What a micro-drama is
A micro-drama is a scripted series made for phones. It is filmed in portrait orientation, so the picture fills a phone held upright, and it is cut into very short episodes, usually one to three minutes each. A single series often runs to 60, 80 or more than 100 episodes. Watched back to back, a whole series can last about as long as a feature film or a little longer.
The format is also called short drama or vertical drama. It grew first in China and spread internationally through dedicated apps, of which ReelShort and DramaBox are two of the best known. Most of these apps work the same way: viewers watch the first several episodes free, then pay to unlock the rest, using in-app coins, a subscription, or in some cases by watching advertisements. The exact terms differ by app and by series and change often, so check the current terms of any app you plan to pitch.
The stories are built for that model. Each episode opens with something gripping, moves fast, and ends on a twist or an open question. The most common genres are romance, revenge, hidden identity, family secrets, sudden fortune and workplace power struggles. Many series are adaptations of web novels and romance fiction, which makes the format a real option for authors whose books have frequent reversals and a clear central conflict.
This planner takes your book's word count and the shape of the series you have in mind, and gives you the structure: how much of the book each episode covers, how tightly each episode compresses it, when the hook and cliffhanger must land inside every episode, where the free episodes should stop relative to your book's first major twist, and what the first ten episodes should each do.
It does not estimate earnings. Payouts and prices vary by app and by contract, and published figures are rarely comparable from one company to the next.
The five inputs
Word count. The story text of the book, without front or back matter.
Episode length. In seconds. Most vertical dramas run 60 to 180 seconds an episode; the planner accepts 30 to 300.
Number of episodes. The total you plan. If you do not know, 60 to 100 is a common range for a full series, and the book to episodes planner can suggest a count from your word count.
Free episodes before the paywall. How many episodes viewers can watch before they must pay. Set this to match the app you are pitching. If you do not know, ask, because it changes where your twist needs to land.
Where the first major twist happens. How far through the book, as a percentage. If your twist is in chapter 6 of a 50-chapter book, that is 12%. If chapters vary a lot in length, use the word position instead: a twist that happens around word 9,600 of an 80,000-word book is also at 12%.
Worked example: an 80,000-word romance in 80 episodes
Take an illustrative 80,000-word romance, planned as 80 episodes of 90 seconds, with 10 free episodes and its first major twist 12% of the way through. These are the planner's default answers.
Story words per episode. 80,000 divided by 80 is 1,000 book words per episode at an even pace.
Total runtime. 80 times 90 seconds is 7,200 seconds, which is 120 minutes, or 2 hours 0 minutes.
Spoken words per episode. At a steady 135 words a minute of non-stop dialogue, 90 seconds holds 1.5 times 135, which is 202.5, shown as 203 words. That is a ceiling, not a target. Real episodes have silences, reactions and action, so they use fewer.
Compression. 1,000 book words for at most 202.5 spoken words is about 4.9 book words per spoken word. Roughly one word in five survives as dialogue, and those are the words that move the conflict forward.
Where the twist lands. 12% of 80 episodes is 9.6. The twist falls inside the episode that covers that point, which is episode 10.
The paywall. The last free episode is episode 10. The twist and the paywall line up exactly, so the planner gives a pass: viewers reach the payment screen straight after the biggest surprise so far.
Cliffhanger window. The planner sets the cliffhanger to the last 10% of each episode, with a minimum of 5 seconds. For 90 seconds, that is the last 9 seconds.
Story beats. About one beat every 30 seconds, so a 90-second episode carries 3 beats between the opening hook and the closing cliffhanger.
Why the paywall should land on the twist
The last free episode is the moment of decision. A viewer has watched for ten or fifteen minutes and now has to decide whether to pay. What happens at the end of that episode matters more than any other episode ending in the series.
The strongest place to put that decision is straight after your book's first major twist: the reveal that changes what the story is about. The lead discovers who their new husband really is. The heir learns the will has been changed. The detective realises the victim is alive. A viewer who has just seen that twist has a reason to pay. A viewer who reaches the paywall in the middle of the setup has no reason yet.
This planner therefore compares two numbers: the episode where your twist falls at an even pace, and the number of your last free episode.
| Gap between twist and last free episode | Verdict | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Twist 2 episodes early to 1 episode late | Pass | The twist ends the free run or close to it |
| Twist more than 1 episode after the paywall | Warning | Re-pace the free episodes to pull the twist forward |
| Twist more episodes after the paywall than there are free episodes | Fail | The free run ends far too early in the story |
| Twist more than 2 episodes before the paywall | Warning | End the free run sooner, or find a second reveal |
These bands are the planner's own rules. They are meant to flag plans where viewers meet the paywall with no strong reason to pay.
Re-pacing a late twist
Suppose the same 80,000-word book has its twist 18% of the way through, not 12%. At an even pace, 18% of 80 episodes is 14.4, so the twist falls in episode 15, five episodes after the paywall. The planner gives a warning and suggests pulling the twist forward five episodes.
