Short fiction and novellas

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association boundaries are the ones awards and many magazines use: under 7,500 for a short story, 7,500–17,500 for a novelette, 17,500–40,000 for a novella, over 40,000 for a novel. Trade publishers rarely lead with a novella from a debut unless it sits in a collection or a known series line. Forty thousand words is the practical floor at which some houses will still call a book a novel. Many agents will not.