Life has become frantic for many of us, and while publishers may demand books with a page count that approaches a thousand, readers may balk at starting such a tome.  Some people I know get through a few chapters and then shelve big books or give them away.

The digital age has given us the possibility of cramming many large books into a single device, but the children of the digital age seem to prefer stories they can finish quickly.  Even oldsters like myself find a quickly concluded story satisfying, because life simply does not always leave a lot of time for a leisurely read.

Another advantage of flash fiction, as it has come to be called, is the price:  Individual digital short stories of twenty to eighty pages sell for 99¢ (plus any applicable taxes) on retail sites.  And collections are often not expensive, either.

Since I wrote my first short, recently, I find that more and more of them come to me.  And it’s gratifying to get a new tale, complete with cover, on the market every few months instead of every few years.  Nonetheless, I still write longer novels, too.

Are you a fan of short stories and novellas?  Do you keep some available for those occasions time is limited, such as when waiting at the doctor’s office or when riding a train?

[Thanks to SelfPubBookCovers.com/SFcovers for the featured cover.]