Depending on the genre, readers have different expectations about how long a book should be. Creating a book that deviates from genre criteria reduces your chances of reaching your target audience. Publishing house editors are aware of the book-length criteria and will reject your book outright if it does not meet them.
Knowing the average length for your genre might help you arrange your bookâs sequence and plot arc. But how can you figure out about average book word count? And how do you figure out how much book word count should be? The length of genre books is regulated by the publishing business. Weâll go over each one in-depth.
Because books come in all sizes are they are printed with a variety of typefaces and leading, the average number of pages does not provide a clear sign of length. The number of words is the most accurate approach to determine the length.
The tool of word count is available in most writing software like MS Word, Google Docs, Grammarly, Scrivener, Ulysses, etc. You can choose a target word count, and the software will be tracking your progress and tell you when youâve achieved it.
Since every book has a basic contract with the reader, word count is important. The genre dictates a word count for your book.
Being a writer, I realized the importance of the word count of a book. Each genre demands different word counts. Further, I am going to tell you about How many words per page in a book are suitable. Keep reading this blog to find out!
Page Contents
How many words per page in a book is suitable?
Another common question, and for most writers, the answer should be as simple as using the word count tool.
If youâre using Microsoft Word, you can use the âword countâ option under âTools.â Do you want to try something new? In Google Docs, hereâs the way to discover the word count. In Scrivener, you can also keep track of how many words youâve written.
The average single-spaced manuscript typed in the 12-point font has roughly 500 words per page, however, this varies a lot depending on how you arrange it.
Thus, in the event that you simply have an hour to compose and need to get 300 words down, you may be thinking about the number of pages 300 words rises to â the appropriate response is fewer than one! Isnât it possible?
If youâre looking for an answer to a question like how many pages are in 50,000 words, simply divide your goal word count (50,000) by 500 (the average number of words per page). Your response is 100 pages long.
Donât let the commas scare you. A yearâs worth of fifty thousand words isnât that much when divided into five days a week. That works out to only 193 words per day of writing!
With these word count calculators, you can easily track how much youâve got covered.
I hope now you understand the importance of an average number of words per page and can write according to that so that your readers may want to stick to your book.
Top 3 Reasons Why Word Count Is Important In Writing a Book in 2023
While there are no hard and fast laws on how many words a book should have, there are some criteria that are highly recommended in the traditional publishing industry, particularly for first-time authors. Letâs be honest: we canât be professional famous writers like Nicholas Sparks and J.K. Rowling and write a bestseller as our first book.
Youâll need to keep track of how many words you utilize in your first draught unless youâre self-publishing. There are three reasons why word count is important.
- Shorter Books are more marketable.
When it comes to large books/novels, a literary agency and a traditional publisher are less likely to take a chance on a new writer. The ideal word count for an adult fiction book is the most marketable.
- The cost of printing longer novels is higher.
Longer books necessitate a greater number of pages to be printed and the book size is increased too. Subsequently, they are costlier to print and address bigger speculation.
- Audiences anticipate a certain number of words.
Audiences have come to expect a specific story length and page count, so an unknown author can draw in more readers by sticking inside that range.
How Long Should a Book Be in 2023?
If youâre writing your first book, the conventional rule of thumb is to keep it between 80,000 and 100,000 words. While an average words limit of 40,000 can be deemed as a book, 50,000 words are considered the minimum length. For a fiction novel, anything over 110,000 words is considered excessively long.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien has a massive word count, with the longest clocking in at almost 175,000 words. Those epic sagas are the uncommon exception to typical word count constraints, notwithstanding their continued success. In most cases, youâll want to keep your book as brief as possible.
Inside the universe of scholarly fiction, various kinds have diverse word counts:
Thriller Book
To keep the reader involved, a good suspense thriller must keep the storyline moving. A mystery novel book structure consists of 70,000 to 90,000 words long.
Science fiction and fantasy Book
World-building is an art form in science fiction and fantasy books. This genre takes longer than others due to the requirement to create a whole new environment. The average length of a fantasy book is 90,000 to 120,000 words.
