Average non fiction book length in word count for non-fiction

Amazon ebook page length by genre kindle page length. Romance novels often run between 50,000 and 90,000 words on average. Science fiction and fantasy novels typically have a word count between 90,000 to 125,000 words. How many words should be in an adult nonfiction book. The question of how long your manuscript should be is sometimes hard to answer because different publishers have different guidelines. Im going to give you some information here, but first i want you to know why this is important. Then, more importantly, lets talk strategy and consider some case studies. Word count and book length getting published was indeed a good blog post. A word count guide for 18 book genres, including fiction and. Easygoing, fairly light, userfriendly, nonfiction book for the masses. I guess 50,000 is a short novel and some early novels before goes as low as 40,000 which can be considered to be a novella. Before diving into the specifics of genrebased word counts, lets look at the broader picture of average book length. Jun 07, 2017 to answer the immediate question, lets look at some numbers.

Theres nothing worse than a nonfiction book that doesnt engage the reader to keep reading. 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. Indeed, most traditional publishers limit nonfiction authors to 80,000 words for standard 6 x 9 books, between 240 and 280 pages. The size of each chapter will depend on the number of sub topics that you need to write about. Word count is commonly used by translators to determine the price of a translation job. For most publishers, a book is novellength when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words. This is about the length readers want for general nonfiction, and it keeps publishers happy given the high cost of paper. Most middle grade novels are between 40,000 and 69,000 words long.

And a typical howto nonfiction book might need between 7 and 12. We all know of outliers within each genre that have been published well under, or well over, these word counts. That means your manuscript must be at least 35 40,000 words long. Most memoirs need to be in the 70,000 to 100,000 word range. Nov 07, 2016 generally speaking, a shorter book of 150 finished pages or 40k words or less typically commands a lower price. Determine the approximate length of your finished book. And man, people love to point out exceptionsand they always will.

However, there is a wide range of acceptable word counts for nonfiction books. Alternatively, this is an acceptable length for a short work of nonfiction. 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. Only if youre a major celebrity can you blow right through that word count and just keep going. By 2017, however, that number has dropped to 273 pages. Sep 06, 2014 according to chuck sambuchino see below for word count. A nonfiction book attractive to publishers of bestsellers starts at around 75,000 words. That doesnt mean you can submit a manuscript twice the length a publisher recommends. A plan for your book that includes a word count helps you. Most middle grade novels are not pitched as a series. A good example of this is the click moment, by frans johansson, an excellent book on the influence of randomness in determining success.

In 2011, the lists average length peaked at 467 pages. Nothing is standard, and with the opportunities available for printing, the only right answer to how long should my book be. Book length average length of a non fiction booki youtube. By fiction standards that is considered very short novella size in fact. You dont want to overwrite and end up with a 100,000 word book when all you wanted was a 20,000 word book. On the upper end, a novel over 110,000 words is considered an epic. The length of your book should be determined by the content, whether it is a work of fiction or non fiction. In 2011, the average length of a bestselling nonfiction book was 467 pages, but that dropped to 273 pages in 2017. The average nonfiction book, if such a thing exists, runs about 50,000 words. Better to have solid, clear information than rambling to make a page count. Apr 07, 2014 if youre concerned about the final page count for your book, you should know that the average 6.

If perhaps it had even more pictures it would be even a lot better. In the old days, 40,000 was a minimum length for a bookshaped object, and 80,000 would be typical. If youre writing a nonfiction book, be sure to look up that category to find the length of similar books. Surely when writing the important thing is to get words on the page even if theyre in pink comic sans. With digital as well as print books available, the length of books varies. Sep 12, 2018 by book do you mean novel or non fiction. You would be wise to come close to these suggested manuscript lengths. For example, memoirs are generally 80,000 to 90,00 words. As a nonfiction writer myself, i know this is tough. Jul 23, 2012 so 50,000 words is the minimum for a non fiction book. Generally speaking, a shorter book of 150 finished pages or 40k words or less typically commands a lower price. By most peoples standards, 40,000 words would be pretty short for a novel. I wanted it to be on the small size to keep the price down. May 11, 2009 ive completed a small book 34,000 words.

I found some disagreement about the ideal length of mystery novels. 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. Jun 15, 2017 this is a general list of age categories and word counts for childrens books. Is it expected that chapter lengths are more or less of similar length. So lets begin our calculations by focusing on word count first.

