Ever wonder how long your book is supposed to be? If you ask around, you’ll get WILDLY conflicting answers – and that’s because there is no one answer except “well, that depends…”
Your book should be long enough to tell the story but short enough to fit on the shelf.
Please note, this content is compiled from multiple resources (not primarily original content!) and is only intended as a handy guide, *not* the definitive source. As with all subjective subjects, this is just a guideline. Individual agents and publishers may have differing expectations, so always make sure to check with them. This article was written in 2019 and publishing expectations (including word count guidelines) are constantly evolving.
One of the main sources I used in compiling this list is the incredible Jessica Faust of the Bookends Literary Agency. Her original blog post that I borrowed heavily from is here.
As you can tell from the examples below, sub-genres may have different word count expectations from their parent genre. These numbers can shift with industry standards.
- Short Stories: 1,000 – 8,000 words – will vary by publication
- Novelette: 10,000 – 15,000. Usually short and lighthearted.
- Novella: 20,000 – 50,000 words. Keep in mind that different genres have different standards. A 50,000 word Middle Grade or Romance story *might* be a novel, not novella! A fantasy novella could have a high page count while not being classified as a novel.
- Novel: 60,000 – 120,000 words; average is 70,000 – 90,000
But this is where it gets interesting. The genre really matters!
Confused about what genre or subgenre your book falls into? Worry no longer! Check out my blog post listing a whole buncha genres and defining all of the genres below, as well as pointing you to additional resources.
- Contemporary YA: 65,000 – 95,000 words, aiming for 75k-85k
- YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy: 70,000 – 99,999 words, aiming for 85k-95k
- Romance: 60,000 – 99,999 words depending on a lot of factors, aiming for 80k-85k
- Genre Romance: 61,000 – 75,000 words
- Paranormal / Urban Fantasy: 75,000 – 105,000 words
- Adult Fiction: 80,000 – 100,000 words
- Adult Sci-Fi/Fantasy: 90,000 – 129,999 words, aiming for 110k
- Mysteries / Thrillers / Suspense: 75,000 – 95,000 words
- Horror: 61,000 – 85,000 words, aiming for 80k
- Cozy Mystery: 70,000 – 85,000 words, aiming for 80k
- Noir Mysteries: 80,000 – 90,000 words
- Historical Fiction: 80,000 – 120,000 words
Everyone knows of that one book they love that’s really short or really long, and there are exceptions to every rule. But if you are trying to catch the attention of an agent or publisher, the closer you follow their rules the more likely they are to pay attention to your submission — BECAUSE THEY KNOW WHAT SELLS. And they know you can follow instructions. And you can edit yourself.
Please note that the book industry counts by the word, NOT by the page due to differences in formatting, etc. You can estimate your word count by assuming ~250 words per typed page but you’re best off using the Word Count feature available in most word processing programs.
Update: I just came across this very helpful chart from @WritersDigest, on their blog – Word Count for Novels and Children’s Books: The Definitive Post by Chuck Sambuchino:
#TheWriteLife #OliviaBlacke
