I just did a word count of my ya novel in courier new 60,705. Of course, when youre writing the first draft of your story, you want to just get your words out on paper. This video is all about word counts for your novel, in particular word counts for ya novels. Jan 18, 2012 list of popular ya novels word counts if youre like me, you obsess over the word count of your novel. But at the end of the day, you have to write the novel you want to write. Therefore, the word count of a novel is crucial if you want your book to be fit for publication. Analyzing chapter lengths in fantasy fiction creativity hacker. How many words should there be per chapter in the average ya. I go by chapter gauge when i read, and when i was young i would discipline my reading habits, by posing a limit to the quantity of chapters i could read before allowing bed, or other distractions to overtake me. Younger still, middle grade fiction ages 912 should come in between 30,000 and 55,000 words. Now that weve covered how many words are in a novel, its time to break it down even further by finding out the ideal number of chapters in a novel and how many words are used in a typical chapter. From picture books to ya information to get you started at.
Ive got 50k words word processor word count and im on my fifteenth chapter with six very short portions not included as chapters, and im no where close to even a mid point or anything. Say for instance you are writing a ya novel, and want the chapters to be gripping, but not too lengthy. Count the pages in each chapter and divide by 250 to get an answer for what is the average number of words per chapter. Naturally, a poem or a chapter less childrens book would follow different rules.
Develop and refine the structure for my story, determine the plot points, pinch points, controlling premise, my characters fatal flaw. She is currently querying her epic fantasy novel heirs of war with a word count at 7k. The hunger games has 27 untitled chapters, and about 3700 words per chapter. Jul 18, 20 im writing a fantasy novel and was worried when my chapter ran in to the 7,000 word mark. I have often looked this up and got different results, which makes it very confusing. Most publishers like to see chapters that are in the 2,000 to 3,000word range. You know this, i know this, and ive done my damndest to cut it i shaved 12k off in the past two weeks. Yes, you should go through the novel revision checklist and take out anything extraneous no matter what. Jun 27, 2019 put simply, the sweet spot for a novels word count is generally said to be around 8090k. Put simply, the sweet spot for a novels word count is generally said to be around 8090k. Go to the library and look at the top you define top ya books similar to what you are writing. The word count varies per chapter for each young adult novel.
Mar 25, 2017 are you freaking out about word count. Well, as to be expected with a book niche like ours, somebody decided to write an article for a howto site on how to go about writing and publishing a light novel in america. Those of you who dont care about traditional publishing can leave the room now. Yes, having a book that is overly short or overly long for its genre will incrementally decrease your odds of finding traditional publication. This may particularly be the case in academia, legal proceedings, journalism and advertising. Many sites say the same thing and it makes me wonder a bit if im writing my own novel wrong.
Some will tell you 2,500 words is the average, while others will say that 3,000 to 5,000 word chapters are more likely to be the norm. In other words, you must be scrupulous about editing every sentence for length. May 14, 2018 bestselling author caleb carr may write novels of 250,000 words, but when you pitch your novel and offer up that number, be prepared for a glacial reception. A 90,000 word count signals to professionals that you know what you are doing. You know, if im coming at 1,500 words for a ya novel chapter and i. What is the average chapter length in a young adult novel. May 12, 2012 i find it alarming, honestly, that the stats seem to be so low.
Learn about about childrens book manuscript chapter length and what. This is due to the audience youre reaching preferring that length. And it doesnt matter how many chapters there are in any young adult book. Word count for novels and books is something i dont think about too often until i travel to a writers conference, and then someone asks a simple, innocent question.