Romance Book
Not every love tale is as epic as Wuthering Heights in romance novels. Romantic stories are now more often than not entertaining and quick reads. Some are as short as 50,000 words, making them ideal beach reads. The word count for a high-end romantic novel is 100,000.
Historical fiction Book
Because fleshing out an imagined historical environment necessitates a higher word count; historical fiction is usually around 100,000 words.
Non-fiction Book
Due to the numerous subgenres, there is no fixed word count guide for nonfiction books. If youâre producing a nonfiction book, search up that genre to see how long other books in that genre are. Memoirs, for example, are commonly between 80,000 and 90,00 words long.
All of these are typical book word count ranges and should not be used to determine the exact number of words you must include in your book. Weâve all heard about outliers in each genre who were published far below or far over these word counts.
Use these figures as a starting point for your writing objectives.
Know what readers expect as far as word includes in your classification regardless of whether the reader isnât aware of their assumptions for how long a book ought to be.
I hope now you understand whatâs the ideal book size of different niches and how many words is the average book?
Itâs fine whether your book is currently too long or too short.
That is the purpose of revision. Some writers including me write quickly and then have to go back and fill in the blanks. Some folks who make me jealous compose long pieces that must be edited and tightened. This is quite natural. On a first draught, very few people get it properly. Whatâs more, guess what? You still managed to finish a draught! OMG â rejoice, regardless of your word count!
Then, at that point, will chip away at improving it.
Iâm sure youâre still trying to persuade yourself that your work can be published as is, and youâre coming up with excuses. There are always exceptions to the rule. My book club recently finished reading The Nightingale, a 167,000-word novel. Although I did not find this to be excessively long, Kristin Hannah is a bestselling author.
Before The Nightingale, she had been publishing for more than 20 years, and the rest of her books are much shorter, closer to 100,000-120,000 words, which is well within historical fictionâs range.
Novellas are also available for purchase. I recently finished rereading Susan Minotâs Rapture, which is roughly 35,000 words long and fantastic. However, a publisher would be crazy to take on a novella by a rookie author who hadnât already been writing for publications like The New Yorker.
Yes, now and again, a book by a debut author is produced that is abnormally long or short. However, think about what happens much more oftentimes? The Powerball is won by someone. If you think youâre the happy exception and have the Midas Touch, get over to the convenience store as soon as possible, my buddy. Youâll save a ton of time thusly.
When should you be concerned with word count?
Donât think about it all when youâre writing. Simply put, write. As I previously stated, the majority of first draughts will be either too long or too short (not to mention too boring or confusing or predictable, with plot holes and caricatures and flat dialogue to boot). For the love of God, theyâre draughts! On revision, we clean them up.
Give word count a good hard look when youâre ready to pitch agents, small publishers, or self-publish.
Again, why raise the issue of word count if it is a red flag for agents and editors? You want to do everything you can to improve your chances because the competition is so stiff.
It may not seem fair that someone would criticize your book before reading it in its entirety, but you would do the same. Would you give a sledgehammer to the person who quotes you $999 or the one who asks for $20,000 if you were in the market for a kitchen makeover (roughly the same degree of stress and commitment as an agency taking on an author) and the market rate is $10,000?
Remember that this person is completely new to the position and has no previous experience. No way, no how. Youâll take their business card, close the door as quickly as possible, and examine the contractors who appear to know what theyâre doing more closely.
When it comes to self-publishing, does the word count matter?
Both yes and no. When you self-publish, you are the boss, copyrighter and your book may be as long as you want it to be. You can call that 12,000-word piece a book, however, will pursuers feel like they got what they anticipated? Similarly, if you donât mind paying for printing, you may self-publish a 400,000-word tome. Should you, however, do so?
Letâs think about movies for a moment because theyâre a little easier to mass-produce and youâre more likely to have seen the same ones.
There are several fantastic three-hour films available. Almost none of them were written, produced, or acted in by new people. No one wants to take a chance on an unknown teamâs extra-long narrative. Even when you consider most three-hour films with well-known directors and performers, many of them might have been cut in half. Did Titanic need every single scenario in which they became submerged again?
If you want to ensure that your book or ghostwriting provides the finest possible reading experience, you should edit it so that it is completely fleshed out while still being a finely written page-turner.