Amazons most sold charts rank books according to the number of copies sold and preordered through, amazon books stores, and books read through digital subscription programs once a customer has read a certain percentage roughly the length of a free reading sample. All of these are average book word count ranges and should not be taken as the definitive word count you must reach in your book. The 1 thing you need to do to write a new york times. This information is important whether you are writing fiction or nonfiction. When converting character counts to words, a measure of 5 or 6 characters to a word is generally used for english. I am working on a book about my experience with losing a 9 year old cat to lymphoma. What is a reasonable estimate for the minimum length, in word count, for a nonfiction book. Search for word count totals in books word counters. If in writing your manuscript it feels like it should be two long chapters and then a onepager, thats fine as long as you keep up that pattern throughout the manuscript. The size of each chapter will depend on the number of subtopics that you need to write about.

I have therefore made some averages, based on what ive heard from publishers and agents at childrens book events, and from research and reading. I have often looked this up and got different results, which makes it very confusing. 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. This information is important whether you are writing fiction or non fiction. A good way to gauge appropriate length is to check out similar books. Use these numbers as a baseline for your writing goals.

I use the target average of 1,500 words per chapter. Book length average length of four types of non fiction book. Minimum realistic word count of nonfiction book writing. Jul 14, 2011 book length average length of a non fiction book a 10 minute training video from video discusses how to determine the av. Mary, 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. A reasonable word count for a nonfiction book would be between 30,000 to 50,000 words. I started my nonfiction book with the intention of keep chapters short, but they have blown out some what. The best thing that you can do is look over comparable books and try to judge word count by their size, average words page, and illustration content. Now the decisions can be made based on your writing and whether your book is a fit for that publishing house. 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. The harry potter books are young adult titles, and ya publishers generally look for manuscripts in the 50,000 to 80,000word range. I heard 10,000 words can be accepted as an e book at a short length at least for nonfiction.

A word count guide for 18 book genres, including fiction. The harry potter books are young adult titles, and ya publishers generally look for manuscripts in the 50,000 to 80,000 word range. The average fiction book is about 80,000 to 100,000 words, which is about 246 to 307 ebook pages. In other words no pun intended, tell your story in as many words as necessaryno more, no less. As for nonfiction books, the standard bestsellers have word counts similar to adult novels. However, there is a wide range of acceptable word counts for non fiction books. Although there is not a requirement for the work to be complete before an initial query, this is the word count literary agents want projected and delivered. Its good to have a word count in mind when you start. Specifically, an accessible nonfiction book might be anything between about 30,000 words and 50,000 words. And conversely, a longer book of over 60k words or 200 pages can command a higher price. So if you write a 35,000 word manuscript, your formatted book will likely be around 140 pages. 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. 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.

Word counts may also be used to calculate measures of readability and to measure typing and reading speeds usually in words per minute. A recommended wordcount might be 15002000 words but, more. When you look at competitors book pricing, note the page count. Yet any piece of fiction climbing over the 110,000 word mark also tends to give editors.

Can one chapter be very long and then the next one be much shorter. I know that in fiction book chapter lengths can vary dramatically for various reasons. Minimum realistic word count of nonfiction book writing stack. But rules are made to be broken, and the most successful publishing phenomenon in history did just that. 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. Each page contains about 34 lines, with an average. It should be enough to communicate your message effectively. Much has changed in childrens fiction in the past twenty years. A minimum count for a nonfiction ebook is about 10,000 words, as long as the content is solid.

The word count at big five publishers had a slightly narrower range. A good way to gauge appropriate length is to check out similar books for comparison. Ford, glen book length average length of a non fiction book. Although science fiction and some other genres have been creeping up and can now exceed 400 pages 200,000 words. What is a reasonable estimate for the minimum length, in word count, for a non fiction book. When talking about book length, its common to talk about word count rather than page count. Im going to write about my experience and not worry too much about the word count. 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. Mar 17, 2010 i am working on a book about my experience with losing a 9 year old cat to lymphoma. It takes the question of length completely off the table as an issue. Now, they dont offer word count or running time for books, but they do have a search api. Recently i got asked this question, what is the ideal length word count wise for my first book. This is a lot harder because its not a specific field im receiving back i have to scrape the results and do some crazy parsing of the data.

