Average novel page word count

I suspect you are trying to work out how many pages you have written as a judge of how far into your novel you are, but publishers wont ask you how many pages your story is, they will ask you how many words youve written. Word processing programs have a function that calculates the number automatically, but the results are not reliable in the publishing world. 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. This 90,000word guideline for how many words in a novel is just that, a guideline. Depending on the writing genre, word count in book chapters can vary considerably. The truth is the number of words per page depends on a variety of factors such as the type of font, the font size, spacing elements, margin spacing, and paragraph length to name a few. However if youre curious to see what the average word count is for standard genres, check out the breakdown in the article. Youll use the word count in your word document to calculate book page count. Generally a 50,000 word novel would be the minimum word count. And the average novel, for the purposes of word count only, is between 80,000 and 120,000 words.

How many words per page are there in a typical novel. Some say that the change point is 30000 words and not 40000. Now that weve covered how many words are in a novel, its time to break it down even further by finding out the ideal number of chapters in a novel and how many words are used in a typical chapter. Do check your comparable titlesrecent debuts onlyto make sure your story falls in that range. As a result, a 100k manuscript can size up very differently on a shelf.

Now that weve covered how many words are in a novel, its time to break it down even further by finding out the ideal number of chapters in a novel and how many words are used in a typical chapter depending on the writing genre, word count in book chapters can vary considerably. Most young adult novels fall between 55,000 and 70,000 words. Theres some variance in the end word count for novellas and the start word count for novels. Take a good look at the average word counts you need for a novel or nonfiction. For manuscripts, the answer is about 250300 words per page if it is doublespaced. Its often possible to take a good 30,000 words out of a book without really affecting the content, just by being rigorous about what works what words, sentences, paragraphs, scenes and chapters. It depends on the font you are using, of course, but in general, 250300 words per page. Word count for famous novels organized by hawthorn mineart, under books, writing. 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. A 90,000 word count signals to professionals that you know what you are doing. The younger the child, the shorter the word count do you need to edit your novel. The average chapter word count of these novels falls within the 2,0005,000 range. Every book is different and for any suggested word or page count you see, you are likely to encounter several popular fantasy books that are outside. Nonfiction wordcounts sit between 70,000120,000 words.

Count characters and words with the anycount tool for a precise estimate and get every single cent youve earned. For average word counts based on genre, see this handy reference. I remember reading some westerns in high school and, if i. If the word count of twilight is disregarded, the average becomes around 88,625. How to calculate a word count per page pen and the pad. However, the true word count depends on the category in which youre writing.

Young adult novel 60,000 words on average, young adult novels usually fall around 55,000 and 70,000 words. Science fiction and fantasy novels typically have a word count between 90,000 to 125,000 words. I have often looked this up and got different results, which makes it very confusing. Literary agent paula munier says a 90,000 word count is the sweet spot for debut fiction. Literary agent danielle zigner takes a look at typical novel lengths per genre and what appeals to publishers within the current marketplace. Oct 18, 2017 but chapter word count is something that you want to keep in mind for future edits. Never pad your manuscript just to meet a word count guideline. Calculate book page count using word count for book design. Perkins agency in new york says its much easier to market a firsttime novelists book if the word count falls between 80,000 and 100,000 words, or roughly 300 doublespaced, typed pages the average novel length. 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. Upper middle grade can hit in the 50k word count range possibly longer, if its something really special.

Word count for novels and childrens books at the guide to literary agents blog. The average wordcount for adult fiction is between 70,000 to 120,000 words. As persuasion progresses, jane austen seems to elongate hers, building them up on a crescendo. That was the formula in the good old days when courier was the only typeface and typewriters were king. A short story has a word count of under 20,000 words though anything over 10,000 puts it into that no mans land along with novellas where its a long slog for a short story but too short for anything resembling a novel. The average fantasy novel should have between 50,000 and 150,000 words. We all know of outliers within each genre that have been published well under, or well over, these word counts. But blake is trying to give everyone here some guidelines. According to amazons great text stats feature, the median length for all books is about 64,000 words. Counting chickens a few words about word counts at hope vestergaards site. If this thread still going can someone tell me how many words is reasonable for a chapter im writing my first fantasy novel and worried if i have too short or to long of a chapter right now my first chapter word count is at 1,436 and in counting.

