The shortest that routinely gets contracted is the category romance, which runs about 55,000 words. Long book length at the other end of the spectrum a book of 80,000 to 100,000 words has significant heft, 320400 pages. Generally a 50,000word novel would be the minimum word count. If the novel is in the 50 60kword range, short for most markets outside teens then you can either submit it as is, and keep your fingers crossed that this is a book that might be a rare exception, or you can figure out a way to add enough words to it to squeak into your target markets lowend word count. Once you know your word count, follow one of our two methods below to estimate your page count. These might be interesting numbers to keep in mind, but. Oct 06, 2017 if youre trying to figure out how many pages your book will end up being, a page in a six by nine book which is a pretty standard size for a nonfiction book is about 250 words equals one page. Then consider writing a manuscript of similar length. Generally, 50,000 would be considered the minimum word count, and ideally a novel should be over 70,000. Now, if youre using an unconventional formatting or margins you could see. The reader or viewer doesnt always necessarily know this beforehand, especially with ebooks. Book page count calculator how many pages is my novel. Depending on how engrossing the story is i would prefer to err on the shorter side, say 50,00080,000.
An approximate word count round numbers based on what your wp tells you enables them to estimate costs and other factors. Amazon ebook page length by genre kindle page length. Also, i have written literally thousands of news stories, magazine articles and blog posts. You 50,000 word manuscript may be half the page length of another authors 50,000 word manuscript. Quickly flip open the 20, 000 words book, however, and the quick division of words into syllables syllable has you scanning quickly within sections of the book. For average word counts based on genre, see this handy reference. While 50,000 words is a fairly firm minimum, plenty of ya books. Calculate book page count using word count for book design. As you can see, a smaller trim size will produce more pages for the same. No more than 90,000 words seems to be the editors mantra these days.
Publishers want to know the overall length of your book. However, there is a wide range of acceptable word counts for nonfiction books. No matter how much you adjust the other variables, if the ms is only 50, 000 words in length instead of 95, 000, then you have a problem if the book was announced as being 288 pages in length but the most it can be stretched to is 160 pages. When talking about book length, its common to talk about word count rather than page count. Gadsby is a 1939 novel by ernest vincent wright written as a lipogram, which does not include words that contain the letter e. Knowing how many words in a novel is the first step toward writing a book. This translates into just 20,000 to 25,000 words for a 100. Frequently asked questions getting published meg cabot. I just laid out a 65,000word book and it ended up, with a couple pages of photos and a few pages of appendix, at 268 pages the pages in the main body of the text are numbered up to 237. The other day i was feeling pretty exasperated with myself. The figure was found through looking at a number of books text stats, until brave new. Before our book page count calculator, you had to dig around through multiple sources to figure out how many words per page for your exact font size and then do the math.
An ebook could be 3,000 words or as long as a fulllength book. Historical romances at harlequin will run to 75,000 words, but everywhere else theyre longer. Virtually every book i try to shop by a debut author thats any longer than thatregardless of categoryreceives the same response from editors. It makes quite a difference whether you want to publish a childrens picture book, a 50recipe smoothie book, a science fiction novel or a technical. Within the publishing industry we tend to talk about the length of a book in words rather than in pages. How to calculate your books length before writing helping. I heard 10,000 words can be accepted as an ebook at a short length at least for nonfiction. What follows is a rough guide to book length expectations in certain genres.
Most standalone novels run between 80,000 and 95,000 words. Word count is a direct way to measure the length of a novel in a manner unaffected by variations of format and page size. Novels intended for the adult market will be longer than those targeted at children and young adults. Mar 20, 2020 an ebook could be 3, 000 words or as long as a full length book.
A young adult novel will run between 20,000 and 40,000 words. The classics of mystery and science fiction were written at the length of 40 50 thousand words or shorter. Pbs go from image only board books all the way up to full stories with significant illustrations. By most peoples standards, 40, 000 words would be pretty short for a novel. Thats the level where publishers may suggest dividing a story into multiple volumes. Almost every book i read during those years was in the 40,000 word range. The typical books wordsperpage count tends to range between 225 and 275an average of 250. My publisher says that, particularly for ebooks, even short word counts of 30k 40k are acceptable as novels. As a publisher who has laid out dozens of books for printinga 50,000 word manuscript should end up somewhere between 180 and 220 pages.