The fix is to cover the opening of the book faster in the free episodes, then slow down slightly afterwards.
- The first 18% of 80,000 words is 14,400 words.
- Spread across 10 free episodes, that is 1,440 book words per free episode.
- The remaining 65,600 words spread across 70 paid episodes is about 937 book words per paid episode.
- The even pace, for comparison, is 1,000 words per episode.
The re-paced plan covers 44% more book per episode in the free run. In practice, that means cutting the slower setup scenes and moving straight from one conflict to the next until the twist. The table of the first ten episodes then shows the re-paced word ranges: episode 1 covers words 0 to 1,440, episode 2 covers 1,440 to 2,880, and episode 10 ends on word 14,400, exactly on the twist.
When the twist is far too late
If the twist sits 30% of the way through, it falls in episode 25 at an even pace. With 10 free episodes, the gap is 15 episodes, more than the whole free run. The planner fails this plan.
Re-pacing alone would mean covering 24,000 words in 10 episodes, 2,400 per episode against a ceiling of 203 spoken words. That is possible only by cutting most of the opening. Two other options are often better:
- Open on the twist. Start episode 1 with the reveal, or a flash-forward to it, then go back and show how the characters got there. The viewer knows what is coming and watches the setup for that reason.
- Find an earlier turn. Most books have a smaller reversal well before the main twist. Promote it: build it up in the adaptation so it can carry the end of the last free episode.
When the twist comes early
The opposite problem also exists. If the twist is only 5% of the way in, it falls in episode 5, and viewers still have five free episodes after it. That spends the strongest reveal while viewing is still free, and the last free episode may end on something weaker.
The planner gives a warning and offers two choices: end the free run at episode 5, straight after the twist, or find a second, bigger reveal to end episode 10. The second choice works only if the book has one in the right place, so check before you promise it.
Hook in the first three seconds
Vertical video is watched while scrolling. A viewer who sees nothing happening in the first few seconds will often swipe away. Creative guidance from the major short-video platforms commonly stresses those opening seconds for exactly this reason.
The planner places a hook in the first 3 seconds of every episode. A hook is anything that raises a question at once:
- A line of dialogue that shocks or accuses.
- An action already in progress: a slap, a fall, a door kicked open.
- A reveal: a ring, a document, a face the lead recognises.
- A reaction to something the viewer has not yet seen.
The first episode needs the strongest hook of all, because it is the one most viewers decide on. Open on the conflict, not on scenery, not on a voice-over about the past and not on a slow walk into a building.
Later episodes have an easier job, because they usually open by paying off the previous cliffhanger. The first paid episode should pay off the twist within its first ten seconds, then raise a new question that the twist has created.
A cliffhanger at the end of every episode
The other end of each episode matters as much as the start. Every episode should end on an unanswered question: a reveal cut off before the reaction, a threat made but not carried out, a decision not yet spoken.
For 80 episodes, that means 79 cliffhangers, one for every episode except the last. Few novels have 79 reversals. Most have a dozen big ones and many smaller moments that can be shaped into cliffhangers by where you cut.
Before you write any scripts, list every moment in your book that could end an episode:
- Go through the book chapter by chapter.
- Mark every reveal, threat, accusation, arrival, decision and reversal, however small.
- Count them. If you have fewer marks than episodes, the series will need moments that are not in the book, or fewer episodes.
- Rank the marks by strength. Put the strongest at the end of the last free episode, then spread the next strongest across the series so no long stretch goes without a big one.
The cliffhanger window in the results tells you how much of each episode belongs to the cliffhanger. At 90 seconds, the last 9 seconds should be building to or holding on the question. At 120 seconds, it is the last 12.
How much of the book survives
The "Book words per spoken word" figure shows how hard each episode compresses its share of the book. It is a rough guide to how much of the book can survive.
| Book words per spoken word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Under 2 | Thin: each episode has more screen time than story; expand scenes or add conflict |
| 2 to 8 | Workable: keep dialogue that drives conflict, drop description and inner thought |
| Over 8 | Heavy: add episodes or cut subplots before you write scripts |
In the 80-episode example the figure is 4.9, comfortably workable. Run the illustrative 60,000-word thriller example in the tool: 60 episodes of 120 seconds gives 1,000 book words per episode against a ceiling of 270 spoken words, which is about 3.7. That is lighter compression, because the episodes are longer.
What always goes, whatever the figure, is the material the format has no time for: long description, characters' inner thoughts, slow subplots and most secondary viewpoints. What survives is the central relationship or conflict and the sequence of events that keep reversing it.
A second worked example: when the plan is close but not exact
Take an illustrative 60,000-word thriller, planned as 60 episodes of 120 seconds, with 8 free episodes and its first twist 10% of the way through.
- Story words per episode: 60,000 divided by 60 is 1,000.
- Total runtime: 60 times 120 seconds is 7,200 seconds, again 2 hours 0 minutes.
- Spoken ceiling: 2 minutes times 135 words is 270 words per episode, so compression is about 3.7 book words per spoken word.
