be quite unhappy to discover wasn’t a complete story, even more so if I’d paid for it.
I am not fond of teasers or previews. Book excerpts are okay only if they are the first chapter and I don’t know the author. I never read more than a few paragraphs. My husband knows my preferences and watches movie previews for me. Movie theater previews are, sadly, pretty unavoidable. I hate having my story ruined and I hate being teased (at all, about anything). Tempt me, yes. Tease me and all you get is resentment.
Virginia Llorca said on 01.20.11 at 01:45 AM • [link]
@SonomaLass. Thank you! As I recall, things were kind of interesting when he worked for the FDIC.
Then the novella thing:
for the most part I prefer Stephen King’s novellas. Liked almost all of Full Dark, No Stars, but could not plod thru Licey’s Whatever and some others. Like sometimes you try to fulfill a wordcount requirement and really shouldn’t. It is easier for me to do more than less, and the more is usually 75% unnecessary. Or so it seems. Still, this particular subject gets A+ for cover art, but I guess that’s just personal.
Diva said on 01.20.11 at 01:59 AM • [link]
ooh I hate me some mislabelled teasers.
Several times on the free nookbooks feature I have downloaded what I thought was a short story only to get either (a) a glorified prologue for a novel that isn’t free i.e. teaser OR (b) some cheesyass between-the-books interlude from a series in which many many character names are bandied about for no real purpose and without explanation.
Either way I’m meant to be tempted to read the novel or series of novels promoted by the wildly frustrating freebie. Inevitably I delete the ebook from my nook in a rage, wishing for once that i had a hard copy so I could immolate its bait and switch butt.
Ell said on 01.20.11 at 02:02 AM • [link]
Judging from the comments, it looks like prequel no longer means “full story.” I’m very sad.
AnnieK said on 01.20.11 at 02:05 AM • [link]
Yeah…I wouldn’t be happy either. Even self-contained, the lack of a HEA in a romance novella is a bust for me.
OT: Why is Lori Foster’s name the dominant name on the cover? At first glance I thought it was a single title by her only. Seriously, is there anyone who thinks LF is a better writer than VD or SD?
Kaetrin said on 01.20.11 at 02:36 AM • [link]
I know what you mean Sarah. I recently read Angel’s Pawn by Nalini Singh. It was labelled a “companion novella to Angel’s Blood”. It was a short story in that it had a beginning middle and end but it was not a short romance story - it was the prequel to a romance which I suspect (maybe even hope) will come out at some point, between Ashwini (a Guild Hunter) and Janvier (a vampire). (I hear that the next book after Archangel’s Consort will be Dimitri’s story so I don’t really know if there will be a whole book about Ash and Janvier.)
As a non-romance story, it fit the definition of a novella but as a romance, not so much. It left me feeling vaguely unsatisfied and just a tiny bit cheated because now I have to wait ages for the end of the story or maybe I won’t get it at all. Grrr.
Amy said on 01.20.11 at 03:56 AM • [link]
This made me laugh out loud. So does hair54.
SylviaSybil said on 01.20.11 at 04:01 AM • [link]
When did prequel start meaning “excerpt”? And when did people start charging for sample books? *sighs, shakes head*
SonomaLass said on 01.20.11 at 04:15 AM • [link]
I think different readers have different definitions of complete. I mean, nobody’s story is really complete until they are dead, but romance readers mostly don’t want to read stories that end with one of the main characters (or both) dying. We buy the HEA, assuming that the connection between the characters is strong enough that we feel they will stay together whatever happens.
One reason I personally enjoy ongoing series is that I like to see couple living their HEA, not just in precious baby epilogues, but in actual ups and downs of life after they’‘ve made that big commitment. I get that more outside of romance, because most romances end once the couple is together. I like a saga that covers generations; to me, that feels complete.
I agree that many romance readers will not be satisfied with the way this story ends, but I don’t agree that it is incomplete. It reaches a logical narrative ending; it concludes. The idea that these characters have fictional lives that go on and will face issues they have to resolve applies to most romances, too. This story sets the stage for the series that follows, as does the Lori Foster story in the same anthology. Yes, the couple in that story is together happily at the end, but I expect they have a lot to face in the book(s) that follow.
The comparison to Nalini Singh’s “Angel’s Pawn” is excellent. The couple in that companion novella recur in Archangel’s Consort, and I expect eventually they might get together in a more “permanent” (i.e., traditional genre romance) way. As will happen when Eric and Beth get their own book; in the meantime, Eric and Beth will be secondary characters with this backstory. Neither Nalini’s nor Victoria’s short piece is an excerpt, however.