In addition, digital publishing is making novels and novelettes of any length more. First of all, find your word count in word by opening your document and looking at the bottom left of your screen. Jun, 2017 i still write about 5, 000 words each day, but much of it is aimed at online courses i offer. I read science fiction and mystery series such as the travis mcgee series. Therefore, a 55,000 word book should be about 200 manuscript pages. Generally, 50, 000 would be considered the minimum word count, and ideally a novel should be over 70, 000 words. Handpicked by amazon kids books editor, seira wilson, for prime book box a childrens subscription that inspires a love of reading. Word count for famous novels organized commonplace book. Quite a lot of people can draft a book of that length in a month.
At a writers conference i recently attended, publishing veteran jane friedman said. Mar 10, 2015 depending on how engrossing the story is i would prefer to err on the shorter side, say 50, 000 80, 000. Based on this list compiled by nicole humphrey cook. Jan 08, 2018 calculate book page count using your word count. These are series crime mysteries the first full length ebook and paperback is 155k, followed by books in the 100k to 120k range. This is a list of the novels over 500,000 words published through a mainstream publisher. Historical romances at harlequin will run to 75,000 words, but everywhere else theyre. Aug 05, 2019 for most publishers, a book is novellength when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words.
Word count for famous novels organized by hawthorn mineart, under books, writing. Length of a book is typically associated with its sizespecifically page countleading many to assume the largest and thickest book equates to its length. Likely fixed in this edition, the only word i routinely not included in the 1965 edition was penicillin. In fact, the majority of printed books are turned into ebooks. Typically, a book that is published in paperback format at a length of 300400 pages will. There are too many factors that affect the number of words on a page for a meaningful answer. Find a book thats formatted in the way you imagine your book as being. Heres a guide to the recommended lengths for genre books. This time, we meet a girl ashleigh who had her life turned upside down when a private picture text to her boyfriend goes viral. At a writers conference i recently attended, publishing veteran jane friedman said 80,000 words is good for most fiction, below 60,000 isnt novel length territory, and above 120,000 is likely too much. Due to wide variation between definitions, it is always a good idea to put a word count at the bottom of your product description when selling an unusuallength book.
This means your book will be between 100 and 230 pages in total. As you can see, a smaller trim size will produce more pages for the same word count, and a larger trim size will produce less. Word count for famous novels, in ascending order by number of words. That said, each manuscript should be long enough to adequately tell its story or. See also list of published authors who write quickly for published authors who consistently write at the nanowrimo pace or faster.
Even the complexity of the words you use affects how many words are on a page. Here is a partial list of wellknown novels that contain roughly 50,000. For most publishers, a book is novellength when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words. Here is a partial list of wellknown novels that contain roughly 50,000 words, which in turn is roughly 175 pages, and are thus comparable to the average size of a nanowrimo winners. Novels for adult readers fall between 80, 000 and 120, 000 words. If a page is 500 words on an ipad, and 250 words on a kindle, it might be only 120 words on a phone. By most peoples standards, 40,000 words would be pretty short for a novel.
Here is what 187 words looks like in microsoft word. Quickly flip open the 20,000 words book, however, and the quick division of words into syllables syllable has you scanning quickly within sections of the book. In terms of adult mainstream fiction, that length would be considered a novella. That said, if your book is around 40, 000 words, youre in good company. Lit rejections suggests that a reasonable length for a cozy mystery is 70, 000 to 75, 000 words, while a historical book could be 10, 000 to 15, 000 words longer. Most literary genres have expected word lengths, which have been driven. The graph shows the average length of the top 100 bestsellers in each of the 30 main amazon kindle categories, measured in terms of the number of.
Jun 07, 2017 in my opinion, if your nonfiction book is fewer than about 30,000 words 120 pages, it does not feel substantial enough to be real book. As for nonfiction books, the standard bestsellers have word counts similar to adult novels. It makes quite a difference whether you want to publish a childrens picture book, a 50 recipe smoothie book, a science fiction novel or a technical encyclopedia. Sep 20, 2009 obviously, a prime determinant of book size is the word count. This trim size is good for only 200 to 250 words per printed book page. Apr 24, 2017 these are series crime mysteries the first full length ebook and paperback is 155k, followed by books in the 100k to 120k range. The figure was found through looking at a number of books text stats, until brave new worlds 64,531 word count landed in the exact center of all books50% of books have fewer words and 50% of books have more words. If youre trying to figure out how many pages your book will end up being, a page in a six by nine book which is a pretty standard size for a nonfiction book is about 250 words. On the upper end, a novel over 110, 000 words is considered an epic. An approximate word count round numbers based on what your wp tells you enables them to estimate costs and other factors involved in printing a book.
