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The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Karen » Page 2

Karen

Chapters: How Long is Too Long?

By Karen Ballon March 26, 2014
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I’ve had a number of people ask me lately how long their chapters should be. My answer has been: “As long as they need to be.”

Now, it would be nice if I could give folks the “industry-standard” answer: “Chapters should be no less than xx and no longer than xxx,” but the truth is there isn’t a real standard in the industry. And frankly, I think that’s a good thing. I’ve never been one to count words on chapters, but then, I’m a seat-of-the-pants writer. The measuring stick, so to speak, that I use–as a writer, an editor, and an agent–to determine if chapter length is what it needs to be is whether the chapter flows well. If I either find my eyes glazing over halfway through or if I reach the end so fast I’m left wondering what in the bald-headed dog snot just happened, there’s a problem. (Thanks, by the way, to my dad for that “bald-headed” phrase. <grin>).

Generally speaking, many writings tend to aim for 2500 to 3000 words per chapter. But there are so many variables. Such as:

Genre:

Fiction–suspense fiction is all about keeping the reader on the edge of their seats, which lends itself to short chapters. Whereas chapters in literary fiction sometimes are longer.

Nonfiction—likewise, popular self-help fiction seems to favor shorter chapters whereas memoirs, not unlike literary fiction, take a bit more time (and page length) to say what they have to say.

So the kind of book you’re writing will have an impact on chapter length.

Your Voice
Some authors have a wonderful, lyrical tone that just kind of ambles on out, like sitting on the porch in the South, sipping tea and leaning your head back to savor a summer day. Others deliver their words in an almost machine-gun patter, hitting readers with one truth after another such that readers race through the pages. As you consider the length of your chapters, be sure you honor your author voice. Your readers can tell when you’re cutting yourself short, or when you’re trying to draw something out for word count. It’s letting your voice come through that matters most, not word count.

Reader Expectations
That being said (the bit above about voice), do keep in mind that readers have a certain expectation of the books they read. If you’ve developed a certain pattern and pace in your books, don’t change that up unless you have a solid reason for doing so. Readers love to “feel at home” with their favorite authors, and though they may not be cognizant of things like chapter length, they will notice the difference in how a book
feels when they read it.   

Publisher Production Costs
Some books are written to a specific format, and as such word length for chapters matters a great deal. Holding to the set format makes the costs predictable and standard. Make sure you know what your publisher is looking for, or you—and your editor—could end up with some very unhappy surprises when you turn your books in.

So if you’ve been wondering about chapter length, my best counsel is to:

  1. Check with your publisher to be sure there isn’t a set format for chapter length
  2. Take the kind of book you’re writing into account. Check out similar books that are on the market to see if there seems to be any consensus on chapter length.
  3. Just write the book. End the chapters where they need to end, but as you go, use readers to tell you if it comes across the way you want it to. 

Happy Writing!

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Category: Craft, Editing, Grammar, Karen, Writing CraftTag: Chapters, Craft, Editing, Writing Craft

Open Your Eyes! There is Creativity Everywhere

By Karen Ballon March 19, 2014
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If you follow me on Facebook, you’ll have seen my recent pictures of the flowers that have been blooming like crazy in my yard. It happened so fast! One day the ground seemed dead and unyielding, the next green shoots popped up, and then… WHAM!https://youtu.be/-EbwAc8dkWI Flowers and flowering shrubs and trees burst forth with colors and buds and blossoms. Among the first to appear were the …

Read moreOpen Your Eyes! There is Creativity Everywhere
Category: Creativity, Karen, Writing CraftTag: Creativity, Writing Craft

Two Important Ingredients for Success

By Karen Ballon March 12, 2014
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  I’ll never forget the day, just after church, when a friend pulled me aside and said, “My son can’t find a job and he needs to make some money fast. So he’s going to write a book. Any advice for him?” Yeah, well, the advice I had wasn’t for him, it was for her: “Don’t ever say anything like that to me again.” Whatever gave people the impression that writing was a get-rich quick …

Read moreTwo Important Ingredients for Success
Category: Book Business, Career, Creativity, Karen, PlatformTag: Career, perseverance, Success

What Will You Give Up for Lent?