Fixing an excessively long book
This is the point at which authors groan and say, âOK, Iâll split it into multiple books.â This sounds like an easy way out, like padding a too-short book, but itâs not the solution.
If weâre talking about a novel or memoir, youâll need a detailed, fulfilling story arc in which the protagonist urgently wants something, faces challenges in obtaining it, and emerges a transformed person at the conclusion.
Each following book would have to be able to stand alone and take the reader on a complete journey. You canât just publish a chapter of a book and expect people to wait for the whole of the novel to be published later. Books can certainly be part of a series as kids books usually are, but each one has its story arc.
Breaking off in the middle of a non-fiction book is just as problematic. When an author effectively produces multiple books on a topic, they do not quit in the middle of each one. Each book has its theme or technique, or they may have taken the same concept but tweaked it for a new readership.
FAQâs
1) How many words are in a 100-page book?
Totally depends on the font youâre using but 250-300 words per page is a good rule of thumb. As a result, the overall word count should be around 25,000.
2) How many words are in a 200-page book?
A 200-page book has a word count of between 50000 and 60000 words. It varies depending on the workâs complexity, the language used, the font and letter sizes used, and so on.
3) How many words are in a 300-page book?
It depends on the font and size of the text, as well as the size of the page. Most books are between 65,000 and 90,000 words long. This varies by genre, target audience, and author.
4) How many words are in a 400-page book?
When it comes to a 400-page book. There are approximately 100,000 words. It depends on font size and writer on how they put it up.
5) How many words are in a 500-page book?
Let me tell you how many words are in the 500-page book. Total words in a 500-page book are 150,000-200,000.
Conclusion
There are valid reasons for standard word counts in most published publications, but donât get caught up in the numbers. Find out why your book is too lengthy or too short, and then change it.
Donât make it repetitive!! You must maintain your focus. Rather than defending your bookâs numbers, get down to business and edit, edit, edit.
I hope with this article, all your concerns about the average book word count and now youâll be able to use this valuable information into producing the book that is going to be the top-selling.
If you are looking for a professional book writing service, then get in touch withMczell Book Writingtoday.
FAQs
Book Word Count Guide 2023: How Many Words Per Page in a Book? âș
Totally depends on the font you're using but 250-300 words per page is a good rule of thumb. As a result, the overall word count should be around 25,000.
How many words should be on each page of a book? âșOn a normal book page, about 250-300 words fit on a page. This, of course, depends on the font, but that's the standard. So a 40,000 word novel would be about 130 pages in a standard book.
How many words does the average book have per page? âșUltimately, you can expect there to be roughly 300 words per page in a book you write as a whole. Because dialogue requires paragraph breaks, there will be fewer words than if you have a few pages of full paragraphs instead of dialogue. On average, there are about 300 words per page in a book.
How many words is a 200 page book? âșHow many words are in a 200-page book? A 200-page book is about 60,000 words in traditional publishing, assuming you fit 300 words to a page.
How many words is a typical 300 page book? âșSetting a page and word count goal will help writers figure out how long the book writing process may take. The average paperback book ranges from 200 to 300 pages, averaging about 275 words per page. A 300-page book will have approximately 82,500 words total.
How many words is a decent sized book? âșAverage Word Count For A Novel
The average word count for adult fiction is between 70,000 to 120,000 words. For children's fiction, the general rule is the younger the audience the shorter the book, and for YA novels the average is 50,000-70,000 words. Non-fiction word counts sit between 70,000-120,000 words.
A 100 page book is about 30,000 words. If you write more than 1500 words per week, you can expect for it to take 2 â 4 months to write a 100 page book.
How long is the average book in pages? âșWhen wondering how many pages a book should be, it is notable that the average book length is between 200-400 pages. With this in mind, what considerations should be taken when deciding how long a book should be? Check comparable titles. Go to a bookstore and find your book's genre.
How many pages is considered a book? âșSome argue that anything over 40,000 words can be considered a novel. The general consensus, however, is that a novel should be at least 50,000 words long, is approximately 200 pages. This means that 200 pages is a sufficient length for a novel. But, we also have to consider the genre.