Im now halfway through zone 2 of my novel, and pretty much dead on the word count ill hit 50,000 word right at the midpoint, and will have a durable first draft ready for editing before years end. The word count is the number of words in a document or passage of text. With that in mind, ive tried to put together the definitive post on word count for fiction novels, young adult, middle grade, childrens books and even memoir. May 19, 2008 and ya novels, which have grown in popularity, can often be the same length as a standard novel 80,000 words. Word count is the devil you have to love, or at the very least, respect. Word count for novels and childrens books at the guide to literary agents blog. You wont get exact, but youre wondering whether 35k is reasonable, so you dont need exact. I feel thats too short when theres a lot going on at certain points in the story, and it wouldnt make any sense to change chapters just to. Literary agent danielle zigner takes a look at typical novel lengths and what appeals. I think with a ya novel, you might want to go with one scene per chapter. Your guide to book word counts fiction and nonfiction. The longest is the order of the phoenix with a word count of 257,000 words. Also remember because there are a bunch of new novel imprints opening their doors, a novella is 40k or less. Counting chickens a few words about word counts at hope vestergaards site.
The highest word count was 115,000, the lowest was 47,000, and the average was 75,000. Count the pages in each chapter and divide by 250 to get an. And remember, keeping to word counts is important, but what makes or breaks your chances with a publisher is. Anything over 110,000 words is considered too long for a fiction novel. That said, this figure differs from book to book and organization to. For young adult fiction, the word count is once again lower, with the ideal being 55,000 80,000 words. Armed with these word counts, i now have a range of lengths that have been proven popular.
While anything over 40,000 words can fall into the novel category, 50,000 is considered the minimum novel length. My question is about novel structure and word counts. Apr 05, 2015 generally a 50,000word novel would be the minimum word count. I think theres some confusion here on memoir word count vs. Most chapters run around 5,000 words, while some may run up to 9,000 words.
Everything you need to know about novel word counts nathan. Depending on the writing genre, word count in book chapters can vary considerably. However, the true word count depends on the category in which youre writing. Ive read a lot of ya in the last few years and chapters generally feel longer than that. I once entered a competition that set a maximum word limit of 80,000 for young adult novels and 100,000 for adult novels. They can be as short as one sentence, especially when using dialogue.
A closer look at word counts for young adult novels. Word counts of popular ya books as i started drafting my new wip a ya scifi thriller i began wondering what word count i should aim for. They can be up to 180,000 words, or even over 200,000, but the novel must be wonderful and must fully justify its word count. How to increase your novels word count noveldoctor. This is a true statement if your goal is to be published through traditional methods someday. If youre writing for a more literary audience, then the rules above apply on upper limits. Which is totally understandable, since length can be an important factor that agents and publishers look at when they receive your query letter. As persuasion progresses, jane austen seems to elongate. That gives us a rough range of 61,00089,000 words, with about 3 out of 4 queried ya books falling into that range. Harry potters ending 3% of the novel, twilights ending 15% of the novel, and the hunger games 7% of the novel chapter 20. Jan 08, 2018 this article on writers digest also suggests a length of around 100115,000, and takes a good look at desirable word count ranges for different genres. When it comes to writing your chapters, the question of how many words is an.
In general, illustrated stories are more about page count than word count. Feb 09, 2015 word counts of popular ya books as i started drafting my new wip a ya scifi thriller i began wondering what word count i should aim for. Shorter novels such as fahrenheit 451, the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, the great gatsby, and slaughterhousefive are between 4050,000 words. This means in a novel, a chapter can usually run from 628 novel pages or 314 word pages. In my own most recent book, the shortest chapter not counting the prologue and epilogue is just over 2000 words and the longest about 5500. Im now halfway through zone 2 of my novel, and pretty much dead on the word count ill hit 50,000 word right at the midpoint, and will have a. Aug 05, 2019 i think theres some confusion here on memoir word count vs. Oct 18, 2017 therefore, the word count of a novel is crucial if you want your book to be fit for publication. This averages to about 22 to 23 chapters per novel, with the average chapter length around 4,280 words. And ya novels, which have grown in popularity, can often be the same length as a standard novel 80,000 words. What about the accepted minimum on middlegrade books. Paragraphs have no specific sentence or word count. Also, the chapters are evenly divided into 3 titled parts. I then did a word count after switching to times new roman 60,705.
