Book of 40 000 words novel

Books aimed at younger readers should be at the low end of that scale, books for older chapter book readers should be at the higher end. These might be interesting numbers to keep in mind, but they ultimately dont matter too much. On the upper end, a novel over 110, 000 words is considered an epic. Writers relief extends the upper word count limit of a novella, saying the exact word count is not set in stone. I magine writing a 50, 000 word novel without using the letter e. Novelist jane smiley suggests that length is an important quality of the novel. Nov 30, 2012 every year, i participate in national novel writing month, or nanowrimo, an online challenge for which one commits to writing a 50, 000 word novel during november. The amount of pages depends on what word font your using. If perhaps it had even more pictures it would be even a lot better.

Most editors wouldnt recommend going over 80,000, as it will inspire bad taste among readers. Following the 1987 initial release of games workshops warhammer 40, 000 wargame, set in a far future science fantasy universe, the company began publishing background literature that expands previous material, adds new material, and describes the universe, its characters, and its events in detail since 1997 the bulk of background literature has been published by the affiliated imprint black. A 50kword novel is roughly 200 pages using the standard 250 words per page estimate. The red badge of courage by stephen crane 50,776 words.

May 11, 2009 32 responses to word count and book length. List of 50,000 word novels the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy by douglas adams 46,333 words. The trick is to find what works for you, what is comfortable and produces the best final product. A published author in 10,000 words or less writeraccess. Publishers like to see 80,000 to just under 90,000 words for the average adult novel. Books aimed at younger readers should be at the low end of that scale, books for older chapter book readers should be. Publishers like to see 80, 000 to just under 90, 000 words for the average adult novel. Meanwhile picking the book next to it on the shelf, clash of the sky galleons has roughly 250 words a page, which would bring your total up to around 160 pages. On the upper end, a novel over 110,000 words is considered an epic. By most peoples standards, 40, 000 words would be pretty short for a novel. Its not about how many words are in your novel or novella. Famous novels have been extremely long, like 530,000 words for victor hugos les miserable s or 420,000 words for george r.

Gadsbys text is a lipogram a form of writing where a letter, or even a number of letters if you are so inclined, are omitted. The highest earning author said hisher income was 90% advances, 5% royalties, and 5% misc. Therefore, a 55,000 word book should be about 200 manuscript pages. Generally, 50, 000 would be considered the minimum word count, and ideally a novel should be over 70, 000 words. Generally, your book needs to hit the mark of 40,000 words before it can be considered a novel. Hefty bestsellers are being eclipsed by lighter reading. That said, this figure differs from book to book and organization to. Publishers forced writers to write longer books, not to make the books better, but to justify their need to raise book prices because of other costs. There are no hardandfast rules for the number of pages in a book. Book 001 horus rising by dan abnett april 2006 book 002 false gods by graham mcneill june 2006 book 003 galaxy in flames by ben counter october 2006 book 004 the flight of the eisenstein by james swallow march 2007 book 005 fulgrim by graham mcneill july 2007 book 006 descent of angels by mitchell scanlon. Here i sit with my book at 30,000 words and it suddenly gets hard.

When you query a publisher, its customary to include your novel s estimated word count. Estimate your page count book designer linda parke. This of course will depend on your word processor settings and how you format your work, however, with standard margins and arial or times new roman 12 point font your results should be about the same. Smiley lists novels as typically being between 100,000 and 175,000 words, while national novel writing month requires its novels to be at least 50,000 words. Jun 27, 2019 put simply, the sweet spot for a novels word count is generally said to be around 8090k. Here, the word count increases significantly falling within 90. Of course, depending on how you format your document your page count may vary, but with a typical layout, default page margins and times new roman or arial 12 point font your output should be nearly identical.

Most adult books are about 90,000 words, and no longer than 100,000 words unless youre jk rowling. Just ran across this website while trying out to find how many words are common for a small novel. My first book contract in 1987 had a required length of 60,000 to 70,000 words. Whichever word count range you take as your guide, there are several important. Mar 18, 2016 so, how many words should there be in a novel you want to get published. Every year, i participate in national novel writing month, or nanowrimo, an online challenge for which one commits to writing a 50,000word novel during november. Depending on your genre, youd probably want to get those numbers up into the 6070kword range. Mysteries and young adult books run between 40,000 and 80,000 words. Just ran across this website while trying out to find. Put simply, the sweet spot for a novels word count is generally said to be around 8090k. Shorter novels such as fahrenheit 451, the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, the great gatsby, and slaughterhousefive are between 4050,000 words. Jan 21, 2016 the science fiction and fantasy writers of america, in judging their annual nebula awards classify anything longer than 40, 000 words as a novel.