How many chapters should a book have? âșMost nonfiction books have between 5 and 20 chapters. Any less than 5 and your chapters may be running long or may contain too many ideas. That said, there are plenty of books with 30 or 40 chapters. And some books, usually with very short chapters, can have 50+.
How many pages should a first book be? âș
Number of pages in a book for a first-time author
For a first release, 200 pages are enough. One can also look at authors like Chetan Bhagat, who continue to release books well below the 300-page mark even today.
J.K Rowling took six years to write Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first book in the Harry Potter series.
How long should a book be to get published? âșTypically, a book that is published in paperback format at a length of 300-400 pages will come in between 80,000 and 100,000 words. For adult fiction (especially crime, thrillers, women's fiction, saga and romance), 100,000 words is a good benchmark to aim for.
How many chapters should a 300 page book have? âșA novel of 300 pages is more likely to have 30 chapters of 10 pages than 10 chapters of 30 pages. Long chapters can become tiresome, and readers like to end a reading session at the end of a chapter. You would expect paragraph length to vary as much as chapter length, but normally it doesn't.
What is considered a long book? âșIf 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. While anything over 40,000 words can fall into the novel category, 50,000 is considered the minimum novel length. Anything over 110,000 words is considered too long for a fiction novel.
How many pages a day does Stephen King write? âș4) Stephen King â 2000 Words
In it, King discusses his writing routine and how he writes around 2000 words (or six full pages) every workday.
| Cover Size | Trimmed Pages | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardcovers (Dust Jacket and ImageWrap) | Cover Size 9.75 Ă 8.25 in (24.77 Ă 20.96 cm) | Trimmed Pages 9.50 Ă 8.00 in (24.10 Ă 20.32 cm) |
| Softcover | Cover Size 9.50 Ă 8.00 in (24.10 Ă 20.32 cm) | Trimmed Pages 9.50 Ă 8.00 in (24.10 Ă 20.32 cm) |
The standard book size is six inches wide and nine inches tall (6"x 9"). Your book will probably be cheapest to print, easiest to read, and easiest to sell (e.g., it'll fit on bookstore shelves) in this size. Larger books are harder to hold, carry, or put on a shelf.
Do short stories count as books? âșMost short stories do not get published as stand-alone books unless they are part of a collection. Instead, they get published in literary magazines, which have strict limits on the length stories can run.
How many pages should a chapter be? âșThere are no rules when it comes to chapter length. The important thing is to concentrate on making your chapters fit your story, not on making your story fit your chapters. Many novelists these days prefer chapters that are between 1,500 wordsâor six book pagesâ and 8,000 words, or 32 book pages.
Can you write a book in a week? âș
It is entirely possible to write a book in one week. I know, because I've done it. But the bottom line is, you can't achieve such a feat around normal life. You have to schedule a complete week off from work, family, social commitments, the gym â basically, you need to escape your life for 7 full days.
How many words should a chapter be? âșSome will tell you 2,500 words is the average, while others will say that 3,000 to 5,000 word chapters are more likely to be the norm. Most agree that under 1,000 words would be rather short and that over 5,000 might be rather too long. As a general guideline, chapters should be between 3,000 to 5,000 words.
What is the most popular length of a book? âșFinding the 'sweet spot'
Literary agent Juliet Mushens of Mushens Entertainment says that 80,000 to 100,000 words is often given as the standard for adult novels, and much of what authors are trying to do can be done within that word count.
Words and Pages in a Book
Some figures overlap and a consensus is that, on average, a book is about 60,000 -90,000 words long. That is approximately 200-350 pages.
What is a good reading speed in pages? While slow readers usually read up to 30 pages per hour, average readers can read about 40 pages per hour.
What is considered a small book? âșMass-market Paperbacks: These are the books you'll see at airports, convenience stores, and supermarkets. They're small and low priced. They're also called pocket books since they fit neatly in your pocket; the size is usually around 4.25â x 6.87.â
Should my book be double spaced? âșIn a manuscript for a book, every line should be double spaced. However, do not add extra lines between paragraphs. Double-spacing makes it easier to read and provides room for editors to mark up the document.
