Support for Indie Authors discussion

I've been curious about this for a while. I heard that writing "A Novel" into the subtitle is sometimes done to set apart a book that might be mistaken for non-fic or another book of the same name, but I just wonder if there are other reasons for adding this or using a subtitle like "An XYZ Novel".

Sorry I have no idea why this is in the SIA investigate folder. I tried to put it in the "covers" folder, doh!

I use it as a warning sign. A novel, which means it's not a novella and I add "Adult" cause you know, the amount of lovemaking going on in my stories. Plus, it added a touch of cool to the layout.

Other reasons: http://annieneugebauer.com/2013/01/14...

Alexis wrote: "I use it as a warning sign."

+1

Personally, I don't have anything extra on my cover but I do put "A Novel" or "A Novella" on the inside title page thingymabob. What is this called?? Haha!

Anyhoo, I reckon my book wouldn't be mistaken for non-fiction (nor would yours) so I don't think it's necessary for that particular purpose...

*ponders*

Hugs,
Ann

I put on the inside title page 'a novel by' for some of my books, but I admit my reason for that was purely aesthetic.

At first I didn't get what you meant but you mean the words "A Novel". I never really thought about it but I suppose it's to distinguish the fact that it's not a short story, novel or novelette. Also maybe an author does it for style.

Justin wrote: "Also maybe an author does it for style."

you hit the nail on the head. "novel" carries cultural significance.

Interesting. So one form is setting apart the title "An XYZ Novel", and the other sets apart the author "A Novel by ___"

I use The Novel because my book, A Cry Among Men, was first a screenplay; my way of differentiating between the two.

I've also seen and used the "an XYZ Novel" to let readers know at first glance that the book belongs to a series - though in my case, it's Novella.

For just "A Novel" usage, I recently read this great article that gives a variety of reasons: http://annieneugebauer.com/2013/01/14...

I liked the Clarity example she gave: "Eat, Pray, Love" could be mistaken for a Self-Help book! :)

A.C. wrote: "I've also seen and used the "an XYZ Novel" to let readers know at first glance that the book belongs to a series - though in my case, it's Novella.

For just "A Novel" usage, I recently read this ..."

"And, finally, the obvious one. The one that most likely accounts for 80% of current books that say “a novel” on the cover: It’s in style!"

Justin: you're on fire, man.

Thank you for the replies, everyone! Lots of reasons here that I never thought of before :)

Because, growing up I would see all these books in the library or on my dad's book shelf that said "A Novel" after the title and I always thought... some day...

That's really only a small reason I do it. One reason would be that mostly what I publish are short stories. When I do put a novel out, I want to make sure the cover says "novel" on it so people who buy my stories will understand why this one is more expensive than the others.

When I put Rave On out, I wanted the words, "A Magical Musical Novel" on the cover, just to give a hint that this is a fun novel.

I think it's optional

Whether you write it or not
It doesn't matter :)

You might want to mention the genre upfront. In my case I put 'a coming-of-age novel.'

I use 'A Novel' but only in my Series books to indicate it's part of a series.

I think so as to clarify it's a full-length fiction book. I didn't include it in my subtitle officially but I did put it on my cover. Why? Well, cause everyone else was doing it. A weird reason maybe, but a reason nonetheless. :D

I put 'A Short Story' on the cover of my short works as I don't want my readers mistakenly thinking they are getting a novel and being disappointed. I want my readers who purchase online and can't physically see the book to know what they are buying.

Hi Allan, that was a great idea and all of my books are short reads.

I read that same article by Annie N. when considering if I would add "a novel" to my title this past summer. I read a few others too. Very helpful with a confusing topic.

Ultimately, I decided that I would put it on the title page of the inside of my book only. I mean, I wanted it. I wanted that feeling of Wuthering Heights. But I didn't want it so much that it carry into my actual title listing on Amazon.

I liked the idea of distinguishing it as a work that was sophisticated and more literary. I didn't want readers to assume it's regular historical romance, but that it's character-driven women's fiction that's both romantic and historical. But quite a good percentage of people have pet peeves about the "a novel" trend. They think it's snooty, I guess.

