Serena Bell

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Tuesday Tidbit: It's Not the Size of the Package & Giveaway

This contest is now closed; thanks so much to everyone who visited and commented! Cherri is my winner--I'll email you separately about claiming your prize.I went out for dinner with my husband last night, and we talked about whether or not size matters.Um, no, not that. Although when you're a romance writer, that *is* a serious question that deserves contemplation over Mother's Day dinner.No, we were actually talking about what length of stories people like to read. And whether length still matters, now that we read so much digitally.Mai Tai for Two coverHer Best Laid Plans coverHe suggested that since so many people read digitally, you'd expect them to want to read more, shorter books. Maybe, he said, nobody wants big anymore.I argued that romance readers are attuned to story length, even when we read digitally, and that most readers still prefer books that fit into length categories that we understand — big, single title books; small, category books; novellas; and short shorts. And I said that overall I thought readers still liked books that felt substantial — long novellas, category length novels, and full-length novels.Do you like to read longer books? Shorter ones? Why? Are there times when you prefer one over the other, and what are they? Are you willing to pay more for a longer book? And do you have different expectations for different lengths of work?Comment to be entered to win the right to choose between e-book versions of Cara McKenna’s Her Best Laid Plans and Del Dryden’s Mai Tai for Two, both part of the new Cosmo Red-Hot Reads series from Harlequin. Good things, small packages … You must be 18+ to enter and/or live somewhere where I can gift a book from Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Contest ends Thursday, May 15, 11:59 p.m. PST.