- Twist episode: 10% of 60 episodes is 6.0. Position 6.0 is the start of episode 7, so the twist lands in episode 7.
- Paywall: the last free episode is 8, one episode after the twist. The gap is within the pass band.
Because the twist and the paywall are one episode apart, the planner shows a gentle re-pace that puts the twist at the very end of episode 8. The first 10% of the book is 6,000 words; spread over 8 free episodes that is 750 words each. The remaining 54,000 words over 52 paid episodes is about 1,038 words each. Here the free episodes slow down slightly instead of speeding up, giving the setup a little more room so the twist lands exactly on the paywall.
With 120-second episodes, the cliffhanger window is the last 12 seconds, and each episode carries about 4 beats.
Inside a 90-second episode
The timeline in the results splits every episode into three parts. For the 90-second default, it looks like this:
| Seconds | Part | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 3 | Hook | A line, action or reveal that raises a question at once |
| 3 to 81 | Story | Three beats, roughly one every 30 seconds: action, reaction, new problem |
| 81 to 90 | Cliffhanger | The unanswered question; cut before the answer |
A beat is one change in the scene: someone learns something, decides something or does something that changes the situation. Three beats in 78 seconds is enough for a short scene with a turn in it. If a scene from your book has no change in it, it is not an episode yet; combine it with the next one.
In a script, this means about one and a half pages for a 90-second episode if you use the common rule of one page per minute. Many micro-drama scripts are tighter than that.
Rights before you pitch
A micro-drama is an audiovisual adaptation of your book, just like a film or a television series. Before you pitch one, check who holds the right to make it. If your publishing contract granted film, television or audiovisual rights to the publisher, or if a producer holds an option, you may not be free to sign with an app. Read your contract, ask your agent if you have one, and have an entertainment lawyer review any agreement an app or producer offers you. Look especially at how long the rights last, whether they are exclusive, and whether they cover other formats. This page is not legal advice.
The first ten episodes
The table in the results gives a job for each of the first ten episodes. The pattern follows from the format's needs rather than from any single book.
- Episode 1 opens on the conflict and ends when the lead's problem becomes personal.
- Episode 2 shows who wants what and who stands in the way, ending on the opponent's first move.
- Episode 3 shows the lead's first attempt to fix the problem, ending when it fails or backfires.
- Episodes 4 onward raise the stakes and end on a new problem each time.
- The twist episode ends on the reveal itself.
- The last free episode ends on the strongest cliffhanger so far, ideally the twist.
- The first paid episode pays off that cliffhanger in its first ten seconds.
Each row also shows the range of book words that episode covers, using the re-paced numbers when the planner has re-paced the free run. Use the ranges to find the matching pages in your book: with 1,000 words per episode, episode 4 covers roughly words 3,000 to 4,000.
Format details worth getting right
Orientation. Plan and shoot in 9:16 portrait. Keep faces large in the frame; close-ups do more work on a phone screen than wide shots.
Subtitles. Many viewers watch with the sound low or off. Burned-in subtitles, written into the picture, are common, although some apps show subtitles as a separate track so viewers can pick a language; ask the app which it wants. Keep lines short so they can be read in the time they are on screen; the Netflix Timed Text Style Guide is a useful public reference for reading-speed limits, even though it was written for a different kind of program.
Cast and locations. Micro-dramas usually keep the cast and the number of locations small, which keeps production manageable across many short episodes. Count how many speaking parts and places your first ten episodes need.
Episode titles and recaps. At 90 seconds, there is no time for opening titles or a "previously on" recap after the first episode. The previous cliffhanger, paid off in the first seconds, does that job.
Checking whether your book suits the format
Run through these questions before you commit to a micro-drama plan:
- Is there a clear central conflict, usually between two people, that can be stated in one sentence?
- Does the book reverse the situation often, at least every few chapters?
- Is the first major twist within roughly the first fifth of the book, or can it be moved there?
- Does most of the story happen in action and dialogue, rather than in characters' thoughts?
- Can the main story be told with a small cast and a handful of locations?
If you answer no to two or more, the movie or TV series decider may point you to a better format. If you answer yes to all five, this format may suit the book well.
Sources and rules this page relies on
- Terms and help pages of micro-drama apps such as ReelShort and DramaBox. Describe how viewers unlock episodes and how many episodes are free. Terms vary by app and series and change often; confirm the current version before you plan a paywall.
- TikTok Help Center and YouTube Help Center. State the current upload lengths and formats for short vertical video, including YouTube Shorts. Platform limits change, so check before you publish.
- Netflix Timed Text Style Guide. Netflix's public guide to subtitle timing and reading speed, a practical reference for burned-in subtitle density.
- Creative guidance from short-video platforms such as TikTok and Meta. Commonly advises capturing attention in the opening seconds of a vertical video. The three-second hook used here follows that common advice; it is not a published rule.
The 135-words-a-minute speaking rate, the 30-second beat interval, the 10% cliffhanger window and the pass, warning and fail bands for the paywall are this planner's own planning rules, not figures published by any app or platform.