Average non fiction book length in word

There is an important question that needs to be answered in your book proposal in the manuscript status section. If the average length is 300 pages, youre looking at a 75,000 word manuscript approximately one reason its harder for a new author to sell a 140,000 word manuscript is the size of the book. Determine the approximate length of your finished book. You 50,000 word manuscript may be half the page length of another authors 50,000 word manuscript. If youre a wordy writer, you may have pages with a lot more than that. The 1 thing you need to do to write a new york times. Generally speaking, a shorter book of 150 finished pages or 40k words or less typically commands a lower price. Yet any piece of fiction climbing over the 110,000 word mark also tends to give editors. One of my biggest problems as a publisher is having authors deliver more than was agreed to.

Here is what 187 words looks like in microsoft word. Nonfiction wordcounts sit between 70,000120,000 words. Think carefully before you declare a word count in your. Most print publishers prefer a minimum word count of around 70,000 words for a first novel, and some even hesitate for any work shorter than 80,000.

These are books that resemble young adult in matter and storytelling. Ya novels are rarely over 75k, historical novels go up to 120k, ditto speculative fiction. By 2017, however, that number has dropped to 273 pages. Use renaissance learning to research word counts on existing titles. However, many authors, frustrated with the low price of ebooks, have taken to writing ebooks that are between 40,000 and 50,000. By fiction standards that is considered very short novella size in fact. I know fiction works on average come in at 60,000 but i really had no idea about non fiction. Alternatively, this is an acceptable length for a short work of nonfiction.

But depending on the ereading device and the font size setting, it varies significantly between a phone, a tablet, or a kindle. An ebook could be 3,000 words or as long as a fulllength book. One of the most important urban fiction publishing requirements is formatting. However sometimes, like today, the reverse happens. Amazon ebook page length by genre kindle page length. As for nonfiction books, the standard bestsellers have word counts similar to adult novels. Word count is commonly used by translators to determine the price of a translation job. Im going to write about my experience and not worry too much about the word count.

Urban fiction publishing requirements urban fiction news. For most publishers, a book is novel length when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words. While average word length is 50,000 to 80,000 words, this genre has so much variety that word count depends on the book and its intended audience. Since 2011, the average length of a bestseller has dropped steadily from year to year. The length can vary greatly between genres, though.

But, most nonfiction publishers want to be sold the concept, and therefore be able to discuss the direction of the project, before you write the book. For nonfiction mgya i looked at 2009 nonfiction mgya nominations for yalsa and the cybils. I dont know what i can say to add to what has already been said. And for every book that sells 20,000, there is one that is a disaster. That number actually lines up pretty well with the data we have on this, but again, that number should neither be. Amazon estimates a page count in an ebook to be around 187 words. Every category will have an average length, including childrens books, young adult, business books, etc. That doesnt mean you can submit a manuscript twice the length a publisher recommends. In fiction, a short book is between 50,000 to 80,000 words roughly 200 300 pages in paperback. A good way to gauge appropriate length is to check out similar books for comparison. Less than 100 pages and it becomes difficult for a printer to print the title of the book on the spine.

The average wordcount for adult fiction is between 70,000 to 120,000 words. 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. In this article im going to attempt to answer that question. I dont know if the question is meant as a mentalstatistical exorcise.

Indeed, most traditional publishers limit nonfiction authors to 80,000 words for standard 6 x 9 books, between 240 and 280 pages. The harry potter books are young adult titles, and ya publishers generally look for manuscripts in the 50,000 to 80,000word range. Writing for children age categories determine the guidelines for your childrens book at suite 101. When writing a longer book that is aimed at 12yearolds and could maybe be considered tween, using the term upper middle grade is advisable. The average fiction book is about 80,000 to 100,000 words, which is about 246 to 307 ebook pages. So 50,000 words is the minimum for a nonfiction book. If youd like some guidelines, you can assume that the average nonfiction book is 50k words, and that they have 12 chapters, so around 4k words would be an average chapter length. How to set the retail price for your nonfiction book. Literary agent paula munier says a 90,000 word count is the sweet spot for debut fiction.

