Nnnon fiction book word count

In these cases, the overall design of the book becomes much more important than word count alone. Word count for famous novels organized commonplace book. Perkins agency in new york says its much easier to market a firsttime novelists book if the word count falls between 80,000 and 100,000 words, or roughly 300 doublespaced, typed pagesthe average novel length. Much has changed in childrens fiction in the past twenty years. A reasonable word count for a nonfiction book would be between 30,000 to 50,000 words. I just popped into my office and pulled a few books off the shelf. Minimum realistic word count of nonfiction book writing stack.

Opt already knows how many words opt has in the ms. You have to go to a publishers website and look at their submission guidelines for such info. Yet any piece of fiction climbing over the 110,000 word mark also tends to give editors some pause. For example, atonement has a word count of 123,378 and my utility comes up with 110,765 words. Duotrope a free writers resource listing over 3950 current fiction and poetry publications caps their search for short story publishers at 7,500 words, which means most publishers are looking for stories of less than that length. According to chuck sambuchino see below for word count. The second or third in a particularly bestselling series can go even higher. When i started writing three years ago, the mg word count i kept hearing was no more than 30,000 words. Word count is commonly used by translators to determine the price of a translation job. 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. A way to check word count of published books anita nolan. This information is important whether you are writing fiction or nonfiction. A word count guide for 18 book genres, including fiction and non. Scott fitzgerald were alive today and wrote the great gatsby for nanowrimo, he would have fallen short of the minimum length it clocks in at 47, 094 words.

For most publishers, a book is novellength when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words. The most famous flash fiction is this sixword offering, for sale. Granted, that might seem like an intimidating number to. As for nonfiction books, the standard bestsellers have word counts similar to adult novels. Anything above 70k but less than 115k science fiction and fantasy tend to run up around 100k115k words.

For others, making sure that they dont go over the word count can be a chore especially if their editor is strict about not going over that numbe. 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. It takes the question of length completely off the table as an issue. I went through the same thing and the results vary too much.

Your guide to book word counts as a reader, ive never felt a good book was too long, even more than a thousand pages. Here are some articles on words counts, and what to do when your novel is either too big or too small for the size you want. Put a title the exact title in the search engine, then click on the title, or one of the titles if more than one comes up. There are too many websites listing formulas, specifying fonts, font sizes, etc. But, most non fiction publishers want to be sold the concept, and therefore be able to discuss the direction of the project, before you write the book.

Heres how the wordcount of your book will decide what category your masterpiece falls in. My first book, three times a lady was roughly 100,000 words. When you look at the submissions pages of some magazines e. A recommended wordcount might be 15002000 words but, more. Sharp objects has a word count of 80,565 and my utility calculates it at 80,7. Sep 06, 2009 word count depends on the publishers specifications. To help you cast this vision, let me tell you that most standard 192page paperback books are about 40,000 to 50,000 words. Intended audience keeping up with the jackdaws should. For others, making sure that they dont go over the word count can be a chore especially if their editor is strict about not going over that number. Word counts may also be used to calculate measures. On the other end, reference and academic books can have huge word counts. Coffee table books and other illustrated books may have very little text, but be very expensive to print.

Pencilthin books on narrow topics that are under 50,000 words are quite common. How many words should be in an adult nonfiction book. You have just discovered the wonderful world of bibliographic metadata. Now the decisions can be made based on your writing and whether your book is a fit for that publishing house. The most famous flash fiction is this six word offering, for sale. As for non fiction books, the standard bestsellers have word counts similar to adult novels.

With fun, lighthearted, simple middle grade youll want to stay around the 20k30k word count range. Popular novels word count 100k 105k books goodreads. What is the average word count for short story submissions. Im 52 000 words into my first draft, and if my chapter length remains the same throughout the rest of the novel, i will land at around 110 000 words give or take of course. And just this day, i received my first rejection email letter.

Word counts ill get straight into it, starting with books for grown ups. But for mainstream ya it is always best to stick to under 80k. Word count, with a little help from amazon alexis grant. 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. Onethird of the novels that come into the agency are rejected because theyre too long or short, perkins says. Even consider contacting agents and publishers asking for guidelines before sending them a copy of a manuscript.

