Fiction novel chapter word count

Im always confused when it comes not so much to word count, but to word per page count. On average, when writing a memoir should not exceed 90,000 words and that is a stretch when it comes to memoir word count. While there is no exact answer you can examine the length of existing novels to get a general idea. 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. Generally a 50,000word novel would be the minimum word count. New writers tend to assume that a chapter must be a certain set length in order to maintain the average novel length of around 80,000 95,000 words, but in truth, chapters can be as long or as short as you need them to be. Ebook word count should also be accounted for when setting the price of an ebook. As a nonfiction writer myself, i know this is tough. If it has areas that need further explanation the word count will go up. Klems further advises to let your content dictate your chapter length, not the other way around. Mainstream, thriller, horror, romance, suspense, mystery, and literary and you want to adhere to the 3,0005,000 word count range per chapter, then that would probably entail about 16 to 30 chapters.

The hunger games has a word count of 99,750 and my utility calculates it at 98,916. As persuasion progresses, jane austen seems to elongate. Also, the chapters are evenly divided into 3 titled parts. Those of you who dont care about traditional publishing can leave the room now. I get a lot of questions about word count for urban fiction novels. As persuasion progresses, jane austen seems to elongate hers, building them up on a crescendo. 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.

I found some disagreement about the ideal length of mystery novels. This may particularly be the case in academia, legal proceedings, journalism and advertising. For most publishers, a book is novellength when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words. The highest word count was 115,000, the lowest was 47,000, and the average was 75,000. Anything above 70k but less than 115k science fiction and fantasy tend to run up around 100k115k words.

My question is about novel structure and word counts. Most young adult novels fall between 55,000 and 70,000 words. The average chapter word count of these novels falls within the 2,0005,000 range. 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. Science fiction and fantasy novels typically have a word count between 90,000 to 125,000 words.

It is feasible to count the number of words in a published chapter. Larson writes science fiction with a word count around 100k. None of them fit the industry standard in word count. With fun, lighthearted, simple middle grade youll want to stay around the 20k30k word count range. T he indie author chris fox coined the term potato chip chapters for easilydigestible book chapters of a certain size. Compressing a very exciting scene so you can meet your chapter word count target is also not going to do you any favors. After that, your agent will be able to help you more. The hunger games has 27 untitled chapters, and about 3700 words per chapter. Your guide to book word counts fiction and nonfiction. Words counts of bestselling novels better novel project. The average wordcount for adult fiction is between 70,000 to 120,000 words. Some of the best nonfiction writers in the world are masters at using. Never write a chapter longer than 4,000 words bookfox. For pre1980s novels, longer chapter lengths are pretty common.

That said, this figure differs from book to book and organization to. Nonfiction wordcounts sit between 70,000120,000 words. The actual word count for harry potter and the sorcerers stone is 78,792 and my utility calculates 77,876. If im writing a novel, this gives me 40 chapters and 70,000 words when. You dont have to pick a number like 80,000 and then divide it by 30 chapters to give you 2500 words a chapter average.

Each genre and subgenre has its own word count range. I understand that kicking out an 800 page novel 200000 words then is going to be an extra cost for a publisher and im not even gonna bitch about the sheer number of novels over 600 pages i have andor read ok i admit, they are pretty much all scifi and. Word counting may be needed when a text is required to stay within certain numbers of words. If the publisher has a convincing argument for cutting a passage or two, the book will be shorter.

There are a lot of books that fit nicely into this range, such as enders game with 100,609 words and the martian with 104,588 words. For example, if youre writing for genres that have a word count range of 80,00089,999 words i. Ya fiction for mainstream ya, anywhere from about 45k to 80k. That said, the average word count for science fiction and fantasy novels generally lies between 100,000 and 115,000. This 90,000word guideline for how many words in a novel is just that, a guideline. A word count guide for 18 book genres, including fiction and non. Traditionally published mysteries, like the books of sara paretsky, louise penny, laurie r. The golden compass by philip pullman 112,815 words, prisoner of azkaban by jk rowling 106,821 words, and enders game by orson scott card 100,609 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. This is a list of the novels over 500,000 words published through a mainstream publisher. What is the ideal wordcount per chapter for a novel. How to increase your novels word count noveldoctor. Neither too long nor too short, this book length signals a novelists competency and knowledge of the publishing market to prospective agents and editors. Some like to plan out their novel from the beginning.