Assuming that word count has anything to do with it, is a sure road to a writing disaster. When it gets closer to 1,000, editors and agents may shy away. Here are the average novel word counts in the top five genres in the book publishing industry in no particular order. Apr 05, 2015 generally a 50,000word novel would be the minimum word count. Academic books might put 600 words on a page with works of reference squeezing in words. During the introductory month of the new system, the conversion of kenpc into the actual number of words in the book actual word count showed significant differences from one book to the other. That doesnt mean that your book will be an instant success if your novel word count is in its optimum number. A manuscript for a novel is typically 500 words per page if singlespaced. If you really want to know whats the general word length of a romance novel, look at whats published. A minimum count for a nonfiction ebook is about 10,000 words, as long as the content is solid.

Based on this list compiled by nicole humphrey cook. Sep 11, 2008 i suspect you are trying to work out how many pages you have written as a judge of how far into your novel you are, but publishers wont ask you how many pages your story is, they will ask you how many words youve written. You can write as short or as extended a chapter as you want, with as many scenes in each that you want. Book page count calculator how many pages is my novel. Martin and harper lee keep things more evenly paced in a game of thrones and to kill a mockingbird, respectively. Better to have solid, clear information than rambling to make a page count. Jun 27, 2019 put simply, the sweet spot for a novels word count is generally said to be around 8090k. If you think a 270,000word memoir will make it past the agent, do it.

Since 2011, the average length of a bestseller has dropped steadily from year to year. Young adult fiction allows for a lot of flexibility in word count. There are still many factors to consider, like your genre. Neither too long nor too short, this book length signals a novelists competency and knowledge of the publishing market to prospective agents and editors. Ya manuscripts can have a word count anywhere from 55k to 90k. Most adult books are about 90,000 words, and no longer than 100,000 words unless youre jk rowling. Page count is determined by the publisher, not the writer. Pencilthin books on narrow topics that are under 50,000 words are quite common. Shorter novels such as fahrenheit 451, the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, the great gatsby, and slaughterhousefive are between 4050,000 words.

While a general guideline is one page is 500 words single spaced or 250 words double spaced, this is a ballpark figure. However, i understand that the length of twilight is unusually long for a debut novel. Word count is a direct way to measure the length of a novel in a manner unaffected by variations of format and page size. Well, as to be expected with a book niche like ours, somebody decided to write an article for a howto site on how to go about writing and publishing a light novel in america. Your guide to book word counts fiction and nonfiction. When the final work is printed for sale and published, the number of words per page will differ. Once you know your word count, follow one of our two methods below to estimate your page count. Worse, all three of these answers reveal a lack of understanding of the marketplace in which writers are trying to sell storiesthe same marketplace where we agents are selling stories. Its a question often asked by aspiring authors wondering if their manuscript is several thousand words too long or short, but its also an intriguing one for readers to consider. So, do a word count with a word processor, then divide by 250 to get the number of standard pages. For paperbacks you get 2550 lines per page, with 35 being a good average. How long is a singletitle romance novel supposed to be. With fun, lighthearted, simple middle grade youll want to stay around the 20k30k word count range.

Amazon ebook page length by genre kindle page length. Harry potter and the sorcerers stone has 17 chapters with titles, and about 4560 words per chapter. From picture books to ya information to get you started at. For childrens fiction, the general rule is the younger the audience the shorter the book, and for ya novels the average is 50,00070,000 words. If yours is too short, restructure it and add more tightly written stuff. Stephen king word count 112263 274,672 bag of bones 203,3 black house 252,270 blockade billy 15,917 carrie 60,718 cell 121,931 christine 193,602 cujo 121,150 cycle of the werewolf 15,955 desperation 195,011 doctor sleep. As for nonfiction books, the standard bestsellers have word counts similar to adult novels. Aug 05, 2019 i think theres some confusion here on memoir word count vs. The typical book s wordsper page count tends to range between 225 and 275an average of 250. And remember, keeping to word counts is important, but what makes or breaks your chances with a publisher is the quality of your manuscript. So, with all of this in mind, is there actually an average word count you should aim for. Are you wondering what the word count for your book should be. Standard word counts for books publishing with kindle. Within the publishing industry we tend to talk about the length of a book in words rather than in pages.

