For most publishers, a book is novellength when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words. Readers looking for a good beachread in the mystery section will not. When i started writing three years ago, the mg word count i kept hearing was no more than 30,000 words. Lets take a quick tour of copy fitting, casting off and related issues here. A novel of 50,000 would be the absolute minimum for some genres and, unless you are ken. The length can vary greatly between genres, though. You can easily calculate book page count using the word count from your word document. Length of a book is typically associated with its sizespecifically page countleading many to assume the largest and thickest book equates to its length.
The binding, font and paper size establish how many pages a published book will be. One easy and effective way to accomplish the book inayear goal is to take the 365day book writing challenge. Opt already knows how many words opt has in the ms. Im leaving this in the list to show that word count isnt offered for every book. Before our book page count calculator, you had to dig around through multiple sources to figure out how many words per page for your exact font size and then do the math. The actual word count for the hunger games is 99,750 and my utility calculates 94,743 words. I have tried searching the words word count plus the title of a novel, like the lovely bones, and all i get is the word count of essays and articles about the book in question, not for the book itself. Jan 14, 20 hey, im writing a book and im a bit worried about the word count.
Word count is commonly used by translators to determine the price of a translation job. Everything you need to know about word count and book length for books and novels and memoirs and childrens novels and picture books. Once you know your word count, follow one of our two methods below to estimate your page count. If youre working on a novel length book, aim for 50,000 words at the very least but its better to aim for 90,000.
Declaring all your variables at the top of the function is poor style that comes from old c code, but hasnt even been necessary in c for 15 years. Book length word count science fiction and fantasy world. Search for a book, tell us how fast you read, and start reading. Back then, people considered 250 words too much content. Sep 20, 2009 how to calculate book length in an earlier post i discussed broad issues relating to word count and book length but didnt actually explain how the length of a book is calculated. Word count signals to people what kind of book theyre dealing with. Line count governs length irrespective of whether the line contains one word or ten or twelve. Twenty years ago, i would recommend that every page be at least 250 words. Aug 28, 2006 it is a way an author can estimate word count, but its just as easy these days to use the word count function on your average word processing program to get a pretty accurate count. Pdf word count free online pdf word count tool to count. Also, heres another list i may swipe and add in here. Thats great, but now you need to come up with a plan to make that happen thats simple enough to help you reach the goal, yet allows you to write enough to complete a book within a year. If no word of length length was encountered, we allocate that slot and we set that to zero.
Better to have solid, clear information than rambling to make a page count. Length of a book is typically associated with its size specifically page count leading many to assume the largest and thickest book equates to its length. The important thing is that your length fits your book. As a reader i love the huge word count novels steven king has written and the very short gems tom robbins has penned. Theres no point in obsessing about word choice if your story has whole scenes and whole subplots you can axe. These include using published information about the book to determine an exact word count, estimating the number of words based on industry standards and.
Over the years, that number has been a moving target. Put simply, the sweet spot for a novels word count is generally said to be around 8090k. Youll use the word count in your word document to calculate book page count. Having said all that, there are a number of conventions regarding word count. On the macro level in any type of edit, but especially a wordtrimming one, you always want to start with the big picture. The sweet spot, according to donald maas, is 100,000 to 115,000 words.
That being said, it should provide a more accurate indication of the number of pages a specific word count will be and the number of words per page you. It is a way an author can estimate word count, but its just as easy these days to use the word count function on your average word processing program to get a pretty accurate count. Stephen king word count 112263 274,672 bag of bones 203,3 black house 252,270 blockade billy 15,917 carrie 60,718 cell 121,931 christine 193,602 cujo 121,150 cycle of the werewolf 15,955 desperation 195,011 doctor sleep. Scrivener counts only those words toward your target, and if youre importing text into the binder it doesnt increase the word count within the session. Surely when writing the important thing is to get words on the page even if theyre in pink comic sans. As persuasion progresses, jane austen seems to elongate hers, building them up on a crescendo. When converting character counts to words, a measure of 5 or 6 characters to a word is generally used for english. Its wise to be aware of these, as your books length will be one of the many things potential readers will take into account when they decide whether or not to buy. Word count is the devil you have to love, or at the very least, respect. I dont need one of those equations to help calculate word count based on the number of pages times whatever. Use our handy table to discover how many pages a given word count yields, single or double spaced, in times new roman or arial 12 point font. First of all, find your word count in word by opening your document and looking at the bottom left of your screen.