By Karen Ballon February 26, 2014
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Believe it or not, Easter is just around the corner. Which means something else is almost upon us:

Lent.

I love the idea of a 40-day preparation for Easter, of refocusing our hearts and minds to spend more time in prayer and contemplation of what Christ has done for us. And I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of “giving up” something for those 40 days. Even more intriguing—and sometimes …

Read moreWhat Will You Give Up for Lent?
Category: Career, Christian, Faith, Karen, Personal, TheologyTag: Career, Faith, lent

Spring is Here!

By Karen Ballon February 19, 2014
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A picture of a beautiful flower I took this morning in our garden.

It started two weeks ago. Little green sprouts poking up through the frozen, barren ground. Ground that, thanks to a winter of record-breaking cold, was so hard just a month ago that not even my shovel made a dent in it. So you can imagine my delight when I spotted those bits of green pushing their way through that same, dead …

Read moreSpring is Here!
Category: Career, Craft, Karen, Personal, The Writing LifeTag: Career, Spring, The Writing Life

Why I Read Romance Novels

By Karen Ballon February 12, 2014
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Valentine’s Day is on its way, and that got me to thinking about that four-letter word we all use with impunity:

LOVE.

What a powerful word, one so full of meaning I could write a dozen blogs about it and still not exhaust the depth and breadth of all it entails. I’m grateful for love. For God’s love. For my hubby’s love. For my family’s love. For my doggies’ love. Love has blessed me more …

Read moreWhy I Read Romance Novels
Category: Craft, Creativity, Genre, Karen, Romance, Trends, Writing CraftTag: Genre, Romance

First Lines of Best-selling Books: How Many Can You Guess?

By Karen Ballon January 29, 2014
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It’s 71 degrees outside as I write this, the sun is shining for the first day in weeks, and there’s a gentle breeze tickling the suddenly budding tree branches outside my office window. As you can probably imagine, I’m having a LOT of trouble concentrating on work.  So I thought I’d share something fun with you.

I always wonder how much of the books we love actually stays with us. So let’s do a …

Read moreFirst Lines of Best-selling Books: How Many Can You Guess?
Category: Book Proposals, Craft, Creativity, Karen, Writing CraftTag: Creativity, first lines

Knowing Discouragement’s End

By Karen Ballon January 22, 2014
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A guest blog by Mesu Andrews

Mark Lowry is one of my favorite comedians. I heard one of his performances many years ago, and he quoted a single, profound phrase found 457 times in the King James Bible: “It came to pass…”

That’s it. That’s all.

It came…to pass.

And then he challenged the audience to remember those words the next time they faced an impossible situation, the depths of …

Read moreKnowing Discouragement’s End
Category: Book Business, Guest Post, Karen, The Writing LifeTag: Discouragement, The Writing Life

So Long, 2013…HELLO, 2014!

By Karen Ballon January 8, 2014
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2013 was an amazing year full of ups and downs, gain and loss, joy and sadness. I lost 3 dear friends, one of whom was in his 30s, one of whom was just a few years younger than I, and one of whom I’ve known since I was 2 years old. We in the industry lost so many--some, like wonderful agent and friend Lee Hough and the amazing Diann Hunt--far sooner than any of us wished. The joy? They all were …

Read moreSo Long, 2013…HELLO, 2014!
Category: Agency, Karen, PersonalTag: Agency, Personal

Welcome 2014!

By Karen Ballon January 1, 2014
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I don’t know about you, but I could swear 2013 just started! Where has the year gone? Those of us in the agency will share some thoughts about 2013 soon, but for today, as you welcome the very first day of a whole new year, I just want to wish you a Happy New Year and share one of my favorite singers with you—along with some beautiful images to usher in 2014.

May God touch each of you in the …

Read moreWelcome 2014!
Category: Karen, Personal
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