Is 300 pages a lot for a book? âșThe average reader will read 300 pages in 8.3 hours when reading at a speed of 300 words per minute (wpm). Typical documents that are 300 pages or more include full-length novels. A typical single-spaced page is 500 words long. You may read faster or slower than this depending on your average reading speed.
What is the best chapter length of a book? âșSpecifically, how long a chapter should be. Average novel chapter lengths fall in the 3,000- to 4,000-word range. But there are plenty of wildly successful books that have longer and shorter chapters. Nonfiction chapters often fall around the 4,000-word mark, but this is highly dependent on subject matter.
Should I name my chapters? âșTitles certainly aren't necessary for individual chapters. Plenty of great novels simply use numbered chapters to break the story into sections. Still, some novelists use chapter breaks as an opportunity to add clarity or another dimension to the unfolding story.
When should you start a new chapter in a book? âș
2. Break Chapters When Your Story Requires a Shift. Changes of place, changes of time, and changes of point of view are all excellent places for chapter breaks. Sometimes, our stories necessitate them.
How much does it cost to publish a book? âșThe average cost to publish a book falls within the $200-$2500 range and includes publishing costs such as cover design, editing, formatting, and book printing. However, it's important to note that the publishing type you choose will also factor into the overall cost to publish a book.
How many words should I write for my first book? âșFor first-time writers, the general rule is a debut novel should land between 80,000 and 100,000 words. 50,000 is considered a minimum novel length and anything over 100,000 may be considered too long.
How long does it take to read 1 page of a book? âșMost statistics consider a page to contain roughly 300 words. Taking into account that an average reader can go through around 300 words in a minute, the short answer is obviously that on average a page takes roughly 1 minute to be read.
How many hours a day do writers write? âșErica Vetsch: The true answer isâit depends. If I'm on a deadline of some kind, I can write from 4-6 hours a day. Mostly, I write from 2-4 hours on weekday afternoons. I do lots of other writing tasks like editing, marketing, blogging, etc, but for writing on the manuscript, I average about 3 hours per weekday.
How many publishers rejected her manuscript? âșHer manuscript was rejected by 12 different publishing houses before she finally found a publisher. But even with the incredibly successful "Harry Potter" franchise under her belt, one of Rowling's newer manuscripts was also recently denied.
How many publishers rejected Harry Potter? âșThe novel was rejected by 12 different publishing houses before Bloomsbury accepted it. It goes on: "A copy was submitted to Bloomsbury Publishing and was a significant step in convincing them to offer J.K. Rowling her first contract."
How many books should an author publish a year? âșYou can publish as much or as little as you like. If your primary income comes from writing, you should look to publish at least 1-5 books a year. Writing x amount of books does not guarantee you x amount of profit, as writing one book can take a week, a year, or even several years.
What is the success rate of getting a book published? âșWithin the book publishing industry, it is agreed that the odds of an author getting their work published stands between 1% and 2%. Despite this low number, more than 95% of manuscripts received by publishers and agents are below the level the standard required.
How often should you publish a book? âșIn most cases when it comes to fiction, it's important to publish at least once a year, although many authors think that once every six months is ideal. This gives you enough time to write a book, get it edited and through production so that the book is as good as it possibly can be.
Can chapters be 3 pages long? âș
A: There are no hard-and-fast rules on how long or short a chapter needs to be. It could be three pages.
How long can you finish a 500 page book? âș| Number of pages | đą Slow (150 wpm) | đ Average (300 wpm) |
|---|---|---|
| 250 pages | 13.9 hours | 6.9 hours |
| 500 pages | 1.2 days | 13.9 hours |
| 750 pages | 1.7 days | 20.8 hours |
| 1000 pages | 2.3 days | 1.2 days |
Short and sweet
Quick reads are not a genre unto themselves, which means there isn't an agreed-upon length marking the line between long and short books. That said, most so-called short books have no more than 250 pages.
