How long should my book be?
Great question. One of the most frequent questions new writers ask is about how much they should write for it to ‘become’ a book. Whether you're crafting flash fiction, a short story, a novella, or a full-length novel, understanding the expected word count for each form and genre can guide your process, help you craft a story that engages your readers, and assist in the publishing process.
In writing and publishing, the length of a piece is all about the word count.
Why Word Count Matters
Word counts are more than just numbers—they represent expectations for the scope and depth of a story. If you're writing for publication, following industry standards can increase your chances of acceptance. Here's a quick rundown on why word counts matter:
Story structure: A defined word count helps you plan your story arc and pacing.
Market standards: Publishers have expectations for different story forms and genres, which affects whether your work is considered for publication.
Editing and production costs: Longer manuscripts cost more to produce, so keeping within a target word count can be economically beneficial (this is a key factor for publishers in their decision making for taking on new books).
Recommended Word Counts by Genre
Different genres have varying word count ranges, so it’s advised to stay within those as much as possible. A genre reader will naturally expect a book to be a similar length to what they’re used to, and publishers will accept or reject based on this too.
Here's a breakdown of recommended word counts for common genres to help you plan your book:
Romance
50,000 - 100,000 words. Shorter category romances typically fall in the 50,000 - 70,000 word range, while full-length romances can go up to 100,000 words, though most tend to stay within the shorter range. (The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks is on the shorter end of this, at about 49,000 words.)
Science Fiction and Fantasy
70,000 - 120,000 words. These genres often require more space for world-building and complex plots, with epic fantasy at the higher end. (I have noticed a recent trend in popular fantasy novels stretching above this, with A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas being about 130,000 words. But I’d recommend newer authors stay within the expected range, as the longer books do tend to be by more acclaimed authors. Publishers will be skeptical of longer books by debut writers due to costs associated with publishing and being a higher risk for earning back. For comparison, SJM's earlier books, e.g. Throne of Glass, were about the 100,000 word mark.)
Mystery/Thriller
70,000 - 90,000 words. These genres usually focus on tightly woven plots, so they tend to be shorter.
Literary Fiction
80,000 - 120,000 words. Literary fiction allows for more exploration of themes and character development. Again, you’ll find fewer in the longer end, most about the 80,000 mark. (For example, 1984 by George Orwell is about 89,000 words, fitting well within the expected range for literary fiction.)
Non-Fiction
Varies greatly depending on the topic, but memoirs typically fall in the 60,000 - 90,000 word range, while self-help books are usually shorter, at 30,000 - 60,000 words. They’re easy for people to digest and focus more on the intake of information than the length.
Recommended Word Counts for Different Story Types
Each story type also has a typical range for word counts. Are you starting to sense a pattern? Everything works on word count!
Here's an overview to help you determine where your work fits:
Flash Fiction: 100 - 1,000 words. Flash fiction is the briefest form, often focusing on a single event or moment with a twist or impactful ending.
Short Story: 1,000 - 7,500 words. Short stories generally revolve around one theme or event, with limited characters and settings.
Novelette: 7,500 - 20,000 words. Novelettes allow for more character development and complex plots than short stories but are short and easily digestible.
Novella: 20,000 - 50,000 words. Novellas offer deeper character exploration and multiple plotlines.
Novel: 50,000 - 120,000 words. Novels can support elaborate narratives and extensive world-building, depending on the genre, as mentioned above.
Tips for Planning Your Book Based on Word Counts
Now you know all about the reason for recommended word counts and what the expected word counts might be for your genre and story type, how can you work towards planning and writing your book with the word count in mind?
To effectively plan your book, try these:
Start with an outline
Outline your book to understand the major plot points, character arcs, and key events. This will help you estimate how much space each part of the story will require. Looking at where these hit based on word count can be really helpful. E.g. if you know your genre has an ideal word count of 80,000 words, and the major ‘something goes very wrong’ point is at 75%, then you know that part happens at about the 60,000 word mark.)
Break down the word count
Divide the total word count into sections (e.g., chapters or acts) to get a sense of pacing. This can help you stay on track as you write. For example, if you know your genre works at 80,000 words, you could break that down to 40 chapters of a reasonable 2,000 words per chapter. (I’d recommend keeping your chapters about the 2,000 to 4,000 mark for easy readability. You can vary it a little around that, of course. But take care, if they’re too long, it can tire and frustrate readers. We’ll write another piece on ideal chapter length and why!)
Use scene cards
Write down key scenes on index cards and arrange them to visualise the flow of your story. This method can be especially helpful for complex plots, as you can move them around until it works and flows well.
Track your progress
As you write, keep track of your word count to ensure you're staying within the expected range. This can help you avoid the need for extensive edits later.
Accountability
Following on from the above, tracking your progress can be an excellent way to keep accountable for your work. You can share it on socials, like on Instagram or X, to keep your audience engaged in your progress, and the sharing of your word count (42,489/80,000!) means you feel more motivated to keep going so people in your community can see your progress.
Be flexible
While word counts are important, creativity doesn't always fit into neat boxes. If your story demands more or fewer words, adapt as needed. Just be aware of how deviations from the norm might affect your publishing prospects. Use the word count recommendations as a guide and go from there with what works for your story.
Consider your audience
Think about the expectations of your target audience. For example, young adult fiction is typically shorter than adult fiction, so plan accordingly. It will impact your marketability.
So, how long should my book be?
While these word counts are useful guidelines, remember that they are not strict rules. Some of the best stories transcend conventions, and creativity has no boundaries. Use these recommendations to guide your writing, but feel free to experiment and find what works best for your story. It’s okay to veer a little off the side and figure out what works best for you, but make sure to consider your audience and what they’d expect, along with whether it will impact the publishability (if you want to be trade published) or how much it might cost you to edit, format, and print if you’re choosing to self-publish.
There’s a bit to think about here, but if you know these recommendations, you can plan what works best for you and break it down into manageable steps to make it easy, and then have fun in the writing stage without too much worry on where to go.
Happy writing!
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