Jul 04, 2019 this type of book should be between 4, 000 and, 000 words. Its oh, so tempting to just close the file and relegate that book to the dusty recesses of my writing projects folder where other unfinished work sits. A novel is usually defined as anything over 40,000 words. And, in case youre wondering, here are the average word counts for other popular genres. Mar 07, 2016 writers relief extends the upper word count limit of a novella, saying the exact word count is not set in stone. Roughly how many pages would 50,000 words produce in a. This of course will depend on your word processor settings and how you format your work, however, with standard margins and arial or times new roman 12. By most peoples standards, 40,000 words would be pretty short for a novel.

And i mean rockandahardplace, upacreekwithoutapaddle hard. Fantasy novels are usually on the longer side think harry potter and eragon etc. This translates into just 20,000 to 25,000 words for a 100 page book, 30,000 to 42,500 words for a 150page book, perhaps just 40,000 words for a 200page book. My first book contract in 1987 had a required length of 60, 000 to 70, 000 words. Book page count calculator how many pages is my novel. So, how many words should there be in a novel you want to get published. Although, if its over 110,000 words, some may call it an epic, not a novel. The number of pages changes depending on the number of words, the font and the font size. The typical books wordsperpage count tends to range between 225 and 275an average of 250. As ebooks became a viable business model, the rise in popularity of books in the 20,000word range opened the door for authors to publish books about topics that didnt require a full 60,000 word treatment. Word count and book length getting published was indeed a good blog post. A typical novel will normally be 60,000 to 100,000 words, with some of the larger thrillers and genre novels being much longer.

Before we start, if you want to read novels for free, here you have two months of kindle unlimited free of charge. A young adult novel will run between 20,000 and 40,000 words. The old man and the sea was about 25 to 30,000 words. 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. Note, this author sold 150,000 copies of hisher debut book and has sold trade book titles over a career. Nov 28, 20 national novel writing month challenges more than 300, 000 aspiring writers to create a masterpiece in 30 days colin robinson thu 28 nov 20 10. This tool is useful when writing essays at university to determine how many pages you are required to write.

The other day i was feeling pretty exasperated with myself. Just write and wrap it up when you feel it should be ended. I just laid out a 65,000word book and it ended up, with a couple pages of photos and a few pages of appendix, at 268 pages the pages in the main body of the text are numbered up to 237. Yes, fantasy and scifi novels are considered the longest ones along with historical fiction. Adding 10k words translates to roughly 40 50 words per page. Most young adult novels fall between 55, 000 and 70, 000 words. Your debut novel is 20,000 words long how not to self. My coach would tell me to stand at the back line to volley or approach the net, but never to float in between the areas, because. This type of book should be between 4,000 and,000 words. Salman rushdies novel midnights children which won a booker prize and the prestigious booker of bookers is a much longer 208, 773 words. 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. My 2008 edition of writers market lists 15,00045,000 words as a novella and 45,000120,000 words as a novel.

However, this figure really varies inside the industry. That might seem a rather pointless challenge but you can read just such a book gadsby by ernest vincent wright, a selfpublished story from 1939. Frequently asked questions getting published meg cabot. For most publishers, a book is novellength when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words. Onethird of the novels that come into the agency are rejected because theyre too long or short, perkins says. Aug 05, 2019 for most publishers, a book is novellength when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words. A good example is the wonderful little personalspiritual guide, the four agreements, by don miguel ruiz, which averages about 10 words per line x 20 lines per page 200 words per page.

When you query a publisher, its customary to include your novels estimated word count. Here is a partial list of wellknown novels that contain roughly 50, 000 words, which in turn is roughly 175 pages, and are thus comparable to the average size of a nanowrimo winners novel. In terms of adult mainstream fiction, that length would be considered a novella. 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. The longest is the order of the phoenix with a word count of 257, 000 words. Culture books news novella award organisers have defined a novel as being a piece of fiction between 20,000 and 40,000 words.