If the novel is in the 5060kword range, short for most markets outside teens then you can either submit it as is, and keep your fingers crossed that this is a book that might be a rare. The first jennifer brown book i read made me an instant fan of her work, and thousand words shows me she has more than one story to tell. According to amazons great text stats feature, the median length for all books is about 64,000 words. May 11, 2009 word count and book length one of my biggest problems as a publisher is having authors deliver more than was agreed to. Bear in mind that this is a short book, one that would only pass as a novel in certain genres that. This translates into just 20,000 to 25,000 words for a 100 page book, 30,000 to 42,500 words for a 150page book, perhaps just 40,000 words for a 200page book. Youll use the word count in your word document to calculate book page count. At a writers conference i recently attended, publishing. However, it will be on the short side, as the average length of a novel hovers around 50,00070,000 words. One of my biggest problems as a publisher is having authors deliver more than was agreed to. However sometimes, like today, the reverse happens. No matter how much you adjust the other variables, if the ms is only 50,000 words in length instead of 95,000. Your debut novel is 20,000 words long how not to self. So 50,000 words is the minimum for a nonfiction book.
Roughly how many pages would 50,000 words produce in a. Jun 03, 2010 well, the average number of words per page is 300 and with 20, 000 words, im prolly guessing that your book will have at least 66 pages. You dont want to overwrite and be forced to use a teeny font. But depending on the ereading device and the font size setting, it varies significantly between a phone, a tablet, or a kindle. Virtually every book i try to shop by a debut author thats any longer than thatregardless of. Here is a partial list of wellknown novels that contain roughly 50,000 words, which in turn is roughly 175 pages, and are thus comparable to the average size of a nanowrimo winners novel see also list of published authors who write quickly for published authors who consistently write at the nanowrimo pace or faster the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy by douglas adams 46,333 words. Obviously, a prime determinant of book size is the word count. However, it will be on the short side, as the average length of a novel hovers around 50, 000 70, 000 words. It depends on the font you are using, of course, but in general, 250300 words per page.
Right now, when it comes to novellength word count, its all about 90,000 words. Nobody wants to hear that their manuscript isnt a publishable length, and. And now were seeing some publishers produce book that run from 100,000 to 120,000 words. The plot revolves around the dying fictional city of branton hills. Jun 26, 2017 films can be twice as long as each other. Estimate your page count book designer linda parke. With digital as well as print books available, the length of books varies. I still write about 5,000 words each day, but much of it is aimed at online courses i offer. My 2008 edition of writers market lists 15,00045,000 words as a novella and 45,000120,000 words as a novel. Amazon estimates a page count in an ebook to be around 187 words. Most adult books are about 90,000 words, and no longer than 100,000 words unless youre jk rowling. Its too much hassle and timeconsuming time you couldve spent refining and perfecting your book content. Almost every book i read during those years was in the 40, 000 word range. Pencilthin books on narrow topics that are under 50,000 words are quite common.
If you know how long the book is, you can divide it into eighths to find the perfect timing for all. Any selfhelp or motivational nonfiction book should be between 30,000 and 70,000 words. Oct 10, 2016 genre has more influence on book length than you might think. Under 500 words can be described as flash fiction between and 8000 words is a short story also, most short story competitions will stipulate their required word length for entry. Jun 27, 2019 a story that is over 40, 000 words is generally considered a novel. Here is a partial list of wellknown novels that contain roughly 50, 000 words, which in turn is roughly 175 pages, and are thus comparable to the average size of a nanowrimo winners novel. In two minutes, i found ebooks ranging from 10 to 950 pages. A story that is over 40,000 words is generally considered a novel. Its author, georges perec, was introduced to wrights book by a friend of his in oulipo, a multinational constrainedwriting group. Childrens books, however, are allowed a lower word count than comparable books for adults. Aug 11, 2014 childrens books, however, are allowed a lower word count than comparable books for adults.
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