A light novel was a type of light literary work that mainly consisted of short stories, usually with fewer words and a compact plot. The number of light novels written by different authors and editors may be calculated differently, so there is no official number. However, some large-scale light novel publishing houses usually publish several volumes of light novels, while some small publishing houses may only publish one or two volumes. As the plot and character design of light novels were usually more flexible, it was difficult to have an accurate definition of the number of volumes. Some light novels might only have two volumes while others might have hundreds of volumes. Some light novels may be published in multiple journals or series, so the number of volumes may vary. The number of light novels was a subjective question, and it depended on the specific situation and definition.