Novel chapter word count

Word count is the devil you have to love, or at the very least, respect. 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. Apr 23, 2018 this post covers why word count matters for novels, the standard word count ranges for various genres, and the word counts of some famous novels. Almost always, high word count means that the writer simply did not edit their work down enough. 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. Jul 24, 20 one is word count the actual number of words. Oct 11, 2012 she is currently querying her epic fantasy novel heirs of war with a word count at 7k. 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.

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. Also remember because there are a bunch of new novel imprints opening their doors, a novella is 40k or less. 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. 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. If it has areas that need further explanation the word count will go up. Orit means they have two or more books combined into one. From a conference, paula sadler had given out a handout that said the word count could be between 5,000 to,000 words. This is a true statement if your goal is to be published through traditional methods someday. I find it alarming, honestly, that the stats seem to be so low.

Most young adult novels fall between 55,000 and 70,000 words. Ive got 50k words word processor word count and im on my fifteenth chapter with six. Those of you who dont care about traditional publishing can leave the room now. Armed with these word counts, i now have a range of lengths that have been proven popular. In other words, you must be scrupulous about editing every sentence for length. But the word count of a chapter matters if you want your story to flow right. The hunger games has a word count of 99,750 and my utility calculates it at 99,060. My friend and i were discussing chapter length, and one site suggested 3,500 words general fiction.

What writers fail to see is that for every successful exception to the rule e. 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. Ya manuscripts can have a word count anywhere from 55k to 90k. Put simply, the sweet spot for a novels word count is generally said to be around 8090k. The final cut of my mystery novel is 72,500 words and 18 chapters so shorter chapters than yours. Better to have solid, clear information than rambling to make a page count. Im a little confused about the word count for chapter books. This is due to the audience youre reaching preferring that length. 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. At most, we could do a deep dive, and study a few benchmark novels chapter by chapter that are similar in genre and style. Like a general fiction novel, a good target word count for a memoir is 80,000 words. You wont get exact, but youre wondering whether 35k is reasonable, so you dont need exact.

For novels specifically in the young adult genre, the typical range is between 55,000 79,999 words. A reasonable word count for a nonfiction book would be between 30,000 to 50,000 words. If your protagonist has just discovered something and is going. For average word counts based on genre, see this handy reference. For me, though, i like tracking my page progress on a day to day basis. Each genre and subgenre has its own word count range. Aug 28, 2010 word count is the devil you have to love, or at the very least, respect. As persuasion progresses, jane austen seems to elongate hers, building them up on a crescendo. If youre writing an adult fantasy novel or an epic fantasy novel like game of thrones, your word count can skew higher at 90,000 200,000 words. Everything you need to know about novel word counts nathan. Martin and harper lee keep things more evenly paced in a game of thrones and to kill a mockingbird, respectively. Thats 49,000 words or more too much for a first novel according to nearly everything i read on here. Do check your comparable titlesrecent debuts onlyto make sure your story falls in that range.

Beginning writers often ask how long the chapters in the novel they are working on should be. Never write a chapter longer than 4,000 words bookfox. There is no definitive word count guide for nonfiction books due to the many subgenres. Word count for young adult fiction perhaps more than any other, ya is the one category where word count is very flexible. The length of a chapter in a novel should be less about words and pages and more about plot points. May 12, 2012 i find it alarming, honestly, that the stats seem to be so low. Counting chickens a few words about word counts at hope vestergaards site. Search for word count totals in books word counters. August auggie pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream schooluntil now.

If youre writing for a more literary audience, then the rules above apply on upper limits. Most of the time, an overly long word count is a symptom of major plot or pacing problems in a novel issues that need to be solved during the revision process. 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. Aug 05, 2019 i think theres some confusion here on memoir word count vs. Im currently right in the middle of the story, and have four pov characters. If youre writing a young adult fantasy novel, you should keep your word count below 90,000 words or 300 book pages. Fleshing out an imagined historical world lends itself to a higher word count, so historical fiction tends to be closer to 100,000 words. The one im targeting would be the younger audience around ages 6 to 9. Of course, hiring a professional editor does come with a price tag, and most freelancers calculate their costs based on the number of words. Writers are not only concerned with what words to use, but also, how many in writing conferences, creative courses and in online forums, a beginning writer will invariably ask for a clear definition of what is acceptable in any particular genre. If im writing a novel, this gives me 40 chapters and 70,000 words when im done. So as youre writing a book, a common question if often asked.

Oct 18, 2017 therefore, the word count of a novel is crucial if you want your book to be fit for publication. Many, yes, but there are exceptions due to the speed at which the narrator talks. Lets look at some chapter lengths, but remember that these are averages. As with many publishing standards, word count guidelines exist for a number of reasons including marketing and sales but also to help create stories that are free from plot or pacing issues that can exhaust readers. Then there is the actual word count by ms word which im advised it not used by agents and editors.

As previously discussed, there are different requirements for both fiction and nonfiction genres. Word count is commonly used by translators to determine the price of a translation job. Therefore, the word count of a novel is crucial if you want your book to be fit for publication. Length of a book is typically associated with its sizespecifically page countleading many to assume the largest and thickest book equates to its length. Many sites say the same thing and it makes me wonder a bit if im writing my own novel wrong. In north america, the standard used by editorial staff in figuring word count is 250 words per page, 10 words per line using a 12 pt. The answer is that there is not a fixed length or a precise word count you should follow when creating chapters for your book. Sep 20, 2019 if youre writing a young adult fantasy novel, you should keep your word count below 90,000 words or 300 book pages. You know this, i know this, and ive done my damndest to cut it i shaved 12k off in the past two weeks.

