by Tari Faris, @FarisTari

It is that time of year again! No, not Thanksgiving. I am talking about the time of year when Christmas Novellas are filling your Facebook newsfeed. There are everywhere and many authors have jumped on the trend to spread a little holiday cheer in 40K words or less.

I am not trashing it. In fact, I will be releasing my second Christmas novella a week from today. They are fun and I love them but they aren’t for everyone. So, how do you decide as an author if writing a Christmas Novella is a good choice for you and your career?

Why write a Christmas novella?

• Give your readers more.
  • There is often a side character that intrigues our readers but their story isn’t a full book, this is a perfect way to tell their story.
  • If you have a town like Heritage where people have grown attached to the setting, it gives them a happy place to return to.
• Find new readers.
  • There are some readers who have never heard of you and may not be willing to buy a full book. But they are willing to buy a holiday read. Then you hook them with your voice and they become a fan.
• Drive Readers to your backlist.
  • You may have quite a few books that are amazing but overshadowed by your newer works. By giving them a novella connected to a previous series you drive readers to your backlist they may have not read before.
• Make money.
  • There is income involved and that is always nice.

Why NOT write a Christmas novella?

• To make money.
  • I know, I know this is contrary to what I just said but it is true. You do make some income, but it isn’t rolling in the dough type of income. It will generally pay for the editing and cover art and a little more than that. A bigger audience and more time on the shelf will help that but don’t expect the first one to pay for Christmas.
• Because it is easy.
  • It is still a book and it is still hard. In fact, some say that it is harder to make sure you get all the story pieces into a shorter length. I am not sure I agree it is harder but it is still a lot of work. You want it to be your best because it may be the first thing of yours that reader sees, and you want them to want to read more.
• Because everyone else is.
  • My current release almost didn’t happen because I didn’t have a good story idea. Don’t just write one because it is the trend. Make sure you are passionate about the story. If you aren’t, it will show.
• To meet Santa.
  • I have written two and I still haven’t met the guy.

So, what do you think? Have you ever written a Christmas novella? What would you add to these lists?

 

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Upon a Midnight Snow

Can a return home find the answers they are both searching for?

Interior Design student Ellie Matthews has escaped to New York City, leaving behind her small town of Heritage, and most importantly, the boy who almost derailed her dreams, Kade Paxton. Sure, she’s excited to return home for Christmas, but she’s fixed her gaze on her future. Even when her sister, Olivia begs her to plan the annual Heritage Christmas Ball. And then her partner in planning shows up…

Wanna-be painter, current mechanic Kade Paxton can’t believe the girl who walked out of his life is back…and that in order to keep his promise to his aunt, he’ll have to actually work with her. The last thing he’s going to do is let Ellie in to break his heart all over again. But, with the opportunity to showcase his paintings, this might be his one chance to grab ahold of his dreams…But working together stirs up old dreams, and soon they find themselves caught up in the holiday magic…but what happens when the ball is over? Is there a future beyond the small town and snowflakes?

It’ll take some miracles under a Midnight Snow to find the answer. Return to Heritage one more time with this heartwarming Christmas novella.

Tari Faris has been writing fiction for fifteen years but has been creating fiction in her head for as long as she can remember. She is represented by Wendy Lawton at Books & Such Literary Management and is a member of ACFW and My Book Therapy. She was the 2017 Genesis winner, 2016 Genesis finalist, and 2014 Genesis finalist. In addition to her writing, she also works for My Book Therapy as a special project manager and writes for LearnHowToWriteANovel.com. When she is not writing or working, she spends time with her amazing husband and kids. In her free time, she loves coffee, rockhounding with her husband and kids, and distracting herself from housework. You can connect with her at www.tarifaris.com