Average book length non-fiction short

I get asked this a lot, and my answer is always the same. A book that appears too short looks like it wont satisfy, while a book that appears too long looks like it will bore you. Nonfiction books tend to be shorter, and written in a way that they can be. How to make a living with your writing is my shortest non fiction book at 27,000 words and looks fine in print. Generally speaking, a shorter book of 150 finished pages or 40k words or less typically commands a lower price. Jul 23, 2012 so 50,000 words is the minimum for a non fiction book. Nonfiction can pay even higher, but thats another discussion. The average nonfiction book, if such a thing exists, runs about 50,000 words. The word count is the number of words in a document or passage of text. However, many authors, frustrated with the low price of ebooks, have taken to writing ebooks that are between 40,000 and 50,000. The question of fiction and nonfiction was not introduced into the story so that brings another question as to the length of nonfiction v fiction and whether there should be a separate category for nonfiction ebooks so that we can remove these ebooks from the general population for data assessment purposes or simply provide another set. Though the average word count of a chapter is around 2,000 5,000 words, it all depends on your story. I heard 10,000 words can be accepted as an e book at a short length at least for non fiction.

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. So 50,000 words is the minimum for a nonfiction book. Sure, i may get attracted by its beautiful cover like i always do, or the sizzling title, or the irresistible book description and eventually buy the book. Jun 05, 2017 so childrens book manuscript chapter length is a big question that ive received many times about all sorts of childrens books that have chapters. For adult fiction especially crime, thrillers, womens fiction, saga and romance, 100,000 words is a good. Amazons most sold charts rank books according to the number of copies sold and preordered through, amazon books stores, and books read through digital subscription programs once a customer has read a certain percentage roughly the length of a free reading sample. In fiction, a short book is between 50,000 to 80,000 words roughly 200 300 pages in paperback. Trim sizes in this post were updated on january 30, 2015 as soon as you get serious about selfpublishing a book, you are confronted with the choice of what size your book ought to be for instance, if you want to get a price on how much a book will. Flannery by brad gooch starts with a 50 page chapter and the rest cap out at somewhere around 30 tops, both h. Aug 05, 2019 before diving into the specifics of genrebased word counts, lets look at the broader picture of average book length. Digital pricing can vary smoothly with length, as physical. Word counts may also be used to calculate measures. If you think of a certain kind of novel, you will probably not only imagine a certain kind of story, but also how slim or hefty the book will feel in your hand.

Long enough to feel substantial, short enough not to intimidate potential readers. So, what is the average length of a non fiction book. Mar 26, 2014 karen, i once wrote a book with short, concise chapters, averaging around 1,000 words each. Although science fiction and some other genres have been creeping up and can now exceed 400 pages 200,000 words. Sep 05, 20 and i know several short fiction writers who have wasted painful years writing bad novels instead of superb short stories and novellas. Your guide to book word counts fiction and nonfiction. The figure was found through looking at a number of books text stats, until brave new worlds 64,531 word count landed in the exact center of all books50% of books have fewer words and 50% of books have more words. Make sure your childrens book manuscript chapter length is consistent, look for outliers, so chapters that are too long or too short based on the length that you set for yourself where you fall most of the time when youre writing.

Mar 20, 2018 precise word count definitions will vary, but as a general rule of thumb, a short story is anything up to about 7500 words sometimes 10,000, with higher word counts typically called novelettes, and short novels called novellas. My editor was not nearly so impressed and had me rework my 30 or so mini chapters into 7 concept chapters. Absolutely, chapter lengths can be all over the place. Sep 03, 2017 the odds, in short, were stacked against our young hero, just like the odds that are stacked against the release of a new book in this era of social media where hart has a following of over 100 million, by the way. I dont know what i can say to add to what has already been said. Word count is commonly used by translators to determine the price for the translation job.

What is a reasonable estimate for the minimum length, in word count, for a nonfiction book. We analyzed the nyt bestsellers to see what the optimal length and word. Generally speaking, traditional publishers expect completed nonfiction book. So yeah, i would say that chapter consistency above all is key. Check with your publisher to be sure there isnt a set format for chapter length. Oct 10, 2016 the lengths vary hugely from title to title, but chapters released weekly seem to average 1620 pages while chapters released monthly average 3650 pages. I use the target average of 1,500 words per chapter. The average nonfiction book, if such a thing exists, runs about 50,000 to 75,000 words, but this can vary depending upon category. Within the publishing industry we tend to talk about the length of a book in words rather than in pages. Amazon ebook page length by genre kindle page length. Book length average length of a non fiction booki youtube.