Each chapter averages 3000 words and the final word count, including fact boxes, will be around 50000 words. I have a 100,000 word count manuscript that i have been working on for the past quarter of the year. Dec 04, 2014 see how your word count stacks up against these popular best sellers. Famous books and their word counts freelance writing jobs. And besides, if its just the first book in a series, like the ones youve listed, then you have further books to expand the scope and build upon an epic vibe in the first book with more words and worldbuilding. In contrast, word count is finite and usually i can calculate book length with about 99% accuracy in part because also included in any calculation is a count of figures, tables, etc. Larson writes science fiction with a word count around 100k. Word counts for childrens books i received a request awhile ago to do a post on word counts for different age categories in childrens lit. Of the 161 stories listed, 3081 is the median word count number in the middle and 4052 is the average word count. One way to determine how long your novel should be is to identify 5 novels in your genre, each the authors first.

Literary fiction up to 120,000 but lately trends to much shorter. Know your content, know your mainline pitch and some. Book writing and publishing faq how long should my. Get book recommendations, fiction, poetry, and dispatches from the world of literature in your inbox. I put in anne of green gables and clicked on the first entry, and it listed the word count as 17,129. Use the word count as given by the word processor and then round it up or down to the nearest thousand.

However, there is a wide range of acceptable word counts for non fiction books. None of them fit the industry standard in word count. Now the decisions can be made based on your writing and. It should be enough to communicate your message effectively. This is due in large part to the variety of subgenres within it and the trend for a book series with an ever greater word count.

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. King, and lee child run well over 90k, sometimes going as high as 120k. Apr 11, 2015 nicholas sparks word count the notebook 38,520 message in a bottle 92,760 a walk to remember 49,311 the rescue 100,916 a bend in the road 93,766. Nowadays, the average nonfiction book clocks in at around 50,000 to 75,000 words. In itself, no measure is perfect but personally i find word count the most useful.

Dec 08, 2010 ya fiction for mainstream ya, anywhere from about 45k to 80k. If you still want to write your nonfiction book before you retain an agent or publisher, word count can vary greatly, but a good target for a business nonfiction book is 70,00080,000 words. The most important thing here is to realize that there are always exceptions to these rules. The word count is the number of words in a document or passage of text. However, there is a wide range of acceptable word counts for nonfiction books. That should give you about 200250 pages in a final manuscript.

When talking about book length, its common to talk about word count rather than page count. For full titles, authors and descriptions of these books, see whats on my travel memoir bookshelf. Also, heres another list i may swipe and add in here. See how your word count stacks up against these popular best sellers. Many, yes, but there are exceptions due to the layout and font size of a particular book.

Where can i find a database of all published books word. Two weeks ago i finally found confidence to try and querry it. Traditionally published mysteries, like the books of sara paretsky, louise penny, laurie r. Most young adult novels fall between 55,000 and 70,000 words. If you have written a non fiction book and want to know if you are hitting the word count sweet spot, i suggest reading widely in your area to see what others are doing this will give you a better sense of what. Nov, 2015 the truth about word counts for childrens book is nothing is set in stone, so it can be a good idea to do as much research as possible on current expectations. Word counts may also be used to calculate measures of readability and to measure typing and reading speeds usually in words per minute. Nicholas sparks word count popular novel word count. But it shouldnt be word count for the sake of word count.

Breaking bad news with baby animals, which is filled with pictures of cute animals and only one line of terrible news every two pages. Book length word count science fiction and fantasy world. As a rough estimate when i look at word counts i use 4 pages to words, so a 42,000 word book comes to approx 168 pages. Your chapter length has to work well with the overall word count of the book short chapters create an even distribution of both content and action. Like a general fiction novel, a good target word count for a memoir is 80,000 words. Intended audience keeping up with the jackdaws should appeal to all amateur bird watchers. Based on this list compiled by nicole humphrey cook. 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. A nonfiction book attractive to publishers of bestsellers starts at around 75,000 words. Ya fiction for mainstream ya, anywhere from about 45k to 80k. Word count matters because every book, regardless of genre, has an. For the book hatchet, the actual word count is 41,672 and i give you 41,212.

Line count varies depending on page size, font size, etc. Short story to 7500 words is the classic short length featured in every genre. Mar 27, 20 as a rough estimate when i look at word counts i use 4 pages to words, so a 42,000 word book comes to approx 168 pages. 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. The average word count for submissions varies from magazine to magazine. Went through querry tracker, found me 5 agents that might be interested in my book, and i sent them my story. It is the responsibility of the author to cast the vision for the book and project a word count and finished length. I clicked on the unabridged version, and it lists the word count as 97,364. And man, people love to point out exceptionsand they always will. A non fiction book attractive to publishers of bestsellers starts at around 75,000 words. Sep 12, 2012 put a title the exact title in the search engine, then click on the title, or one of the titles if more than one comes up. It seems like ya novels are getting longer and longer nowadays, but maybe my attention span is getting shorter. Jun 04, 2010 get book recommendations, fiction, poetry, and dispatches from the world of literature in your inbox.