Search for word count totals in books word counters. Science fiction and fantasy novels typically have a word count between 90,000 to 125,000 words. That said, this figure differs from book to book and organization to. Word count estimates are not guaranteed to be accurate. Coyne uses the nanowrimo word count length of 50,000 words for his examples, calling 50,000 words a good foundation to build upon. To read standard input, it accesses the file devfd0. Have you wondered what the perfect word count was for a blog post or landing page. As a result, a 100k manuscript can size up very differently on a shelf. If youre a new author, id recommend staying on the shorter side, perhaps around the 75,000 word mark. Word count matters more than it should in my opinion. 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 for famous novels organized commonplace book. The average chapter word count of these novels falls within the 2,0005,000 range. Sharp objects has a word count of 80,565 and my utility calculates it at 80,7. A single novel can be longer, but once the length is above 110,000 words publishers may. Such books will have a minimum length of 75,000 words but seldom exceed 110,000.
Aug 21, 2019 have you wondered what the perfect word count was for a blog post or landing page. Word count for famous novels, in ascending order by number of words. Word count for novels and childrens books at the guide to literary agents blog. How to calculate book length in an earlier post i discussed broad issues relating to word count and book length but didnt actually explain how the length of a book is calculated. Other issues such as margin space and paragraph length will likely result in some variation from the calculations given. Failing to mention the word count, or committing the faux pas of stating the page count instead, will also see a quick rejection. Its too much hassle and timeconsuming time you couldve spent refining and perfecting your book content. For example, atonement has a word count of 123,378 and my utility comes up with 110,765 words. But while the length of a novel is to a large extent up to its writer, lengths may also vary by subgenre. What follows is a rough guide to book length expectations in certain genres.
Jun 03, 2009 as far as length, popular memoirs range quite a bit from about 60,000 words to 120,000 or more. A novelist of my acquaintance insists that the only way to estimate the number of words in a book is to multiply the number of pages by 250. As far as length, popular memoirs range quite a bit from about 60,000 words to 120,000 or more. Macros are installed from within onenote via onetastic addin. Word count is a direct way to measure the length of a novel in a manner unaffected by variations of format and page size. Alternatively, this is an acceptable length for a short work of nonfiction.
May 11, 2009 word count seems like a leftover from typewrited days. That being said, it should provide a more accurate indication of the number of pages a specific word count will be and the number of words per page you type when compared to the general rule of thumb. Counting chickens a few words about word counts at hope vestergaards site. Because yes, different types of books require different book lengths. Write as much as it takes to tell the story, and no more.
Can be publisher specific, ranging from 3,000 to absolute max 5,000. Shorter novels such as fahrenheit 451, the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, the great gatsby, and slaughterhousefive are between 4050,000 words. I publish my books first on smashwords and then, after they pass vetting for the smashwords premium catalog, i publish them on amazon as well. Directions can throw the estimate out in either direction. Wheel of time word count in average word count popular novel word count in novel word count harry potter word count stephen king word count this entry was posted in uncategorized and tagged dune word count, novel word count by michael kistner. That was the formula in the good old days when courier was the only typeface and typewriters were king. Ive looked at articles that say literary agents wont consider a book with a word count of over 100 000, so you can see why im a little concerned. I found some disagreement about the ideal length of mystery novels. How to increase your novels word count noveldoctor. On the lazy bee scripts web site, we give an estimated length of each play based on word count. When talking about book length, its common to talk about word count rather than page count. Jun 27, 2019 put simply, the sweet spot for a novels word count is generally said to be around 8090k. Publishers and literary award societies typically consider a novellas word count to be between 15,000 and 40,000 words, although definitions vary.