The retail price you set for your book impacts your profit margin. The most important thing here is to realize that there are always exceptions to these rules. Technically, in fiction, most publishers and awards consider anything over 40,000 words to be a novel, but many publishers wont look at anything under 60,000. The creation of hilow books to help children with low reading levels and readers with additional learning difficulties develop their reading confidence. The length of your book should be determined by the content, whether it is a work of fiction or nonfiction. In this article youll discover the average number of pages for four different types of book. Your chapter structure needs to be in proportion to the overall length of the book. Generally speaking, traditional publishers expect completed nonfiction book. As for non fiction books, the standard bestsellers have word counts similar to adult novels. Mary, i think my biggest question about word counts is how does a writer best estimate word count for a proposal for a non fiction piece when only two or three sample chapters are submitted. Most memoirs need to be in the 70,000 to 100,000word range.

If your book falls within the standard preferred wordcount range, its one less reason for it to be rejected. If your manuscript is on the short side, make this clear when pitching to a publisher and give solid. How to set the retail price for your nonfiction book. Your guide to book word counts fiction and nonfiction. Id guesstimate that non fiction books generally yes, this is very rough run perhaps 150450 pages, and at about 350 wdpage that works out to something like 50150k words. For nonfiction, the people who say a book should be however long it needs to be are absolutely. I know fiction works on average come in at 60,000 but i really had no idea about non fiction. When planning your nonfiction book it helps to have an idea of how long a book needs to be to be marketable.

With so much diversity in non fiction, its selfdefeating to try to set rules on the length of a book. Ya novels are rarely over 75k, historical novels go up to 120k, ditto speculative fiction. Youll probably be familiar with these premium formats. Not necessarily, according to a new study by book in a box of 272 nonfiction books that hit the new york times best sellers list between 2011 and 2017. While the rest of the book is outlined, i find it really difficult to know with much accuracy how many words will actually end up in the remaining chapters. Amazons most read charts rank titles by the average. If you stick to these when youre writing your nonfiction book, youll be fine. Im curious about your advice compose the novel in the standard format from the start rather than changing it later why does this matter.

And this ebook page length differs significantly depending on the book genre. Aug 05, 2019 additionally, knowing your word count before you start writing can help you better plan your narrative arc as well as your writing schedule. Oct 27, 2018 chapter length matters more than you think. However, the drop in the overall average length of bestsellers over the last 7 years points to a marked trend in the overall preferences of the average reader. 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. I asked agents elizabeth pomada and michael larsen of larsen pomada literary agency to add their thoughts to the subject. Writing middle grade a look at the numbers hannah holt. Heres a realworld comparison of some trade paperback sizes. Word count is not the beall and endall of your book. There is no definitive word count guide for nonfiction books due to the many subgenres. So 50,000 words is the minimum for a nonfiction book.

Aug 20, 2012 your reader expects a rhythm in a book and that includes the length of the chapter, as well as the frequency of switching between points of view for fiction. Sep 20, 2019 as you can see, word count for science fiction books vary widely. And, keeping your chapters short creates a good balance between content and action, and fits with this model of short actionable content. Most traditional publishers will place restrictions on an author and require that the manuscript not exceed a specified word count, unless special concessions are made. Rowlings recordbreaking series began with two titles on the high end of that spectrum and finished with five that left the guidelines in the dust. Since 2011, the average length of a bestseller has dropped steadily from year to year. However, we do not suggest writing a novel of 500,000 words unless you as established as stephen king is. The length can vary greatly between genres, though. The average nonfiction book, if such a thing exists, runs about 50,000 to 75,000 words, but this can vary depending upon category.

In todays market, this is the goto paperback size range for many novels, memoirs, and nonfiction books. Mar 20, 2020 so, what length is the right one for a book. In fiction, a short book is between 50,000 to 80,000 words roughly 200 300 pages in paperback. Book length average length of a non fiction book a 10 minute training video from video discusses how to determine the av. Count up the total number of words on 10 random full lines from different places and divide by 10 to get the average wordsperline. I heard 10,000 words can be accepted as an e book at a short length at least for non fiction. Since the new york times nonfiction bestseller list began in 2000, books of all sizes have claimed the top spot. Generally, 50,000 would be considered the minimum word count, and ideally a novel should be over 70,000 words. Think carefully before you declare a word count in your. If youre new to selfpublishing on amazon and wondering, just how much should i write for my kindle book. Pencilthin books on narrow topics that are under 50,000 words are quite common.