To make all of this info easier for you to digest, we created this cheatsheet for you to refer back to whenever you need. As much as we would like to think we will happily read 250,000-word books or plunk down $16 for a 25,000-word book (really a … While she's not whipping up content here, she's creating her own Youtube videos, fiction writing tips blog posts, hanging out with her dog, and eating something with cheese! (For instance, regency romances and paranormal romances must be above 40,000 words). A minimum count for a nonfiction ebook is about 10,000 words, as long as the content is solid. Young Adult novels tend to be shorter than adult novels, so between 45,000 and 70,000 words, but the word count is flexible (especially in science fiction or fantasy). How many words are in a novel? That's the exception to what gets published today in commercial fiction. Nonfiction wordcounts sit between 70,000-120,000 words. With a little distance, you'll be able to see where there are superfluous scenes or unnecessary purple prose." And you will instantly lose readers if you are too far off the general norm…yikes. Hi, I'm J.F. Crime fiction is my interest and I've read so many books of 75,000-100,000 that are far too long with meandering uninspiring sub-plots. Of course, hiring a professional editor does come with a price tag, and most freelancers calculate their costs based on the number of words. “Word count limits can seem like they stifle artistic flow, but they exist for a reason.”, A fiction novel’s sweet spot is around 80-90k words. However, this rough estimation can help you understand the approximate length of your book. And, in case you're wondering, here are the average word counts for other popular genres: Of course, there will be books that smash these "rules." While it's important that every story find its natural length, it takes time to develop an instinct as to what that length is. Disclosure: Some of the links above may contain affiliate partnerships, meaning, at no additional cost to you, Self-Publishing School may earn a comission if you click through to make a purchase. I have just finished a book (in collaboration) and have received some feedback that it's too short. Successive revisions brought it down almost 30%. I'm coming in at 65k for my literary fiction novel. Title Word Count Book Series Cosmere 1 Elantris 205,464 Elantris #1 Yes 2 The Final Empire 211,959 Mistborn #1 Yes 3 The Well of Ascension 249,522 Mistborn #2 Yes 4 The Hero of Ages 241,889 Mistborn #3 Yes 5 The Alloy of Law 96,646 Mistborn #4 Yes 6 Shadows of Self 114,776 Mistborn #5 Yes 7 The Bands of Mourning 130,295 … But yes, it does worry me that no agent or publisher will want it because it's so hefty for a debut author :-/. Well, if your goal is to publish and sell your novel, those rules are pretty darn important. Here it is, folks. Ignoring the greats for a moment, the obvious answer to the first question is: it depends. If there is an average, 60,000 words to 80,000 words are probably the sweet spot. Reading Length is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. What are your thoughts on publishing standards, such as word counts? If you’re writing your first novel, the general rule of thumb for novel writing is a word count in the 80,000 to 100,000 range. Want to know how to write a mystery? For an unknown author, 60,000-70,000 words should be the maximum. Longer novels top the 100k mark. What’s important to remember is that a word count that exceeds industry standards is not merely an arbitrary reason for publishers and agents to refuse a query or pitch. So if you want to write a 30,000- or a 300,000-word novel Here are the average novel word counts in the top five genres in the book publishing industry in no particular order: Young Adult Novel – 60,000 words; On average, young adult novels usually fall around 55,000 and 70,000 words. As a general rule of thumb, a novel falls somewhere between word count ranges of 50,000 words and 100,000 words. Also, here’s another list I may swipe and add in here. I love finding a good story that lasts 450 pages, or longer. Not to mention that the longer your book is, the more time it will take to write it. What follows is a rough guide to book length expectations in certain genres. A novella is a short novel, that is, a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than that of most novels, but longer than most short stories. Find the perfect editor for your next book. Lewis, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Old Yeller by Fred Gipson all range between 35,000 and 50,000. Sometimes they’re shorter — The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. A novelist of my acquaintance insists that the only way to estimate the number of words in a book is to multiply the number of pages by 250. We’re going to talk some specific genres in just a moment, but it’s worth setting the landscape a little first, just because you may as well know the territory here, and because a lot of fiction simply doesn’t fit in tidy boxes. A minimum count for a nonfiction ebook is about 10,000 words, as long as the content is solid. We help you save time, money, and headaches through the book, writing, marketing, and publishing process by giving you the proven, step-by-step process and accountability to publish successfully. If you'd like to learn more about that topic, we write extensively about how to outline a novel here. Some genres, like science fiction, can be much longer and spend 1,000s of words on world-building. For novels in general, the accepted word count is 70-80,000 words. Sometimes they’re shorter — The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Maybe — but it would be tough. Some examples for this category include: The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera (85,199 words), The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (91,419 words), Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison (97,364 words), Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (119,394 words), and Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (119,394 words). Good topic. However, a novel is usually no shorter than 40,000 words. My first novel currently sits at 163K and will probably push 200K by the time it's finished. However, there are averages and rough word counts expected by publishers. All while allowing you to maintain control of your book–and its royalties.Learn to publish a book to grow your impact, income, or business! The following are average word-count ranges by genre. Ebook Word Count by Genre. A reasonable word count for a non-fiction book would be between 30,000 to 50,000 words. Word counts give writers something to aim for and an idea of what a reader's expectations might be.”. Finding your book’s word count depends on which writing software you’re using to write it. This means it's around the same size as F/SN and Grisaia in the end and around half the play time as Grisaia and maybe a third of F/SN according to the developer estimates. It should be enough to communicate your message effectively. Editors in traditional publishing houses believe that it’s easier to market books that meet genre expectations, and if you’re hunting for a book deal or for an agent, you want to eliminate any reason for them to eliminate you. Some users may find this particularly useful during a certain month dedicated to writing novels with specific word goals. Knowing the word count of a text can be important. It’s good to leave some things to the imagination, and the reader in their own mind can fill in the blanks between scene cuts.” — Kelly Lydick, Associate Editor at Immanence Journal, 3) Ask yourself, “Does the reader really need to know this?”“One bad habit that inflates word count in historical fiction especially is the tendency to info-dump historical facts into the narration. What are the standard word counts by genre? The upper marker is still accepted but will almost certainly be cut by an editor should the writer secure a deal. There are many other novels out there, just waiting for you to read them. Here’s the book length calculator for you to use: *These results are based on industry standards. You’ll use the word count in your Word document to calculate book page count. Could you, as a first-time novelist, get an agent or publisher to bite at your 200k-word YA epic? LEARN MORE! Just self-published my first novel on Amazon -- 164,000 words. I also always suggest authors do a search of their manuscript for the word ‘that’ and really question the necessity of each one. Here are some popular dystopian novel word counts: As you can see, this genre’s word count bounces all over the place. But before you celebrate and race to send your manuscript off to the presses as a novel, there's something else that you should consider. A novelist of my acquaintance insists that the only way to estimate the number of words in a book is to multiply the number of pages by 250. Fantasy, in particular, takes the cake: some books in a fantasy series end up exceeding 140,000 words. Thanks. If you’re going to go over that, you’d better have a really good reason for it. Length of a book is typically associated with its size—specifically page count—leading many to assume the largest and thickest book equates to its length. 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