Find out how long it will take you to read any book by using our book word count search. Word count, with a little help from amazon alexis grant. Sep 28, 2015 word count allows nine seconds for this the same action 4, but actually it takes no time at all, because the time is occupied by frans speech. If you are an author of a book or know of a books accurate wordcount, contact me. Oct 18, 2017 the average chapter word count of these novels falls within the 2,0005,000 range. Weve got all the answers, learn the average wordcount for every type of. At a writers conference i recently attended, publishing.
Of course, how fast the narrator talks does have an impact, but for the most part, the number of words per minute is consistent. It is a rexx implementation of the wc word count utility supporting the options c, w, and l. I built one logos word list like this for every single book of the bible. Novels for adult readers fall between 80,000 and 120,000 words. You have decided you want to write a book in the next year. A minimum count for a nonfiction ebook is about 10,000 words, as long as the content is solid. Many, yes, but there are exceptions due to the layout and font size of a particular book.
This is an example of a rexx program that can run as a shell command or filter. Word count for famous novels organized by hawthorn mineart, under books, writing. Jan 08, 2018 calculate book page count using your word count. Book page count calculator how many pages is my novel. Go play cricket or bake a souffle or save the whales. From picture books to ya information to get you started at. Estimate your page count book designer linda parke. Author eve tells me her book came in at 95,000 words. Those of you who dont care about traditional publishing can leave the room now.
Well explain two easy methods to calculate book page count. Word count seems like a leftover from typewrited days. 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. Calculate book page count using word count for book design. A novella is a work of narrative prose fiction, longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. While its important that every story find its natural length, it takes time to develop an instinct as. One easy and effective way to accomplish the bookinayear goal is to take the 365day book writing challenge. As for nonfiction books, the standard bestsellers have word counts similar to adult novels. Free online pdf word countfree word counter tool online to count the number of words in pdf files and documentsthe counter can includeexclude numbers years, dollar amounts. Based on this list compiled by nicole humphrey cook. Pencilthin books on narrow topics that are under 50,000 words are quite common. At the end of the function, youll find that lengths will contain a map of word length number of words of that length. Reading length is a participant in the amazon services llc associates program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to and affiliated sites. That left me with 66 logos word lists, each giving me every originallanguage word in a given book of the bible.
Martin and harper lee keep things more evenly paced in a game of thrones and to kill a mockingbird, respectively. Jul 01, 2015 having said all that, there are a number of conventions regarding word count. Aug 05, 2019 for most publishers, a book is novellength when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words. Hey, im writing a book and im a bit worried about the word count. This is a true statement if your goal is to be published through traditional methods someday. Conversely, if you remove text files it doesnt decrease the word count, but it. What is a good way to get the word count of a kindle book. Mgs are usually around 2545k, even longer if its a fantasy.
At times the readers of books may be interested in discovering how many words they read. Ali, 9000 words is on the upper end of the chapter book spectrum. Word counts may also be used to calculate measures of readability and to measure typing and reading speeds usually in words per minute. Im 55 years of age and writing a book which covers 7 years, from 2001 until 2007, of my life. Page count is determined by the publisher, not the writer. Word count allows nine seconds for this the same action 4, but actually it takes no time at all, because the time is occupied by frans speech. For average word counts based on genre, see this handy reference. Using your current word count and the appropriate formula below, calculate the number of pages you can expect in your finished book. Jan, 2016 you have decided you want to write a book in the next year. For full titles, authors and descriptions of these books, see whats on my travel memoir bookshelf.
Apr 11, 2015 stephen king word count 112263 274,672 bag of bones 203,3 black house 252,270 blockade billy 15,917 carrie 60,718 cell 121,931 christine 193,602 cujo 121,150 cycle of the werewolf 15,955 desperation 195,011 doctor sleep. Im a retired ministry of defence police officer and was seconded to the united nation mission in kosovo on three occasions. There are several methods for determining the word count of a given book. The average fiction book is about 80,000 to 100,000 words, which is about 246 to 307 ebook pages. Im curious about your advice compose the novel in the standard format from the start rather than changing it later why does this matter. The book will be part of a trilogy, and although ive only written little over half of the entire thing, the estimated word count is looking to be nearly 300 000 words.
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