Rebecca Hb. said on 01.20.11 at 05:10 AM • [link]
To be fair, she says “old-school-feminist”. There is some tendency in that crowd to look down on women who want to pursue certain roles - housewife, for instance - that I can see why “old-school-feminist failure” would feel applicable to someone who wants to be seduced.
Noelle said on 01.20.11 at 06:02 AM • [link]
I probably should have included a “ha ha” or a “he he” with my earlier comment. Obviously no one would think what I said is the way it actually went down.
I like Victoria Dahl’s books, but not crazy about the excerpt masquerading as a novella idea. Of course, I haven’t read it, so this is just a general opinion.
Merrian said on 01.20.11 at 07:53 AM • [link]
It sounds like this novella/excerpt/prequel is doing things that misconstrue the expectations and consent that I think a romance reader brings to a book. This anthology is of romance stories which creates the expectation on the part of a reader like me, that these are love stories with a HEA resolution to the story. That is what in reading the anthology we give our consent to reading. We haven’t consented to read a story whose resolution is uncertain and may well be a couple of years in the future, so our expectations haven’t been met. We expect this uncertainty in a UF series and are prepared for it when we read and consent to the uncertainty and lack of HEA. A contemporary romance novel or novella comes with a different set of expectations that in this case haven’t been met.
Barbara W. said on 01.20.11 at 07:53 AM • [link]
Okay, so now I’d be even more pissed. First, the story I thought was a full novella is a teaser. Secondly, the couple in it aren’t even in line to have their story told in the first or second book in the series. I have to wait until the third to find out what happens to them.
I would’t appreciate being forced to read books one and two so that I can watch them “grow” in their relationship just to get to the HEA I should have had in the novella I thought I paid for.
Why couldn’t/shouldn’t/wasn’t this all labeled somewhere before the story? A simple “this is Eric and Beth’s story which will be continued in Book C, the third in the Y series to be released in X, after A and B”. Simple, right? That way the buyer knows not to expect closure and knows that there are going to be more books to buy before this couple is going to see their full story told.
AnnieK, Lori Foster’s a terrific author. Her name could be biggest for a number of reasons, one of them being that her story is the longest. Your comment’s a little crappy though.
appomattoxco said on 01.20.11 at 09:21 AM • [link]
I once got what I thought was an abridged audio book and I’m still not sure what it was. I thought six hours for $6 after a discount would be a good deal. I don’t usually read Inspirationals but I was in the mood for Amercana. To this day I don’t know if this was just a prologue/teaser, it wasn’t labled as such, or if the author intended to string me along while the h tried to court every man in town before deciding on Jesus as the only man she needs.
This might’ve been sort of Christian feminsm if she didn’t get rejected by the pastor for bike riding and funny hats.
This version of Courting Trouble by Deeanne Gist isn’t on Audible anymore.
library addict said on 01.20.11 at 09:43 AM • [link]
Thanks for the heads up, Sarah.
I read Talk Me Down, but it wasn’t a keeper for me and I didn’t bother with the sequels.
But I quite enjoyed Victoria Dahl’s novella in the Midnight Kiss anthology. It saved the whole anthology for me.
So, I thought I’d give her another try and am looking forward to her Donovan Brothers Brewery series. I will hold off reading this “prequel” novella though until the fall. At least the series will be coming out in back-to-back-to-back so we won’t have months to wait between the books.
Doesn’t help with your frustration though. I’d have been bummed, too.
AnnieK said on 01.20.11 at 05:14 PM • [link]
Barbara W, don’t want to get into a pi$$ing contest with you over your love of LF!
Just stating my opinion. Crappy? I don’t think so.
SB Sarah said on 01.20.11 at 05:15 PM • [link]
Look, there is no way to guess why a decision was made in publishing a book or a novella. There’s just no way to figure out why something was done, and even less room to ascribe motivation. I can’t say that someone was trying to swindle me or that this was a decision made to take advantage of me, any more than I could say that Dahl is currently in my kitchen stealing all my pumpkin bread just to get back at me for not liking her novella. You cannot presume to know motivation, especially when there’s an author, a few editors, some editor’s bosses and a handful of other people creating a book. It’s impossible and nine times out of ten any attempts to assign motivation will be so very, very incorrect.
ETA: Aaaand of course now that I look back upthread, Noelle was kidding. Never mind!