The length can vary greatly between genres, though. Alternatively, this is an acceptable length for a short work of nonfiction. Deconstructing five spooky picture books with spoilers and word counts. A typical popular business book runs 25,000 to 75,000 words. For my client base, which includes experienced consultants, coaches, and speakers who selfpublish, i find a nice book length is somewhere in the 40,000 to 70,000word range, which is 160280 pages. 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. If youre drawn to writing much shorter tales, the ideal is to make them part of a series or to link them in some other way so that you can publish several of them in something vaguely novelsized. I remember reading some westerns in high school and, if i. As with everything else when it comes to writing a book, these are only guidelinesnot rules. Minimum realistic word count of nonfiction book writing stack. A book can be 25,000 words and still be of incredible value if it is priced appropriately. Kriwaczekhis chapters can be anywhere from 40 to 14 pages frequently have chapter lengths that vary from long to short.

According to amazon s great text stats feature, the median length for all books is about 64,000 words. Within short stories, there is a further breakdown to define super short stories as flash and microflash. Book length average length of a non fiction book a 10 minute training video from video discusses how to determine the av. For most publishers, a book is novellength when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words. More to the point, if the market for 5yearolds is defined by short books say, 80 pages long with a bit of simple text aimed precisely at that age group and with quite a few illustrations, then offering a publisher a book that is double the length and without a precise target age group just wont fly. Some people might regard this as a novelette or novella. Count up the total number of words on 10 random full lines from different. If your manuscript is on the short side, make this clear when pitching to a. I liked the brevity and how they flowed from one chapter to the next. However, there is a wide range of acceptable word counts for non fiction books. Some historicals can be longer, although regencies tend to be short. If the content is stepbystep and high quality, 15 pages is enough for a 99 cent kindle book or a freebie used for lead generation.

Alternatively, this is an acceptable length for a short work of non fiction. This is about the length readers want for general nonfiction, and it keeps publishers happy given the high cost of paper. If yours is too short, restructure it and add more tightly written stuff. Precise word count definitions will vary, but as a general rule of thumb, a short story is anything up to about 7500 words sometimes 10,000, with higher word counts typically called novelettes, and short novels called novellas. I just popped into my office and pulled a few books off the shelf. A non fiction book attractive to publishers of bestsellers starts at around 75,000 words. As for non fiction books, the standard bestsellers have word counts similar to adult novels. Indeed, most traditional publishers limit nonfiction authors to 80,000 words for standard 6 x 9 books, between 240 and 280 pages. May 11, 2009 more to the point, if the market for 5yearolds is defined by short books say, 80 pages long with a bit of simple text aimed precisely at that age group and with quite a few illustrations, then offering a publisher a book that is double the length and without a precise target age group just wont fly. According to amazons great text stats feature, the median length for all books is about 64,000 words. Know your content, know your mainline pitch and some.

And, keeping your chapters short creates a good balance between content and action, and fits with this model of short actionable content. Id guesstimate that nonfiction books generally yes, this is very rough run perhaps 150450 pages, and at about 350 wdpage that works out to something like 50150k words. I read a lot an average of three books per week but when i sit to write a short story which ive not written since an year and a half, i feel my short stories are too. Many wouldbe authors worry that readers will not take a short book seriously. However, there is a wide range of acceptable word counts for nonfiction books. When it gets closer to 1,000, editors and agents may shy away. Word counting may be needed when a text is required to stay within certain numbers of words. Oct 18, 2017 as with everything else when it comes to writing a book, these are only guidelinesnot rules. For most publishers, a book is novel length when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words. Learn the average word counts for various genres of fiction and nonfiction so you can determine the ideal length for your book. The ideal book length depends not only on your content, but on. Never pad your manuscript just to meet a wordcount guideline. There are also publishing houses, not the big 6, that are on the lookout specifically for anthology works.

