Nnon fiction book word count

Heres how i worked out the word count i literally counted the words in a cathy kelly book, a sheila oflanagan book and a marian. I have often looked this up and got different results, which makes it very confusing. I recommend staying within or close to the recommended word count for your age categorygenre unless youve received a lot of feedback verifying it needs every word or doesnt need more if youre low. According to chuck sambuchino see below for word count. Aug 05, 2019 certain publishers of very specific genres like love inspired, harlequin will require a set word count or range, but my first bit of advice is to plot out a strong, solid story using timetested structure, write the book with careful and expert crafting learn to be a great wordsmith and develop your unique voice, and ignore the constraints. In it we will meet the blackbirds, the grey tits and the robins who share the. Word count discrepencies in novel submissions a reader writes to ask. Im leaving this in the list to show that word count isnt offered for every book.

The word count in picture books is sliding like stocks in 2008. I clicked on the unabridged version, and it lists the word count as 97,364. Is 109,000 words to long for a ya adult fantasy novel. Id guesstimate that non fiction books generally yes, this is very rough run perhaps 150450 pages, and at about 350 wdpage that works out to something like 50150k words.

Example of nonfiction book proposal keeping up with the jackdaws. Granted, that might seem like an intimidating number to. Based on this list compiled by nicole humphrey cook. The main takeaway from this is that your word count needs to bear some resemblance to reader expectation. Each chapter averages 3000 words and the final word count, including fact boxes, will be around 50000 words. When talking about book length, its common to talk about word count rather than page count. But it shouldnt be word count for the sake of word count.

Jul, 2015 amazon states that the minimum accepted word count is 2,500 words, but they prefer to see longer word counts in their singles range. The second or third in a particularly bestselling series can go even higher. Well, different publishers look for different lengths for different genres. Nov, 2015 much has changed in childrens fiction in the past twenty years. The only reason to adhere to a certain word count for your book is your assessment of reader expectations.

How many words should be in an adult nonfiction book. Famous books and their word counts freelance writing jobs. Hearthkeeper by cordelia kingsbridge, love, sex, and understanding the universe by harrie farrow, rubble an. This book introduces the feathered residents of a suburban garden in the north east of england. Recently an author proposed a 30,000 word book to a publisher. If youre working on a novellength book, aim for 50,000 words at the very least but its better to aim for 90,000. I just popped into my office and pulled a few books off the shelf. Once you have decided what type of book you are writing, which genre you are writing in and the approximate word count, you can then consider which of two ways you will approach your writing. As for nonfiction books, the standard bestsellers have word counts similar to adult novels. 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. I put in anne of green gables and clicked on the first entry, and it listed the word count as 17,129.

Standard word counts for books publishing with kindle. I received a request awhile ago to do a post on word counts for different age categories in childrens lit. Can one chapter be very long and then the next one be much shorter. This is a 100% safe range for literary, mainstream, womens, romance, mystery, suspense, thriller and horror. What is a reasonable estimate for the minimum length, in word count, for a non fiction book. Word count for famous novels, in ascending order by number of words. Is it expected that chapter lengths are more or less of similar length. 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. Jul 08, 2014 you have just discovered the wonderful world of bibliographic metadata. Word count, with a little help from amazon alexis grant. What is the ideal word count for a nonfiction book in the. But i cant edit any more out otherwise the story line is going to be way to fast paced or important plot threads are going to be. Never pad your manuscript just to meet a wordcount guideline.

A recommended wordcount might be 15002000 words but, more. For the book hatchet, the actual word count is 41,672 and i give you 41,212. Your guide to book word counts fiction and nonfiction. For full titles, authors and descriptions of these books, see whats on my travel memoir bookshelf. The question of how long your manuscript should be is sometimes hard to answer because different publishers have different guidelines. Fullcolour photographs of the birds in the garden at. Ya manuscripts can have a word count anywhere from 55k to 90k. This article suggests that essentially, it should be as long as it needs to be, meaning dont look at the word count, just get the story out then edit. Word counts ill get straight into it, starting with books for grown ups.

In 2011, the average length of a bestselling nonfiction book was 467 pages, but that dropped to 273 pages in 2017. If you stick to these when youre writing your nonfiction book, youll be fine. Heres a quick word count guide for adult fiction, adult sff, young adult contemporary, young adult sff, and middle grade. Coyne uses the nanowrimo wordcount length of 50,000 words for his examples, calling 50,000 words a good foundation to build upon. Line count varies depending on page size, font size, etc. The average nonfiction book is about 50,000 to 75,000 words, which is about 153 to 230 ebook pages. Estimate your page count book designer fiona raven. Are you wondering what the word count for your book should be. Nonfiction content may be presented either objectively or subjectively, and may sometimes take the form of a story. And man, people love to point out exceptionsand they always will. Breaking bad news with baby animals, which is filled with pictures of cute animals and only one line of terrible news every two pages. I do track this from time to time, to make sure im on target for the 75,000 words im supposed to shoot for. Better to have solid, clear information than rambling to make a page count.

