Oneshot Novels Market Research: Need advice (cuz I'm ignorant)

[Avarice_Of_The_Seven]

So, here's the thing.
I have been restructuring my novel to make it more suitable as a web novel. but the more I improve it and the better I try to plan it out, the more ideas come to my mind. So I think it's gonna take a while before I start writing again.

But I was starting to get frustrated. I wanna write something now instead of doing that boring planning that'll drag on for who knows how long.

And then I thought 'Let's write small Oneshot novels for fun until I start writing my current novel.'

Writing those Oneshot novels will help me improve my writing skills more and give me a bit more experience as an author before I properly get into writing my long main novel. It'll also cure the itch I have to write something.

But the problem is, I have almost no knowledge about Oneshot novels cuz I've never actually read one. I've read some oneshot comics and manga, but almost no novel.
I did read a few a while ago to know the general idea about Oneshot novels, but that experience ended up making me more confused.

Like, what is popular? What isn't?
What can you actually do in a Oneshot novel? What are you supposed to avoid?
How many words long should a Onesot novel be? What is the upper and lower limit to it?
Since it's supposed in one large chapter instead of a sequence of chapters, does that somehow affect it's structure?
Which genres are most commonly used in Oneshot novels and which ones are likely to fail?
Anything else that I'm supposed to know about Oneshot novels?

Now, please don't give me your poetic quotes about "Write whatever you want and don't think about the number of readers", cuz I know that already!

I just wanna know that as general knowledge. Cuz that's better that being Ignorant. (It's better to know than not know)
This is part of my research.

So, tell me what you know about Oneshot novels and the factors that make them different from long novels.


Note: I generally only take interest in novels that have at least 300 chapters. I didn't even read popular works like The Perfect Run or The Mother Of Learning cuz they seemed to have too few chapters for my taste.
So, keep that in mind. My reader experience is limited by that factor.

 

[Eldoria]

So, tell me what you know about Oneshot novels and the factors that make them different from long novels.

If you're not concerned about numbers and engagement... then writing one-shots to improve your writing skills might be a good alternative to practice writing discipline.

In general, platforms influence the fiction model... I've encountered platforms that emphasize short pieces over long series... but on SH, long series actually sell better.

Don't bother with one-chapter one-shots... a novel with 30K words or 20 chapters won't necessarily attract readers. However, a long novel (series) clearly guarantees more continuity and seriousness from the author.

Finally... it comes back to your writing goals. If you just want to practice, one-shots are fine. But if you're after long-term reader support, writing a series has become the unwritten norm.

Note: I generally only take interest in novels that have at least 300 chapters. I didn't even read popular works like The Perfect Run or The Mother Of Learning cuz they seemed to have too few chapters for my taste.

You're suffering from a reader's cognitive bias. Hundreds of chapters don't guarantee thousands of pages of content.

The fiction you mentioned does have fewer chapters, but a single chapter can be quite long and dense. If formatted more concisely, it could easily become hundreds of chapters.

 

[Avarice_Of_The_Seven]

You're suffering from a reader's cognitive bias. Hundreds of chapters don't guarantee hundreds of pages of content.

The fiction you mentioned does have fewer chapters, but a single chapter can be quite long and dense. If formatted more concisely, it could easily become hundreds of chapters.

I know all that.

You could think of that as my subconscious mental defense mechanism that subconsciously creates a distaste for novels that end too soon.
I am the type that gets too invested in stories and when I reach the end of a story, I begin to feel emotionally burned out. I begin to have thoughts like 'why did it end so soon'.

I know all these facts that you mentioned. But that doesn't automatically change my reading preferences.
Humans are not reasonable creatures, they work based on feelings rather then facts. So, you can't really blame me.

That's just my reading preference, It doesn't mean I'm unaware of it's flaws.

I am not a pikachu that thinks 'More chapters = longer novel'
My mind just subconsciously rejects them.

If you're not concerned about numbers and engagement... then writing one-shots to improve your writing skills might be a good alternative to practice writing discipline.

In general, platforms influence the fiction model... I've encountered platforms that emphasize short pieces over long series... but on SH, long series actually sell better.

Don't bother with one-chapter one-shots... a novel with 30K words or 20 chapters won't necessarily attract readers. However, a long novel (series) clearly guarantees more continuity and seriousness from the author.

Finally... it comes back to your writing goals. If you just want to practice, one-shots are fine. But if you're after long-term reader support, writing a series has become the unwritten norm.