Non-fiction books are best between 100 to 250 pages (20,000-60,000 words). They should rarely be more than 250 or 300 pages (of course there are always exceptions depending on your target audience) Memoirs can be longer, between 240-520 pages (60,000-130,000 words)
How many pages does a book have to be to publish on Amazon? âșWe'll calculate your page count based on your manuscript file, rounding up to an even number if necessary. The minimum page count is 24 pages, and the maximum page count depends on ink, paper, and trim size options.
What time do writers wake up? âșâI usually get up fairly early, I got up at 4:30 this morning, but I usually get up between 6 and 6:30. I always have a pad on my bedside, in case I want to write straight away. I also have a habit at night of leaving a sentence unfinished, so I can pick up on it the next morning.
How fast do authors write? âșThe average time to write a book for most authors is 180 days, or 6 months, more or less. Usually, it takes authors anywhere from 4-8 months to complete a book. However, you can definitely write a book faster than that!
Do authors write everyday? âșSome writers, like Stephen King, require themselves to write a certain number of words every single day without fail, producing dozens, even hundreds of novels over the course of a career. Others, like Harper Lee, spend a lifetime writing only one or two books. But every human needs to take a break at times.
How many pages is 1,000 words? âșGenerally, a word count of 1000 words will result in around 3-4 pages when using a standard 12-point font and double-spaced.
Is 200 words enough for a page? âșA 200 words essay will be 0.4 pages single-spaced or 0.8 pages double-spaced. A standard single-spaced page contains 500 words.
How many pages is 5000 words for a small book? âș
Answer: 5000 words is 10 pages single spaced or 20 pages double spaced.
How many pages is 500 words? âșHow many pages is 500 words? A 500-word essay is typically between 1-3 pages in length. This will depend on the font and font size, as well as spacing.
How many pages is 500 to 1000 words? âșA 4 pages essay will be 2000 words single-spaced or 1000 words double-spaced. A standard single-spaced page contains 500 words.
How many pages is 1500 to 2000 words? âș3 pages is 1,500 words single spaced, 750 words double spaced. 4 pages is 2,000 words single spaced, 1,000 words double spaced.
How many pages is 1,000 to 2,000 words? âș| Word Count | Pages (single-spaced) | Pages (double-spaced) |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 WORDS | 2 PAGES | 4 PAGES |
| 1,200 WORDS | 2â PAGES | 4â PAGES |
| 1,500 WORDS | 3 PAGES | 6 PAGES |
| 2,000 WORDS | 4 PAGES | 8 PAGES |
The general consensus, however, is that a novel should be at least 50,000 words long, is approximately 200 pages. This means that 200 pages is a sufficient length for a novel.
How many words should a first page be? âșWhile a general guideline is one page is 500 words (single spaced) or 250 words (double spaced), this is a ballpark figure. 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.
How many pages is a novel? âșNovels are typically 250 to 350 pages; with about 250 to 300 words per page. This will depend on genre and word count.
Can a short story be 10 pages? âșThere is no maximum length, but the average short story is 1,000 to 7,500 words, with some outliers reaching 10,000 or 15,000 words. At around 10 to 25 pages, that makes short stories much shorter than novels, with only a few approaching novella length.
How long is a short book? âșWord Counts For Short Stories, Novellas And Novelettes
Short story: over 1,000 words, usually less than 10,000. Novelette: 7,500 to 19,000 words. Novella: 10,000 to 40,000 words.
Is 20,000 words too short for a book? âș
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. While anything over 40,000 words can fall into the novel category, 50,000 is considered the minimum novel length. Anything over 110,000 words is considered too long for a fiction novel.
What does a 500 word page look like? âșA 500 word count will create about 1 page with single spacing or 2 pages double-spaced when using normal 1-inch margins, 12 pt. Arial font, and a standard A4 (letter size) page size.
How long does it take to write a 500 word novel? âșQuick Answer: For an average typer working on an easy project, it takes about 30 minutes to write 500 words.
How many pages is 300 to 500 words? âș| Word Count | Pages (single-spaced) | Pages (double-spaced) |
|---|---|---|
| 250 WORDS | œ PAGE | 1 PAGE |
| 300 WORDS | â PAGE | 1â PAGES |
| 400 WORDS | â PAGE | 1â PAGES |
| 500 WORDS | 1 PAGE | 2 PAGES |