Not a very satisfying answer, i know, but i say it for a reason. So if youve been wondering about chapter length, my best counsel is to. But kevin hart, like ernest hemingway, jk rowling, and chocolate droppa before him, was able to defy the odds and turn it around. Mar 20, 2020 so, what length is the right one for a book. In fact, the average nonfiction book on amazon is 10,000 words. I dont know if the question is meant as a mentalstatistical exorcise. In 2011, the average length of a bestselling nonfiction book was 467. This may particularly be the case in academia, legal proceedings, journalism and advertising. There are plenty of books that purposefully play with the word counts of their chapters. However, occasionally very short books are published, such as harry frankfurts on bullshit, at 67 small pages with very wide margins about 110 wdspage. I heard 10,000 words can be accepted as an ebook at a short length at least for nonfiction.

Typically, a book that is published in paperback format at a length of 300400 pages will come in between 80,000 and 100,000 words. Would it be better to write a short book people can get through quickly or a longer one that goes into more depth. Minimum realistic word count of nonfiction book writing. At a writers conference i recently attended, publishing veteran jane friedman said 80,000 words is good for most fiction, below. 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.

How to set the retail price for your nonfiction book. With digital as well as print books available, the length of books varies. Specifically, an accessible nonfiction book might be anything between about 30,000 words and 50,000 words. 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. By 2017, however, that number has dropped to 273 pages. In terms of competitions, short story length is usually between 1,000 and 5,000 words, although i have seen short story competitions with a 17,000 word maximum. Word count is commonly used by translators to determine the price of a translation job. And at the end of the day, theres a whole market on kindle for short 99cent e books. The graph shows the average length of the top 100 bestsellers in each of the 30 main amazon kindle categories, measured in terms of the number of pages. If the topic really justifies length and especially if your credentials are highly impressive you can go longer, but check that you remain interesting, even at length. And i know several shortfiction writers who have wasted painful years writing bad novels instead of superb short stories and novellas. Pencilthin books on narrow topics that are under 50,000 words are quite common.

If you write a story of under 1,000 words, most people seem to regard this as flash fiction. Onethird of the novels that come into the agency are rejected because theyre too long or. As for nonfiction books, the standard bestsellers have word counts similar to adult novels. In the publishing industry, 250 words is considered a printed page of text. That means 75,000 words equals 300 pages, which is just about perfect for a first novel. Between and 8000 words is a short story also, most short story competitions will stipulate their required word length for entry between 5000 and 10,000 words is a long short story novella. And conversely, a longer book of over 60k words or 200 pages can command a higher price. I guess 50,000 is a short novel and some early novels before goes as low as 40,000 which can be considered to be a novella. So that usually includes everything from chapter books, to middle grade, to young adult novels. And remember, keeping to word counts is important, but what makes or breaks your chances with a publisher is. A recommended wordcount might be 15002000 words but, more important.

Within short stories, there is a further breakdown to define supershort stories as flash and microflash. The only thing i care is whether or not the book would solve my problems. As an interesting side note, amazons text stats show that the average length of all books on amazon is about 64,000 words. If you have an idea for a nonfiction book, its better to write a couple of. The average fiction book is about 80,000 to 100,000 words, which is about 246 to 307 ebook pages. When in doubt, i suggest people target 50,000 words to start. Theres nothing worse than a nonfiction book that doesnt engage the.

Before diving into the specifics of genrebased word counts, lets look at the broader picture of average book length. And a typical howto nonfiction book might need between 7 and 12. Check out similar books that are on the market to see if there seems to be any consensus on chapter length. Jul 14, 2011 book length average length of a non fiction book a 10 minute training video from video discusses how to determine the av. Why does the length of a typical novel fall in the 80. How to finally write your nonfiction book the new york times. The retail price you set for your book impacts your profit margin. Most manga stories run for as long as their mangaka manga author wants them to, or as long as their readership demands.

Add screenshots or other graphics and youve got a nicesized ebook. Jun 07, 2017 for my client base, which includes experienced consultants, coaches, and speakers who selfpublish, i find a nice book length is somewhere in the 40,000 to 70,000word range, which is 160280 pages. Onethird of the novels that come into the agency are rejected because theyre too long or short, perkins says. I guess 50,000 is a short novel and some early novels before goes as low as 40,000 which can. This is a story that is between 10,000 and 40,000 words. The big short why amazons kindle singles are the future.