These pages counts are based on the american standard sized paper using the standard manuscript expectations see above. The society of childrens book writers and illustrators scbwi does offer length guidelines in terms of the appropriate number of manuscript pages for various genres meaning the number of pages a writer would submit to a publisher. As for chapter length, i cant help but feel that 1500 words is a bit short for ya. So as youre writing a book, a common question if often asked. If youre writing your first novel, the general rule of thumb for novel writing is a word count in the 80,000 to 100,000 range. But the word count of a chapter matters if you want your story to flow right. Im writing a fantasy novel and was worried when my chapter ran in to the 7,000 word mark. 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. 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. My friend and i were discussing chapter length, and one site suggested 3,500 words general fiction. Never pad your manuscript just to meet a wordcount guideline. 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. Words counts of bestselling novels better novel project.
Word counting may be needed when a text is required to stay within certain numbers of words. 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. Generally a 50,000word novel would be the minimum word count. For young adult fiction, the word count is once again lower, with the ideal. Ive got 50k words word processor word count and im on my fifteenth chapter with six. Now that weve covered how many words are in a novel, its time to break it down even further by finding out the ideal number of chapters in a novel and how many words are used in a typical chapter depending on the writing genre, word count in book chapters can vary considerably. Try not to completely tether yourself to word counts.
Most young adult novels fall between 55,000 and 70,000 words. Sep 18, 2017 the highest word count was 115,000, the lowest was 47,000, and the average was 75,000. I find it alarming, honestly, that the stats seem to be so low. If yours is too short, restructure it and add more tightly written stuff. Jun 15, 2017 this is a general list of age categories and word counts for childrens books.
Writing towards a word count might not work for everybody, but having a rough goal in mind certainly helps me when im sketching out chapters and undertaking my first draft. This is the most comprehensive explanation on word count for different types of manuscripts that ive ever come across. This article on writers digest also suggests a length of around 100115,000, and takes a good look at desirable word count ranges for different genres. If youre writing a young adult fantasy novel, you should keep your word count below 90,000 words or 300 book pages. As previously discussed, there are different requirements for both fiction and nonfiction genres. Jun 28, 2017 this video is all about word counts for your novel, in particular word counts for ya novels. Books for readers aged 58 typically sit around 20,000 words. Now this doesnt mean there arent any guidelines in place. Like a general fiction novel, a good target word count for a memoir is 80,000 words. I like that theres a comment about minimum word count for ya.
Now, the page count was dramatically higher using the courier font, but word count didnt change. Oct 11, 2012 she is currently querying her epic fantasy novel heirs of war with a word count at 7k. Bestselling author caleb carr may write novels of 250,000 words, but when you pitch your novel and offer up that number, be prepared for a glacial reception. As previously discussed, there are different requirements. What is the average word count for a scene in a chapter. About how many words per chapter should a youngadult novel. If you think a 270,000 word memoir will make it past the agent, do it. What word counts are a red flag for agents and will get. Each genre and subgenre has its own word count range. 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.
I have therefore made some averages, based on what ive heard from publishers and agents at childrens book events, and from research and reading. Young adult novels tend to have chapters between 1,0003,500. Ya manuscripts can have a word count anywhere from 55k to 90k. Sep 20, 2019 the average fantasy novel should have between 50,000 and 150,000 words. The inheritance cycle has a lot of chapters, but mostly because they run around three to five pages. But blake is trying to give everyone here some guidelines. It is feasible to count the number of words in a published chapter. How many words does it take to write a young adult book. The average chapter word count of these novels falls within the 2,0005,000 range. Do check your comparable titlesrecent debuts onlyto make sure your story falls in that range. List of popular ya novels word counts if youre like me, you obsess over the word count of your novel. If you think a 270,000word memoir will make it past the agent, do it. But for mainstream ya it is always best to stick to under 80k. This 90,000word guideline for how many words in a novel is just that, a guideline.