When converting character counts to words, a measure of 5 or 6 characters to a word is generally used for english. For others, making sure that they dont go over the word count can be a chore especially if their editor is strict about not going over that number. Pencilthin books on narrow topics that are under 50,000 words are quite common. In itself, no measure is perfect but personally i find word count the most useful. This book introduces the feathered residents of a suburban garden in the north east of.

Of course i didnt remember it except for the main theme of the book. A word count guide for 18 book genres, including fiction and. Mar 25, 20 a reader of the editors blog asked about word count for novels and although i answered the question on the blog article where it was posed, i thought other writers might have the same concern. I also include word counts from some best sellers in each age category. Minimum realistic word count of nonfiction book writing. And remember, keeping to word counts is important, but what makes or breaks your chances with a publisher is. Sep 12, 2012 put a title the exact title in the search engine, then click on the title, or one of the titles if more than one comes up. The most important thing here is to realize that there are always exceptions to these rules. That often dreaded, while at the same time appreciated, element of freelance writing. Word count is commonly used by translators to determine the price of a translation job. The actual word count for harry potter and the sorcerers stone is 78,792 and my utility calculates 77,876. For me, though, i like tracking my page progress on a day to day basis. On the other end, reference and academic books can have huge word counts. Im going to give you some information here, but first i want you to know why this is important.

Im curious about your advice compose the novel in the standard format from the start rather than changing it later why does this matter. Traditionally published mysteries, like the books of sara paretsky, louise penny, laurie r. But, most nonfiction publishers want to be sold the concept, and therefore be able to discuss the direction of the project, before you write the book. 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. Between 80,000 and 89,999 words is a good range you should be aiming for. Also, heres another list i may swipe and add in here. The creation of hilow books to help children with low reading levels and readers with additional learning difficulties develop their reading confidence. I was a little disappointed by the ending, but that. When i began writing for kids a decade ago, i was told to keep it under 1200 words, ideally under. We all know there are exceptions, but i wouldnt count on being one. A reader of the editors blog asked about word count for novels and although i answered the question on the blog article where it was posed, i thought other writers might have the same concern.

Age categories determine the guidelines for your childrens book at suite 101. Im 52 000 words into my first draft, and if my chapter length remains the same throughout the rest of the novel, i will land at around 110 000 words give or take of course. 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. If yours is too short, restructure it and add more tightly written stuff. We all know of outliers within each genre that have been published well under, or well over, these word counts. Shorter isnt necessarily better, but it can be an important consideration.

So, with only a few edits, the question and answer about word counts question. As you can see, a smaller trim size will produce more pages for the same word count, and a larger trim size will produce less. Young adult fiction allows for a lot of flexibility in word count. Count up the total number of words on 10 random full lines from different. A word count guide for 18 book genres, including fiction and non. Non fiction 2nd edition scholastic guided reading program.

I also include word counts from some best sellers in. 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. Where can i find a database of all published books word. Put a title the exact title in the search engine, then click on the title, or one of the titles if more than one comes up. Search for word count totals in books word counters. As a rough estimate when i look at word counts i use 4 pages to words, so a 42,000 word book comes to approx 168 pages.

Surely when writing the important thing is to get words on the page even if theyre in pink comic sans. Most young adult novels fall between 55,000 and 70,000 words. Apr 27, 2014 to find the word count in your favorite kids book, visit the a. Your book will have to meet a much higher standard. So, with only a few edits, the question and answer about word counts. I know that in fiction book chapter lengths can vary dramatically for various reasons. For others, making sure that they dont go over the word count can be a chore especially if their editor is strict about not going over that numbe. The problem im having is that im thinking its to long. Popular novels word count 100k 105k books goodreads. 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. Is that a good length for your reader on this topic. The average fiction book is about 80,000 to 100,000 words, which is about.