Here is everything writers need to know about novel word counts. I created this site after months of searching for something that i soon realized didnt exist. Try not to completely tether yourself to word counts. I use the target average of 1,500 words per chapter. It is feasible to count the number of words in a published chapter. 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. If you think a 270,000word memoir will make it past the agent, do it. What do you think is a good word count per chapter. 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.

This may particularly be the case in academia, legal proceedings, journalism and advertising. Mainstream, thriller, horror, romance, suspense, mystery, and. Word count for famous novels, in ascending order by number of words. Most publishers like to see chapters that are in the 2,000 to 3,000word range.

Heres a quick word count guide for adult fiction, adult sff, young adult contemporary, young adult sff, and middle grade. Chapters can be differing lengths and thats as it should be. If the publisher has a convincing argument for cutting a passage or two, the book will be shorter. Analyzing chapter lengths in fantasy fiction creativity. I think theres some confusion here on memoir word count vs. Word count for famous novels organized by hawthorn mineart, under books, writing. Words counts of bestselling novels better novel project. Target your novels word count based on the most popular length for your genre. How to increase your novels word count noveldoctor. When converting character counts to words, a measure of 5 or 6 characters to a word is generally used for english. Using the snowflake method, i developed my story with multiple subplots that intersect. For example, if youre writing for genres that have a word count range of 80,00089,999 words i.

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. Try instead to end where theres a significant event or cliffhanger so the reader keeps turning pages. That means the average word count for each numbered section is a. Even dan browns first novel digital fortress is 159,000 words and 186,000 respectively using each method. This averages to about 22 to 23 chapters per novel, with the average chapter length around 4,280 words. Why chapter length matters more than you think medium. I have often looked this up and got different results, which makes it very confusing. This post covers why word count matters for novels, the standard word count ranges for various genres, and the word counts of some famous novels. A short story has a word count of under 20,000 words though anything over 10,000 puts it into that no mans land along with novellas where its a long slog for a short story but too short for anything resembling a novel. Again, like novel length, chapter length is dictated by what is happening in the story, not. But blake is trying to give everyone here some guidelines. Jul 18, 20 im writing a fantasy novel and was worried when my chapter ran in to the 7,000 word mark. 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. The average chapter word count of these novels falls within the 2,0005,000 range.

In any of these books, some chapters are longer than others. For pre1980s novels, longer chapter lengths are pretty. 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. Shorter novels such as fahrenheit 451, the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, the great gatsby, and slaughterhousefive are between 4050,000 words. Word counting may be needed when a text is required to stay within certain numbers of words.

If youve read our related article on how many words are in a novel youll recall that the typical word count for a novel according to is 80,000 to 109,000 words. The word round the agent blogosphere is that these books tend to be trending longer, saying that you can top in the 80ks. Now this doesnt mean there arent any guidelines in place. Word count per chapter is highly subjective, and 5,000 should be plenty. Everything you need to know about novel word counts. 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.

Im writing a fantasy novel and was worried when my chapter ran in to the 7,000 word mark. This 90,000word guideline for how many words in a novel is just that, a guideline. For example, if youre writing for genres that have a word count range of 80,000 89,999 words i. If youve ever picked up a mass market novel and squinted your way through what seems ridiculously small type on ridiculously jampacked pages, well, thats because the publisher is trying to reduce the page count of a novel with an overlylong word. I also include word counts from some best sellers in.

Hes about to start 5th grade at beecher prep, and if youve ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. Jun 27, 2019 well, if your goal is to publish and sell your novel, those rules are pretty darn important. Compiling a list of longest novels yields different results depending on whether pages, words or characters are counted. As persuasion progresses, jane austen seems to elongate. The average nonfiction book is about 50,000 to 75,000 words, which is about 153 to 230 ebook pages. A minimum count for a nonfiction ebook is about 10,000 words, as long as the content is solid. My question is about novel structure and word counts. Analyzing chapter lengths in fantasy fiction creativity hacker. Of course, when youre writing the first draft of your story, you want to just get your words out on paper. Jan 25, 2018 the length of a chapter in a novel should be less about words and pages and more about plot points. Based on this list compiled by nicole humphrey cook.

A 90,000 word count signals to professionals that you know what you are doing. 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. She is currently querying her epic fantasy novel heirs of war with a word count at 7k. Try it on some books with chapter lengths you like, and dont be surprised if it. 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. Word count for novels and childrens books at the guide to literary agents blog. From picture books to ya information to get you started at. It should be enough to communicate your message effectively. I have rounded the averages down slightly, both to account for twilights outlier status and my own preference for brevity. The longest is the order of the phoenix with a word count of 257,000 words. The word count is the number of words in a document or passage of text. Word counts may also be used to calculate measures of readability and to measure typing and reading speeds usually in words per minute.

Jun 15, 2017 this is a general list of age categories and word counts for childrens books. 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. For example, defending jacob has a word count of 122,475 and my utility comes up with 115,320. The hunger games has 27 untitled chapters, and about 3700 words per chapter. Also, the chapters are evenly divided into 3 titled parts. 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.