Average word count chapter book

T he indie author chris fox coined the term potato chip chapters for easilydigestible book chapters of a certain size. For classification purposes, however, chapter books can be anywhere from 4,000 words to 40,000 words. From a conference, paula sadler had given out a handout that said the word count could be between 5,000 to,000 words. Amazon ebook page length by genre kindle page length. So, whats the sweet spot for an average chapters word count and. If youre printing a regular book or publishing to amazon or something thats extremely ereader friendly, you can get away with longer chapters. If the word count of twilight is disregarded, the average becomes around 88,625. Jun 15, 2017 this is a general list of age categories and word counts for childrens books. Each book section below details the breakdown of these points of view as a word count and as a percentage. Go out and find similar books to the one you want to write and figure out how many words are in the book. Therefore, the word count of a novel is crucial if you want your book to be fit for publication. The hunger games has 27 untitled chapters, and about 3700 words per chapter. Aug 05, 2019 all of these are average book word count ranges and should not be taken as the definitive word count you must reach in your book.

We all know of outliers within each genre that have been published well under, or well over, these word counts. Calculate book page count using word count for book design. 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. Once you know your word count, follow one of our two methods below to estimate your page count.

To find pretty much any kids ya word count, you can use the ar bookfinder. Generally, 50,000 would be considered the minimum word count, and ideally a novel should be over 70,000 words. In some cases, these books will have no words at all, such as for the very small child who likes to feel the fluffy cotton tail. If yours is too short, restructure it and add more tightly written stuff. On average, when writing a memoir should not exceed 90,000 words and that is a stretch when it comes to memoir word count we recommend memoirs be between 45,000 to 80,000 words in order to maintain intrigue and reduce intimidation. Not only do you need to know how many words are in a novel, but also why and how the genre youre writing it can change this word count. How to write early readers, easy chapter books, and chapter. A minimum count for a nonfiction ebook is about 10,000 words, as long as the content is solid.

All of these are average book word count ranges and should not be. When i started writing three years ago, the mg word count i kept hearing was no more than 30,000 words. Never pad your manuscript just to meet a wordcount guideline. I definitely notice when a chapter is a lot shorter or a lot longer than sort of what has been established. 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. But the word count of a chapter matters if you want your story to flow right. So as youre writing a book, a common question if often asked.

What will happen in each chapter, and how much has to happen before you move on to the next chapter. Oct 22, 2010 early readers and chapter books are a childs first tentative steps into the grownup world of reading. The acceptance of a more ambitious word count in these two genres is the need to describe whole new worlds and presumably original. Nicholas sparks word count popular novel word count. 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. I find it alarming, honestly, that the stats seem to be so low. Novelty books include popups, puzzles, pulltabs and other interactive features. A word count guide for 18 book genres, including fiction and nonfiction. I believe the word count has increased as she wrote more books. Here is everything writers need to know about novel word counts. As with everything else when it comes to writing a book, these are only guidelinesnot rules. Oct 18, 2017 therefore, the word count of a novel is crucial if you want your book to be fit for publication.

Though the average word count of a chapter is around 2,000 5,000 words, it all depends on your story. Theyre very short in terms of manuscript length 1,500 words max but are broken up into either chapters or vignettes that will give the reader the. For novels specifically in the young adult genre, the typical range is between 55,000 79,999 words. Most publishers like to see chapters that are in the 2,000 to 3,000word range. Regarding the value of adhering to standard word counts, jackie bates, a former managing editor at aa publishing, adds. But again as a surprise to me, dune was a close second, averaging just 3,800 words per chapter. Ive got 50k words word processor word count and im on my fifteenth.

Its for the ages 710, would i need to stretch it up to 8,000. Harry potter and the sorcerers stone has 17 chapters with titles, and about 4560 words per chapter. Well, youll put the book down when you get to the end of this chapter. In itself, no measure is perfect but personally i find word count the most useful. When writing a longer book that is aimed at 12yearolds and could maybe be considered tween, using the term upper middle grade is advisable. And when im reading, i definitely notice, you know, with my editorial clients, i have manuscripts in front of me all the time. Of course, when youre writing the first draft of your story, you. Yet all too often they arent taken seriously in the world of childrens publishing.