Depending on your genre, having too many or too little can not only hurt your book sales, but also cause fewer 5star. I am 42000 words in to my first novel and i have 39 chapters, so on average its just over words per chapter, though some may be nearer 2000. Single spaced, 4000 words would produce about 8 pages. Memoir novel 80,000 words the most common rule for a memoir is that it should not go more than 80,000 words. By the time i wrote my last traditional book, the contract wanted a book of over 90,000 words. Like a general fiction novel, a good target word count for a memoir is 80, 000 words. Dont compose your novel with skinny margins, singlespacing and some offthewall font and then make formatting changes when youre ready to market the completed manuscript. Big, epic stories get anywhere from 120,000 to 200,000 words. If you really want to have a beginning, a middle and an end or maybe you dont, but anyway your readers will have to start from page 1 and you will have to take them through the last page, youll have. A 40,000 to 80,000word memoir is around 150265 pages, a standard booklength for the genre.

Jun 04, 2012 here i sit with my book at 30,000 words and it suddenly gets hard. This website converts the number of words to the number of pages, online and for free. In outlining your book in 3 easy steps, editor shawn coyne says, the average novel today is about 90,000 words. Thats the level where publishers may suggest dividing a story into multiple volumes. Writing for young adults a look at the numbers hannah holt. A novel is considered 40,00050,000 words, so you could stop there. Readers hate padding if your story finishes at 63% on an ereader, youd. Novella award organisers have defined a novel as being a. Some people might bang out a finished product on the first draft, while others might put 500, 000 words into a 100, 000 word book with rewrites and editing. Using your current word count and the appropriate formula below, calculate the number of pages you can expect in your finished book.

How to write 50,000 words in a month books the guardian. To find an appropriate fantasy novel word count for your book, remember. As a publisher who has laid out dozens of books for printinga 50,000 word manuscript should end up somewhere between 180 and 220 pages. But, he also mentions that the wizard of oz was 40,000 words. By the time i wrote my last traditional book, the contract wanted a book of over 90, 000 words. Some people might bang out a finished product on the first draft, while others might put 500,000 words into a 100,000 word book with rewrites and editing.

Im 10,000 words into the first draft of my first novel. See also list of published authors who write quickly for published authors who consistently write at the nanowrimo pace or faster. For example, it is said that the most perfect word count for a novel is between 8090k. Assuming you use the standard conventions for manuscript format 1 margins, 25 doublespaced lines per page, and a 12 point nonproportional font like courier, then a good rule of thumb is one page equals 250 words. Jul 19, 2015 culture books news novella award organisers have defined a novel as being a piece of fiction between 20, 000 and 40, 000 words. Adding 10k words translates to roughly 4050 words per page. It depends on the font you are using, of course, but in general, 250300 words per page. Liquid glass by zathyn priest, the night caller by clancy nacht, the ghost on my couch by l.

National novel writing month challenges more than 300,000 aspiring writers to create a masterpiece in 30 days colin robinson thu 28 nov 20 10. Smiley lists novels as typically being between 100, 000 and 175, 000 words, while national novel writing month requires its novels to be at least 50, 000 words. There are good word count guidelines online and usually id recommend 610,000 words for a chapter book, 4060,000 words for middle grade and 5070,000 words for ya. This translates into just 20, 000 to 25, 000 words for a 100 page book, 30, 000 to 42,500 words for a 150page book, perhaps just 40, 000 words for a 200page book. Sep 20, 2019 how many words in a novel vary depending on genre, audience, and the story itself but in general, the average words in a novel is between 60, 000 and 90, 000 words for most genres. Assuming you use the standard conventions for manuscript format 1 margins, 25 doublespaced lines per page, and a 12 point nonproportional font like courier, then a good rule of thumb is one page equals 250 words for the mathimpaired, that means you multiply the number of. Whichever word count range you take as your guide, there are several important ways in which novellas differ from standardlength novels. Here is a partial list of wellknown novels that contain roughly 50,000 words, which in turn is roughly 175 pages, and are thus comparable to the average size of a nanowrimo winners novel see also list of published authors who write quickly for published authors who consistently write at the nanowrimo pace or faster the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy by douglas adams 46,333 words. My 2008 edition of writers market lists 15, 000 45, 000 words as a novella and 45, 000 120, 000 words as a novel. Generally, 50,000 would be considered the minimum word count, and ideally a novel should be over 70,000 words.

I personally find the trend these days, particularly in thrillers, is to use shorter chapters. Thrillers and epic fantasy often clock in at over 100,000 words. I magine writing a 50,000word novel without using the letter e. While this number of words would be very common when pitching a nonfiction text, such a length reminds me of tennis lessons in my youth.