Word count for famous novels, in ascending order by number of words. Whether nonfiction or fiction, what drives and determines the right word count is the content. I was quickly flooded with emails from many an angry author for daring to put a word count on a level of book. In this post, id like to share some thoughts on word count considerations. Search for word count totals in books word counters. These were to do with whether the book would be categorised as a novel or a novella or an epic or something else. Heres how i worked out the word count i literally counted the words in a cathy kelly book, a sheila oflanagan book and a marian. Im leaving this in the list to show that word count isnt offered for every book. Your guide to book word counts fiction and nonfiction.

Cs lewis the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe 38,421 prince caspian 46,290 the voyage of the dawn treader 53,960 chuck palaniuk choke 70,562 fight club 53,267 rant 75,223 invisible monsters 60,930 lullaby 64,737 philip k. For some content writers or bloggers, hitting their word count is a pain. May 11, 2012 these were to do with whether the book would be categorised as a novel or a novella or an epic or something else. A way to check word count of published books anita nolans blog. Book 1 of my ya fantasy is 99k trimmed down from 107k. The new yorker you will find a short description of how and what theyre expecting. Word count discrepencies in novel submissions a reader writes to ask. While page counts are a common but not universal feature of bibliographic metadata, word counts are much less frequently provided and are not at all mandatory. Can be publisher specific, ranging from 3,000 to absolute max 5,000.

If you stick to these when youre writing your nonfiction book, youll be fine. The creation of hilow books to help children with low reading levels and readers with additional learning difficulties develop their reading confidence. Nicholas sparks word count the notebook 38,520 message in a bottle 92,760 a walk to remember 49,311 the rescue 100,916 a bend in the road 93,766. Count up the total number of words on 10 random full lines from different. In 2011, the average length of a bestselling nonfiction book was 467 pages, but that dropped to 273 pages in 2017. If the text is already as tight and economical as you can make it, and every sentence counts, then the agent will notice that rather than the word count. I agree that it seems like for a debut author, the agent really looks at that word count. That often dreaded, while at the same time appreciated, element of freelance writing. There are a lot of books that fit nicely into this range, such as enders game with 100,609 words and. Aug 05, 2019 for most publishers, a book is novellength when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words. Author eve tells me her book came in at 95,000 words. Again, word count shouldnt come at the cost of the story. The longest is the order of the phoenix with a word count of 257,000 words.

Since opinions vary greatly, i did some research to verify the numbers in my head. If youre working on a novellength book, aim for 50,000 words at the very least but its better to aim for 90,000. For average word counts based on genre, see this handy reference. The actual word count for harry potter and the sorcerers stone is 78,792 and my utility calculates 77,876. Last year i wrote an adult series under this name which i overhauled and made more adult, it was only going to be a three book series of novellas 120 hand written pages each, 41,904 to 47,030 words but i added a fourth at about half the word count of 26,143 words which is the conclusion to all three stories. Coyne uses the nanowrimo wordcount length of 50,000 words for his examples, calling 50,000 words a good foundation to build upon. What is the ideal word count for a nonfiction book in the. Word counting may be needed when a text is required to stay within certain numbers of words. When converting character counts to words, a measure of 5 or 6 characters to a word is generally used for english. This may particularly be the case in academia, legal proceedings, journalism and advertising. The hunger games has a word count of 99,750 and my utility calculates it at 98,916. My wife just picked up that gift book called grandmas dead.

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. Ive been writing a novel over the past year, and with the help on your site as well as a few other sites, ive been converting it into manuscript format. Heres how i worked out the word count i literally counted the words in a cathy kelly book, a sheila oflanagan book and a marian keyes book and figured that 90 to 120k was about right. Fullcolour photographs of the birds in the garden at different times of the year will provide visual interest. Salman rushdies novel midnights children which won a booker prize and the prestigious booker of bookers is a much longer 208, 773 words. If your book falls within the standard preferred wordcount range, its one less reason for it to be rejected.