Every book is different and for any suggested word or page count you see, you are likely to encounter several popular fantasy books that are outside. Twilight has 24 titled chapters, or 26 if you count the preface and. Many sites say the same thing and it makes me wonder a bit if im writing my own novel wrong. Im a little confused about the word count for chapter books.

Line count varies depending on page size, font size, etc. As a nonfiction writer myself, i know this is tough. It makes quite a difference whether you want to publish a childrens picture book, a 50recipe smoothie book, a science fiction novel or a technical encyclopedia. My middle grade novel is complete at 250,000 words, and have five sequels planned which will each be approximately the same length. Search for word count totals in books word counters. Since 2011, the average length of a bestseller has dropped steadily from year to year. And this ebook page length differs significantly depending on the book genre. Hilo books for upper elementary grades at ala example titles ranging from 1090k words. Upper middle grade can hit in the 50k word count range possibly longer, if its something really special. From a conference, paula sadler had given out a handout that said the word. In 2011, the lists average length peaked at 467 pages. I counted the number of words on page 7 of night whispers, then multiplied by the number of pages, then rounded, and so theres aout 4 words per book. We explain two easy methods to estimate your books page count. Most agree that under 1,000 words would be rather short and that over 5,000 might be rather too long.

Everything you need to know about novel word counts nathan. Rather than force your chapter to meet a certain word count, end it where it naturally ends. Depending on the writing genre, word count in book chapters can vary. T he indie author chris fox coined the term potato chip chapters for easilydigestible book chapters of.

Consider your average chapter length for that story. Can be publisher specific, ranging from 3,000 to absolute max 5,000. The wheel of time main series consists of fourteen books and a prequel. 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. The best thing that you can do is look over comparable books and try to judge word count by their size, average wordspage, and illustration content. Also, millions of people, young and old alike, who have read these books have. Writing for reluctant readers at writing world stated count of 4001200 words. I use the target average of 1,500 words per chapter. Middle grade is from 20,000 55,000, depending on the subject matter and age range, and the word count of these books has been trending up in recent years. 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. I am writing the last chapter of my childrens chapter book manuscript and am currently just shy of 23k.

Writing middle grade a look at the numbers hannah holt. Ive rechecked my word count of my childrens fiction book and i have just under 7500. Minimum realistic word count of nonfiction book writing. Calculate book page count using the word count from your word document. 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 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. Writing chapter books a look at the numbers hannah holt. Like a general fiction novel, a good target word count for a memoir is 80,000 words. This is a lot harder because its not a specific field im receiving back i have to scrape the results and do some crazy parsing of the data. I wrote this book over 2 years ago and have been spending the last few years editing and researching agents etc. This reduction will be very small, like maybe 12 lines less per page, and 510 pages less for the book.

Better to have solid, clear information than rambling to make a page count. As a general guideline, chapters should be between 3,000 to 5,000 words. Use these numbers as a baseline for your writing goals. 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 books are written from different points of view povs. On the upper end, a novel over 110,000 words is considered an epic. A reasonable word count for a nonfiction book would be between 30,000 to 50,000 words. However, occasionally very short books are published, such as harry frankfurts on bullshit, at 67 small pages with very wide margins about 110 wdspage. Now this doesnt mean there arent any guidelines in place. There are plenty of books that purposefully play with the word counts of their chapters. Each page contains about 34 lines, with an average word count of 11 words per line, thus 375 words per page. Chapter books span a wide audience and reading levels vary.

If you have 6 panels, stick to a maximum of 35 words per panel. 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. I have therefore made some averages, based on what ive heard from publishers and agents at childrens book events, and from research and reading. Hi, im a little confused about the word count for chapter books. Now, they dont offer word count or running time for books, but they do have a search api. Armed with these word counts, i now have a range of lengths that have been proven popular. Word count limits sometimes seem as though they are stifling artistic flow, but they are usually there for a reason, says freelance editor lisa howard. How many chapters will you need before you reach your target word count. For this reason, there really is no average word count within the range. First of all, find your word count in word by opening your document and looking at the bottom left of your screen. Its up to you within reason before you decide your average chapter length, its a good idea to think about the purpose behind dividing a book into chapters. Jan 08, 2018 calculate book page count using your word count.