I got to thinking, I love my title, just as it is. It doesn't sound like a cookbook or self-help book. And my cover has a sophisticated look that doesn't come across as sexually-charged. I'm probably okay to let it just speak for itself.

Allan wrote: "I put 'A Short Story' on the cover of my short works as I don't want my readers mistakenly thinking they are getting a novel and being disappointed. I want my readers who purchase online and can't ..."

Ditto. It's especially important on eBooks. I've not used "A Novel" yet, but make sure to clearly delineate short stories.

Amie wrote: "I liked the idea of distinguishing it as a work that was sophisticated and more literary. I didn't want readers to assume it's regular historical romance, but that it's character-driven women's fiction that's both romantic and historical. But quite a good percentage of people have pet peeves about the "a novel" trend. They think it's snooty, I guess..."



"A novel by Harper Lee"

Snooty.... ];P

Ha ha! Yeah...When Harper's book says "winner of Pultitzer prize", it can say whatever it wants!

I love that story. My daughter actually played Dill in our local production a couple of years ago. She was soooooo cute as a little boy with cap and suspenders!

Amie wrote: "But quite a good percentage of people have pet peeves about the "a novel" trend. They think it's snooty, I guess. "

No matter what we do, we're stepping on someone's overly sensitive "pet peeve". If someone is not going to read my novel because I put the word "novel" on the cover, fine by me. Seems to me they're the ones being snooty.

Micah wrote: ""A novel by Harper Lee"

Snooty.... ];P
"
I do not know if Harper Lee was snooty or not, but if she was... she had every right to be.

I, myself, don't care when they say "a novel" or not. I look for a cover that catches my eye and see if the short description is compelling. That's what I base most of my decision on.

I admit that I used to also look at how many reviews they had, (not so much reading them, but checking the overall tally). But now that I have become an indie author, I am way more brave in picking up a book with few or no reviews. But I never purchase until I'm satisfied with the downloaded sample chapters.

I've learned that a lot of books can be gorgeous on the outside, but not so amazing on the inside. That goes for traditionally published books too!

The length of an ebook should tell you whether it is a novel, novella or short story. Amazon and other retailers will let you know this in the listing. And you should be able to download a fair chunk of it as as a sample. If the sample turns out to be a couple of pages you probably won't be getting a novel!

I'm thinking next time I should include the words "an erotic novel by" on mine because of a 1 star review I got based on the fact it was erotica and therefore not to be recommended. I put it in the erotic section on Amazon-honest.

Okay, I changed my mind and put "a novel"/"a novella" on my covers. No reason other than this discussion made me curious and now I just dig how it looks XD

@Miss Amy: I reckon that might help deter "clean" readers. Then again, I've received a few complaints about my hero's...umm...colorful language even though there's an f-bomb in the blurb. Anyhoo, my detective skills suck so I couldn't find your erotica novel to read the review...

*sobs*

Group hugs,
Ann

Sounds like a familiar issue. I'm so obscure I can't be found.

I've never added it to the title. I let be know from the beginning that I write more than just poetry, short stories and such. I let it be know in my author bio and in several posts in my blog when I have a upcoming release or book I'm working on it's a novel. I also make sure on the disclaimer page it's cited "This is an original work of fiction" or you can put there "This is an original novel of fiction." Plus the genre I set it in "fiction" separates it from "nonfiction."

For me it was because people could confuse my title - Do You Realize? with a self-help book, so - A Novel - helped to clarify.

Annie wrote: "Okay, I changed my mind and put "a novel"/"a novella" on my covers. No reason other than this discussion made me curious and now I just dig how it looks XD

@Miss Amy: I reckon that might help dete..."

You'll never going please everyone Annie.

I subtitled my novel -- Once There Was Fire -- "A Novel of Old Hawaii" to signal that it was (a) about Hawaii and (2) historical fiction. I think it works for my book. But I doubt if I'd use a similar subtitle in a different fictional context.

I think "A Novel" is to distinguish length of work, but, I like the idea of adding "Novel" "Novella"--a nice touch!