However, there is a wide range of acceptable word counts for nonfiction books. What is a reasonable estimate for the minimum length, in word count, for a nonfiction book. I would like your guidance please i have tried searching for this info, but cannot find anything regarding a suggested ebook length for a work of fiction. Your guide to book word counts fiction and nonfiction. I recommend looking at a large variety to avoid exceptions. This is about the length readers want for general nonfiction, and it keeps publishers happy given the high cost of paper. Its good to have a word count in mind when you start. Estimate your page count book designer fiona raven. When converting character counts to words, a measure of 5 or 6 characters to a word is generally used for english. The average length of a nonfiction book is 50,000 words, with some books falling at around 3540,000 words, and others running as long as 70,000. If yes, then most publishers still work on specific word count lengths for books so youll probably be aiming for around 60,00080,000 words for nonfiction. I am working on a book about my experience with losing a 9 year old cat to lymphoma.

You can use comparable, successful books as models to determine the length you book should be. 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 encyclopedia. A quick word from the wise, well me dont do it publishers are turned off or more politely annoyed with a synopsis that doesnt give it away so to speak. A word count guide for 18 book genres, including fiction.

With upper middle grade, you can aim for 40,000 55,000 words. Word counts may also be used to calculate measures of readability and to measure typing and reading speeds usually in words per minute. A nonfiction book attractive to publishers of bestsellers starts at around 75,000 words. Many urban fiction publishers dont require a synopsis but be prepared if you find one that does. How many pages would my manuscript be in paperback. In 2011, the lists average length peaked at 467 pages. This is not an uncommon length in traditional publishing, especially in my observation for nonfiction books that are heavy on research. Im curious about your advice compose the novel in the standard format from the start rather than changing it later why does this matter. This information is important whether you are writing fiction or nonfiction. Is it expected that chapter lengths are more or less of similar length. I think my biggest question about word counts is how does a writer best estimate word count for a proposal for a nonfiction piece when only two or three sample chapters are submitted. I know of an author with a very large publisher whose novel has sold only 1,087 copies in its lifetime. One of the questions that new writers always ask is how long should my nonfiction book be.

Generally a 50,000word novel would be the minimum word count. Recently i got asked this question, what is the ideal length word count wise for my first book. I know that in fiction book chapter lengths can vary dramatically for various reasons. Although science fiction and some other genres have been creeping up and can now exceed 400 pages 200,000 words. T he indie author chris fox coined the term potato chip chapters for easilydigestible book chapters of a certain size. Be aware that the word average means that for every book that sells 15,000, there is one that sells 5,000. But i also know of others who have sold over 500,000 copies. I heard 10,000 words can be accepted as an ebook at a short length at least for nonfiction. Surely when writing the important thing is to get words on the page even if theyre in pink comic sans. Id guesstimate that nonfiction books generally yes, this is very rough run perhaps 150450 pages, and at about 350 wdpage that works out to something like 50150k words. Pencilthin books on narrow topics that are under 50,000 words are quite common. The average nonfiction book, if such a thing exists, runs about 50,000 words. If the topic really justifies length and especially if your credentials are highly impressive you can go longer, but check that you remain interesting, even at length. Book size is often based on how thick the spine will be and how it will stand out in a bookstore although things are changing.

Even the complexity of the words you use affects how many words are on a page. Neither too long nor too short, this book length signals a novelists competency and knowledge of the publishing market to prospective agents and editors. If youre new to selfpublishing on amazon and wondering, just how much should i write for my kindle book then this post is for you. And this ebook page length differs significantly depending on the book genre. For most publishers, a book is novellength when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words. 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. 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. You dont want to overwrite and end up with a 100,000word book when all you wanted was a 20,000word book. With that in mind, ive tried to put together the definitive post on word count for fiction novels, young adult, middle grade, childrens books and even memoir. As for non fiction books, the standard bestsellers have word counts similar to adult novels.

But rules are made to be broken, and the most successful publishing phenomenon in history did just that. At the other end of the spectrum a book of 80,000 to 100,000 words has significant heft, 320400 pages. If a page is 500 words on an ipad, and 250 words on a kindle, it might be only 120 words on a phone. That means your manuscript must be at least 3540,000 words long. And conversely, a longer book of over 60k words or 200 pages can command a higher price. Word count for novels and books is something i dont think about too often until i travel to a writers conference, and then someone asks a simple, innocent question. In fact, the majority of printed books are turned into ebooks. The retail price you set for your book impacts your profit margin. Before diving into the specifics of genrebased word counts, lets look at the broader picture of average book length. However, there is a wide range of acceptable word counts for non fiction books.