Picture story books for older children between the ages of 6 and 10 include more text with each picture. What is the average number of actual words in comic books. I know that this is considered long but i really cant cut anything, it is all integral to the story. If youre hoping to land a book deal with a traditional publisher, you dont want to give an editor a reason to turn your book away. With fun, lighthearted, simple middle grade youll want to stay around the 20k30k word count range.

It is feasible to count the number of words in a published chapter. Of course, when youre writing the first draft of your story, you want to just get your words out on paper. Oct 27, 2018 chapter length matters more than you think. But for print publishing, the physical cost of producing the book is an issue, and the market does generally know what it likes. Your article was a welcome relief to me since i cannot justify writing for the sake of adding to my word count if the story is. Childrens book manuscript chapter length consistency is what sort of keeps the engine of your pacing going. Your article was a welcome relief to me since i cannot justify writing for the sake of adding to my word count if the story is already complete. The title with the shortest chapters, on average, was whirlwind in the thorn tree, averaging just 2,900 words each.

We are also going to look at how harry potter is comparable to other young adult novels in regards to word count. Still unsure of how long to make your nonfiction book. Science fiction and fantasy books should be 90,000 to 125,000 words. If the book offers more complicated instructions such as for creating an origami bird or a fashionable paper doll, the word count can extend as high as 1,500 words.

What is a reasonable estimate for the minimum length, in word count, for a nonfiction book. Analyzing chapter lengths in fantasy fiction creativity. Jun 05, 2017 childrens book manuscript chapter length consistency is what sort of keeps the engine of your pacing going. Click librarian or teacher and then search for books like yours click on the. Picture books for children up to age eight average words though many are shorter. The word count to aim for with this type of book is usually between 500 and 600 words. Some of you might push chapters to 5000 or 6000 words or more, and thats okay, but if you ever wonder why some people arent reading your story, remember that on wattpad that is a lot of text to. Also, the chapters are evenly divided into 3 titled parts.

Most are written inhouse or by packagers, and a few, as carrie noted about the dora books, are downright dreadful. Chapter books are a bit of an anomaly in the publishing world. This averages to about 22 to 23 chapters per novel, with the average chapter length around 4,280 words. It should be enough to communicate your message effectively. 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. How to write early readers, easy chapter books, and. And remember, keeping to word counts is important, but what makes or breaks your chances with a publisher is the quality of your manuscript. Excluding endnotes and index, the book has about 200 pages of text, which means its total word count is about 74,000 words.

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 one im targeting would be the younger audience around ages 6 to 9. Science fiction and fantasy novels break the above word count rules and can be longer how many words are there in a scifi or fantasy novel. Your guide to book word counts fiction and nonfiction. The average nonfiction book is about 50,000 to 75,000 words, which is about 153 to 230 ebook pages. Make your books more unputdownable and keep your readers coming back. Even the individual books in the series have more words than average. Like everything in writing, you may write a work of genius that smashes all the rules. What is the average word count for a childrens age 810. What is the average word count for a scene in a chapter. The word count at big five publishers had a slightly narrower range. Dec 18, 2010 i believe the word count has increased as she wrote more books.

Try it on some books with chapter lengths you like, and dont be surprised if it. Do you want to publish a wide format bookwith inspiring quotes down the side margins. The longest is the order of the phoenix with a word count of 257,000 words. The longest average chapter lengths were lord of the rings 7,500, prince of nothing 8,700, and the beefiest chapters were found. If you want to write a memoir, for example, look at four or five similar memoirs and determine their wordcount. Information on writing and publishing in the early reader and chapter book market.

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. They are not in high demand and there just arent a lot of standards out there. I have often looked this up and got different results, which makes it very confusing. When writing for the younger ages especially, every word must count.

All of these are average book word count ranges and should not be taken as the definitive word count you must reach in your book. Thats the level where publishers may suggest dividing a story into multiple volumes. Its a question often asked by aspiring authors wondering if their manuscript is several thousand words too long or short, but its also an intriguing one for readers to consider. Most young adult novels fall between 55,000 and 70,000 words. Most middle grade novels are between 40,000 and 69,000 words long. 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. Before you decide your average chapter length, its a good idea to think about the purpose behind dividing a book into chapters. Never pad your manuscript just to meet a word count guideline.