What Is a Light Novel?

I call my debut book, Scion of Seirin, a Light Novel, but this is a term that may be unfamiliar to many. I will take some time to explain exactly what a Light Novel is to help you understand what you're in for with this type of story.

Light Novel vs Novella

This format of story originates in Japan which is why it's less known in the English-speaking world. The name is also confusing and may lead people to believe that this is another way to describe a Novella. 

A Novella is typically defined as a short novel that is between 20,000 - 40,000 words in length. Once you get above 40,000 words, you fall into standard novel territory. Light Novels are also above 40,000 words, often falling in the 50,000 - 70,000 range. Despite the name, the term has nothing to do with the length of the story. Light Novels are their own specific format.

What Makes a Light Novel?

Light Novels (sometimes called ranobe) have two common attributes. One is the size. They use Japan's "bunkobon" format, which is the equivalent to A6 size. They also typically have occasional full-page illustrations throughout, depicting some of the scenes described in the story. This should not be confused with a manga or graphic novel. Light novels are not fully illustrated and only feature a handful of images. Usually, there will be some full-color images in the front matter, but the ones during the chapters themselves will be black-and-white.

Due to the limitations of American publishers, I cannot publish at the standard size at this time. Usually, English-translated light novels are larger anyway. I've noticed these generally come in just under the standard US paperback size of 5.5in x 8.5in (this compared to the Japanese 4.1in x 5.8in).

What you will see in Scion of Seirin, however, are the anime-style illustrations. I felt it was important to maintain these to keep the feel of the style.

While not universal, there are also some other conventions you'll commonly see in how light novels are written that I try to stick to as well. Light novels are often focused more heavily on character interaction and dialogue rather than descriptive narration. Narration paragraphs are often very light and have no more than 3-4 sentences.

Another thing to be aware of is that many Japanese light novels are adapted into anime. For this reason, you may find that the feel of stories in light novels is akin to those in anime. You'll notice popular anime tropes throughout.

Keeping in line with that, the target demographic is typically teenagers and young adults. People who enjoy anime will likely enjoy the types of stories in light novels.

If you like the idea of reading a fun, character-focused story that isn't too heavy on narration and has an anime-like feel, consider giving light novels a try!