If this thread still going can someone tell me how many words is reasonable for a chapter im writing my first fantasy novel and worried if i have too short or to long of a chapter right now my first chapter word count is at 1,436 and in counting. Shorter novels such as fahrenheit 451, the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, the great gatsby, and slaughterhousefive are between 4050,000 words. This is a true statement if your goal is to be published through traditional methods someday. Any style or genre no word count limits, but page limits are.

For fiction novels, the number of chapters varies some may go. Counting chickens a few words about word counts at hope vestergaards site. Using your current word count and the appropriate formula below, calculate the number of pages you can expect in your finished book. At a writers conference i recently attended, publishing veteran jane friedman said 80,000 words is good for most fiction, below 60,000 isnt novel length territory, and above 120,000 is likely too much. Word count is the devil you have to love, or at the very least, respect. Literary agent paula munier says a 90,000 word count is the sweet spot for debut fiction. Experiment with different prices, a month at a time, to see what gives you a better result.

Im currently right in the middle of the story, and have four pov characters. This means your memoir will average between 150 and 265 pages. We recommend memoirs be between 45,000 to 80,000 words in order to maintain intrigue and reduce intimidation. For the book hatchet, the actual word count is 41,672 and i give you. Alternatively, this is an acceptable length for a short work of nonfiction.

Most stories dont reach 200k, let alone three million. Do check your comparable titlesrecent debuts onlyto make sure your story falls in that range. Armed with these word counts, i now have a range of lengths that have been proven popular. Why chapter length matters more than you think medium. You wont get exact, but youre wondering whether 35k is reasonable, so you dont need exact. Go play cricket or bake a souffle or save the whales. It doesnt help that many older books are split into sections, usually. Word count is commonly used by translators to determine the price of a translation job.

Novel 50,000 110,000 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. Bestselling books show us what the public likes, and of course, were hoping that our own novels will be liked by the public. Ive been reading a 123 chapter fic and it is around 120ksome chapters were long, some were short. A reasonable word count for a nonfiction book would be between 30,000 to 50,000 words. Using the snowflake method, i developed my story with multiple subplots that intersect. The harry potter books are young adult titles, and ya publishers generally look for manuscripts in the 50,000 to 80,000word range. Martin and harper lee keep things more evenly paced in a game of thrones and to kill a mockingbird, respectively. That gives us a rough range of 61,00089,000 words, with about 3 out of 4 queried ya books falling into that range. Beginning writers often ask how long the chapters in the novel they are working on should be. This averages to about 22 to 23 chapters per novel, with the average chapter length around 4,280 words. From picture books to ya information to get you started at. If your protagonist has just discovered something and is going. Put simply, the sweet spot for a novels word count is generally said to be around 8090k. Urban fiction publishing requirements urban fiction news.

Estimate your page count book designer linda parke. The length of a chapter in a novel should be less about words and pages and more about plot points. Word counts may also be used to calculate measures. I am on the record as saying i dont really care about word counts unless they are so offthe wall out of bounds that it is absurd. But it shouldnt be word count for the sake of word count.

As best you can within the word count, find a balance between showing and telling. Word count for novels and childrens books at the guide to literary agents blog. While the idea of chapters in the 3,000 to 5,000word range is a good guideline when roughing out your books structure, it isnt a rule, and the story itself should be the primary deciding factor. Like a general fiction novel, a good target word count for a memoir is 80,000 words. The sweet spot, according to donald maas, is 100,000 to 115,000 words. The second or third in a particularly bestselling series can go even higher.