Jun 28, 2010 word counts ill get straight into it, starting with books for grown ups. However, there is a wide range of acceptable word counts for nonfiction books. Like a general fiction novel, a good target word count for a memoir is 80,000 words. Word count matters because every book, regardless of genre, has an. The first book in each series below was the authors first. I have therefore made some averages, based on what ive heard from publishers and agents at childrens book events, and from research and reading. May 27, 2008 the question of how long your manuscript should be is sometimes hard to answer because different publishers have different guidelines. Anything in this word count wont scare off any agent anywhere. 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. Nonfiction or nonfiction is any document, or content that purports in good faith to represent truth and accuracy regarding information, events, or people. But i cant edit any more out otherwise the story line is going to be way to fast paced or important plot threads are going to be missed, which is going to ruin the book and the sequel. Thus, if they are expecting an epic fantasy and your epic fantasy book comes in at 80k, they are. The longest is the order of the phoenix with a word count of 257,000 words. Word counts may also be used to calculate measures of readability and to measure typing and reading speeds usually in words per minute.

For example, atonement has a word count of 123,378 and my utility comes up with 110,765 words. None of them fit the industry standard in word count. If yes, then most publishers still work on specific word count lengths for books so youll probably be aiming for around 60,00080,000 words for nonfiction. Nicholas sparks word count popular novel word count. If your book falls within the standard preferred wordcount range, its one less. However, there is a wide range of acceptable word counts for non fiction books. In this post, id like to share some thoughts on word count considerations. But for mainstream ya it is always best to stick to under 80k. Amazon states that the minimum accepted word count is 2,500 words, but they prefer to see longer word counts in their singles range. As for non fiction books, the standard bestsellers have word counts similar to adult novels. The hunger games has a word count of 99,750 and my utility calculates it at 98,916.

A way to check word count of published books anita nolan. Nonfiction is one of the fundamental divisions of narrative specifically, prose writing in contrast to fiction, which. This information is important whether you are writing fiction or nonfiction. While page counts are a common but not universal feature of bibliographic metadata, word counts are much less frequently provided and are not at all mandatory. Sharp objects has a word count of 80,565 and my utility calculates it at 80,7. I was quickly flooded with emails from many an angry author for daring to put a word count on a level of book. Jul 24, 20 one is word count the actual number of words. Never pad your manuscript just to meet a word count guideline.

And remember, keeping to word counts is important, but what makes or breaks your chances with a publisher is the quality of your manuscript. Jun 15, 2017 this is a general list of age categories and word counts for childrens books. Should writers worry about word count the editors blog. Dec 08, 2010 ya fiction for mainstream ya, anywhere from about 45k to 80k. Sep 06, 2014 according to chuck sambuchino see below for word count. A way to check word count of published books anita nolans blog. Im concerned because the word count is around 1,000 words. For average word counts based on genre, see this handy reference. And as youve probably guessed it is sitting pretty right in between middle grade and adult. For some content writers or bloggers, hitting their word count is a pain. Larson writes science fiction with a word count around 100k.

Many, yes, but there are exceptions due to the layout and font size of a particular book. Nowadays, the average nonfiction book clocks in at around 50,000 to 75,000 words. You have just discovered the wonderful world of bibliographic metadata. A word count guide for 18 book genres, including fiction.

However if youre curious to see what the average word count is for standard genres, check out the breakdown in the article. A minimum count for a nonfiction ebook is about 10,000 words, as long as the content is solid. My wife just picked up that gift book called grandmas dead. What is a reasonable estimate for the minimum length, in word count, for a nonfiction book. Ive been writing a novel over the past year, and with the help on your site as well as a few other sites, ive been converting it into manuscript format. Upper middle grade can hit in the 50k word count range possibly longer, if its something really special. These were to do with whether the book would be categorised as a novel or a novella or an epic or something else. As a reader, ive never felt a good book was too long, even more than a thousand pages. There are a lot of agents that will reject on atypical word count alone.

A nonfiction book attractive to publishers of bestsellers starts at around 75,000 words. Much has changed in childrens fiction in the past twenty years. As you can see, established authors get much more flexibility when it comes to the length of their book. Ya fiction for mainstream ya, anywhere from about 45k to 80k. My first book, three times a lady was roughly 100,000 words. Feb 12, 2018 heres a quick word count guide for adult fiction, adult sff, young adult contemporary, young adult sff, and middle grade.

Yet any piece of fiction climbing over the 110,000 word mark also tends to give editors some pause. Minimum realistic word count of nonfiction book writing stack. Mar 27, 20 as a rough estimate when i look at word counts i use 4 pages to words, so a 42,000 word book comes to approx 168 pages. Heres how the wordcount of your book will decide what category your masterpiece falls in. Word count for famous novels organized commonplace book. King, and lee child run well over 90k, sometimes going as high as 120k. Author eve tells me her book came in at 95,000 words. 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. Word count for book series the first book in each series below was the authors first.