How Many Words Should My Book Be?

by Caleb Kaiser, @ReedsyHQ

Word count is one of those things you don’t think about when you start writing the first page of your novel. It’s only after your book is completed, when you’re shopping around for agents or thinking of self-publishing, that you think, “Is my book the right length for selling?”

At Reedsy, we’ve connected thousands of authors with editors, proofreaders, designers, and marketers, and as a result, have access to a lot of data on books—particularly, book length.

Below we’ve broken down our insights on how long different genres of books should be.

1. Writing For Middle Grade Or YA Audiences? Keep It Brief

The average young adult manuscript clocks in at between 50,000 and 75,000 words, while the average middle grade manuscript is much shorter, at 20,000-55,000 words.

While these numbers can be a bit skewed by the fantasy genre—which across the board tends to run longer—the trend is clear. If you’re writing for a younger audience, keep your novel shorter. Think about how many books you were assigned in school at that age, and how long the average one was.

2. If You’re Writing Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Shoot Longer

Sci-fi and fantasy are two genres were books, on average, go far longer than normal. The average sci-fi and fantasy books run between 100,000 and 115,000 words—which means that most other genres of books have a maximum length of sci-fi/fantasy’s minimum length.

When you think about it, this makes intuitive sense. Sci-fi and fantasy are both genres where intense world-building is more common, and with the exception of romance, there is probably not a genre where fans become more loyal to the authors they love—and therefore, more willing to read longer works.

3. For Anything Else, You’ve Got An Easy Sweet Spot

For all other genres of writing, a manuscript clocking in between 80,000 and 100,000 words should be perfect length-wise. Really, it’s remarkable how many different genres fall into this neatly:

• Commercial and literary novels: 80,000 – 100,000 words.
• Romance: 80,000 – 100,000 words.
• Mystery: 75,000 – 100,000 words.
• Thriller: 90,000 – 100,000 words.
• Memoir: 80,000 – 90,000 words.

The one big exception to this is westerns, which are traditionally shorter (between 45,000 and 75,000 words) and fall into series.

Exceptions To The Rule

Now of course, if you’re writing a phenomenal manuscript that happens to go over these averages (or fall under them), no one is going to refuse to read your book because of its length. Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix clocked in at 257,045 words, and was still an international bestseller.

However, understand that when you do deviate from these norms, you’re asking agents and readers to take a risk on you. There’s a reason the first Harry Potter novel clocked in at 76,944 words—no one was willing to take a risk yet.

If you have a classic on your hands, don’t fret the word count. In general, however, try to fall between these averages if you want a commercially viable book.

Caleb Kaiser runs outreach at Reedsy, a marketplace connecting authors and publishers with top talent in the publishing world.

What’s the word count of your books?  How long are the books you usually choose to read? 

Photo credit: ♔ Georgie R on VisualHunt.com / CC BY-ND