I just wanna write a story in one single chapter and end it there (This is what I define as a Oneshot )

As for my priorities, I am mainly writing these for fun and for experience purpose. I don't really care about whether it is popular or not, but still wanna know what actually works.

My case here is of absolute ignorance on the topic.

My biggest question would be: How many words, as in the minimum, maximum and average word count, is the trend of single chapter Oneshot web novels?

 

[Eldoria]

I know all that.

You could think of that as my subconscious mental defense mechanism that subconsciously creates a distaste for novels that end too soon.
I am the type that gets too invested in stories and when I reach the end of a story, I begin to feel emotionally burned out. I begin to have thoughts like 'why did it end so soon'.

I know all these facts that you mentioned. But that doesn't automatically change my reading preferences.
Humans are not reasonable creatures, they work based on feelings rather then facts. So, you can't really blame me.

That's just my reading preference, It doesn't mean I'm unaware of it's flaws.

I just wanna write a story in one single chapter and end it there (This is what I define as a Oneshot )

As for my priorities, I am mainly writing these for fun and for experience purpose. I don't really care about whether it is popular or not, but still wanna know what actually works.

My case here is of absolute ignorance on the topic.

My biggest question would be: How many words, as in the minimum, maximum and average word count, is the trend of single chapter Oneshot web novels?

Well, you seem to have a better understanding of your own condition. As you understand, writing is your preference, you don't care about numbers, then there's no need to bother with formatting... in the end it all comes back to your reading and writing preferences. Good luck! Regards.

 

[Avarice_Of_The_Seven]

Well, you seem to have a better understanding of your own condition. As you understand, writing is your preference, you don't care about numbers, then there's no need to bother with formatting... in the end it all comes back to your reading and writing preferences. Good luck! Regards.

Again, I'm asking in order to gain information and knowledge. It doesn't mean I will actually use that knowledge while writing my Oneshots, just wanna know for the sake of education.

 

[Eldoria]

My biggest question would be: How many words, as in the minimum, maximum and average word count, is the trend of single chapter Oneshot web novels?

Each platform has different standards... as far as I know, short stories are typically written with a minimum of 1k words, an average of 3k words, and a maximum of 10k words. There's no hard and fast rule; it all depends on the platform's policies and the core message you want to convey through your short fiction.

Note: at least that's my experience writing a one shot on a local platform.

 

[unlaumy]

Like, what is popular? What isn't? ;
Which genres are most commonly used in Oneshot novels and which ones are likely to fail?

If memory serves me correctly, a few years ago, tear-jerker one-shots were (or maybe still are) popular in Japan, so romance & tragedy. There are quite some one-shots posted on 2ch that got adapted into Light Novels.

Dunno if you're interested though, but short stories's literary scene is also strong.

But in general, anything goes. You just have to post enough (good) short stories to make a name for yourself.

What can you actually do in a Oneshot novel? What are you supposed to avoid?

Less tolerance on having a scene for the sake of itself (People can argue over this, but it's usually on semantics. Though, it's a good afternoon activity). A central theme where every single part of the one-shot must answers to it. It's also commonly used to showcase your writing skill, so be more experimental, heartfelt, or whatever, honestly.

Remember that tiny one-shot I posted on your thread before? It's intended as it is, and my only regret is that it has too many grammatical mistakes. There are many weirder one-shots out there.

Since it's supposed in one large chapter instead of a sequence of chapters, does that somehow affect it's structure?

To put it simply, a one-shot's 'worldbuilding' is more of an attempt to compress a topic and filter everything that isn't a strong component to fulfill the core idea.

How many words long should a Onesot novel be? What is the upper and lower limit to it?

This is a bit troublesome because one-shot is literally just a story put in 'one page'. But I believe one-shots are originally called that because its publishing company usually does serials (mangas, comics, etc), so one-shots are those that will have no continuations, unlike others.

So anyway, most of the times, short stories are what we call one-shots. It depends mostly on the medium. You may be not allowed to even reach 1k words if that story is intended for a newspaper or magazine corner. But it can also reach to 5k or more words if that publisher intends it to be like that, like fantasy/sci-fi magazines. On digital, because of its flexibility, you can even argue that a novella can be called a one-shot simply because the author puts everything in a single chapter.

Anything else that I'm supposed to know about Oneshot novels?

Don't hesitate to write it.