@JenniferEchols: “In this case, wouldn’t it be great if you could take all that backstory and give it its own space to let it bloom and grow on its own?”
@merrian: “It sounds like this novella/excerpt/prequel is doing things that misconstrue the expectations and consent that I think a romance reader brings to a book. This anthology is of romance stories which creates the expectation on the part of a reader like me, that these are love stories with a HEA resolution to the story.”
I think that the biggest problem here is exactly what Merrian said. As a romance reader, I pick up a novella in an anthology expecting the complete story of a courtship, with a happy ending, in its entirety. I don’t want or expect a backstory, or the beginning of a story that will be continued later, especially not a story that will be continued three books from now.
When I pick up an anthology of novellas, I expect complete stories, not a prequel, not a story that ends on what any romance reader knows is NOT the happily ever after. It is impossible to meet the expectations of every reader - witness the number of people who read this site looking for books I dislike because they love them, and vice versa - but there is one expectation that is pretty much universal among romance readers: we want the happy ending, and when it’s not there, we’re pissed.
I was irritated because in an anthology of novellas, I expect the happy ending to be there. I do not expect to be teased for a future book. In my opinion this story isn’t a complete story when placed in a romance anthology because of the ending. This story, in my opinion, would have been awesome as a separate accessory to the series - it’s an accessory, not an ensemble that stands on its own, in other words. And as a result, finding it in the context of other stories that are complete with HEA endings made a huge amount of difference, particularly because nothing in the anthology’s description indicates that this isn’t a complete novella with a happy ending.
I think that Merrian is right about the expectations of the reader, which in my case were not met by this story, and led to me irritation.
GrowlyCub said on 01.20.11 at 05:54 PM • [link]
I agree with Sarah that while it’s tempting to ascribe motives we are most likely wrong. However, after reading the foreword by Foster (but not the actual story), it seem that ‘novella’ is also a lead-in for a couple who gets their own book later on (albeit not quite as far away in time and books as the Dahl couple).
I can’t help but wonder if this was an experiment by the publisher to see if readers would enjoy/go along with this kind of setup, as two of three stories seemingly are not resolved until a later full-sized novel.
Speaking for myself, it’s a failed experiment and I hope Harlequin is taking that into account for future projects, if they get similar feedback from other readers.
Mary Ann said on 01.23.11 at 02:42 AM • [link]
First, I haven’t found this to be a satisfying conversation because with the exception of the editor and the author’s CP, none of us have had the opportunity to read the work. Buried in the review is that the editor found the piece “enjoyable and thought provoking” (in addition to potential weaknesses) and sketched a story review that sounds interesting, and because it’s Dahl, we also can guess that it’s fun and sexy, too. That this leads into such a strong pronouncement about story form, using the unread Dahl piece as the primary example, bites into the review of the story itself in a manner as irritating as a undeclared “teaser.”
I’m totally comfortable with constraints within writing and within genre (the HEA constraint, for example). I think constraints are rich for story and for the exploration of the full limits of a constraint. It’s so exciting to see what contemporary romance writers have been doing with the HEA, for example. I am not comfortable, however, with prescriptivism—rigid definitions upheld and applied no matter what. I don’t know if the Dahl piece is a novella or prequel or novelette or short story or teaser—I haven’t read it!—as a reader, I mainly am looking for a story that makes be feel something important to me about the characters. Digital publishing and contemporary print publishers are in the middle of a lot of experimentation with form and format, which is important work and interesting for readers—but writers still just have one responsibility, a good story.
Could my experience with a story be spoiled by an irritation with the form? Very possibly, totally. But I’ve rarely seen such vitriolic responses to this kind of experimentation in a review that also set up sketches of interesting sounding characters from a proven author. I think, then, this conversation might have proven more satisfying if we had the chance to have the work in front of us, to contemplate the story along with the editor’s questions. Without the complete sources of text and experiences, so much of this conversation feels hollow.
I’m looking forward to getting my hands on this anthology.
GrowlyCub said on 01.23.11 at 02:59 AM • [link]
Mary Ann,
your assumption that none of the commenters here have read the story is false.
I stand by my words. To my mind, the Dahl novella is not a romance because it lacks the fundamental constraint that I am not willing to negotiate on, which is a HEA.
I agree with Sonomalass that it is complete as in the h/h decide to go their own ways at the end of a sexual interlude, but it’s not a satisfying ending for me and obviously also not for Sarah or she would not have reacted as strongly as she did.
I felt the same way and I was glad I was not the only one who went WTF? when I got to the last electron of the story.
Care to comment?
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