A single novel can be longer, but once the length is above 110,000 words publishers may look at cutting it back, unless it is a particular kind of book books over the 110k word count are usually considered epics. As previously discussed, there are different requirements for both fiction and nonfiction genres. You must provide an accurate word count per page or by document when you are submitting a literary project. Failing to mention the word count, or committing the faux pas of stating the page count instead, will also see a quick rejection. Word count is commonly used by translators to determine the price of a translation job. If youre writing a young adult fantasy novel, you should keep your word count below 90,000 words or 300 book pages. What is a reasonable estimate for the minimum length, in word count, for a nonfiction book. Word counts may also be used to calculate measures of readability and to measure typing and reading speeds usually in words per minute. This averages to about 22 to 23 chapters per novel, with the average chapter length around 4,280 words. This is due to the audience youre reaching preferring that length.

If you have 6 panels, stick to a maximum of 35 words per panel. Words counts of bestselling novels better novel project. And as youve probably guessed it is sitting pretty right in between middle grade and adult. And remember, keeping to word counts is important, but what makes or breaks your chances with a publisher is. Roughly how many pages would 50,000 words produce in a. Id guesstimate that nonfiction books generally yes, this is very rough run perhaps 150450 pages, and at about 350 wd page that works out to something like 50150k words. That said, this figure differs from book to book and organization to. Onethird of the novels that come into the agency are rejected because theyre too long or.

Each genre and subgenre has its own word count range. Just to keep in mind, the average one spaced page usually contains about 3000 characters or 500 words. Armed with these word counts, i now have a range of lengths that have been proven popular. At one extreme you get large print books with 250 words on the page. In the opposite direction, it can give a more accurate estimate of how many pages you have created if you only know the word count. Depending on the text formatting, a page word count may include from 200 large print up to 600 words academic book. This article suggests that essentially, it should be as long as it needs to be, meaning dont look at the word count, just get the story out then edit. Deconstructing five spooky picture books with spoilers and word counts. In 2011, the lists average length peaked at 467 pages. This is because these programs only count actual words, but publishers. The average across a sample of 50 books in august 2015 showed 172 words per kindle edition normalized page. However, there is a wide range of acceptable word counts for nonfiction books. Frequently asked questions getting published meg cabot. By using these three options to more accurately define your writing, the words per page calculator should provide a better estimate on how many words you need to write to fill a page.

I have rounded the averages down slightly, both to account for twilights outlier status and my own preference for brevity. The sweet spot, according to donald maas, is 100,000 to 115,000 words. Multiply up by the number of pages and get to a rough word count. The average fiction book is about 80,000 to 100,000 words, which is about. If youre thinking bigger and wondering, for example, how many pages is 50,000 words, simply divide your target word count 50,000 by 500 since thats the average words per page. 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. If youre new to selfpublishing on amazon and wondering, just how much should i write for my kindle book. Like a general fiction novel, a good target word count for a memoir is 80,000 words. When converting character counts to words, a measure of 5 or 6 characters to a word is generally used for english. Put simply, the sweet spot for a novel s word count is generally said to be around 8090k. Stephen king word count 112263 274,672 bag of bones 203,3 black house 252,270 blockade billy 15,917 carrie 60,718 cell 121,931 christine 193,602 cujo 121,150 cycle of the werewolf 15,955 desperation.

The average nonfiction book is about 50,000 to 75,000 words, which is about 153 to 230 ebook pages. Length of a book is typically associated with its sizespecifically page count leading many to assume the largest and thickest book equates to its length. Jun 15, 2017 this is a general list of age categories and word counts for childrens books. This line count includes blank lines between paragraphs as well as lines with just a single word. What is the average number of actual words in comic books or. Jan 08, 2018 calculate book page count using your word count. First of all, find your word count in word by opening your document and looking at the bottom left of your screen. Recently i got asked this question, what is the ideal length word count wise for my first book. On average, young adult novels usually fall around 55,000 and 70,000 words. I have therefore made some averages, based on what ive heard from publishers and agents at childrens book events, and from research and reading. Estimate your page count book designer fiona raven. The binding, font and paper size establish how many pages a published book will be.

Word count for famous novels, in ascending order by number of words. May 14, 2018 bestselling author caleb carr may write novels of 250,000 words, but when you pitch your novel and offer up that number, be prepared for a glacial reception. 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 books 50% of books have fewer words and 50% of books. If your book is too long and you need to cut it, dont fret.