Published book word counts

Compiling a list of longest novels yields different results depending on whether pages, words or characters are counted. Where can i find a database of all published books word counts and. Use word to count the words in a story in your publication, click the text box that contains the words you want to count. 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. Following the submission guidelines for a publisher is critical. The harry potter books are young adult titles, and ya publishers generally look for manuscripts in the 50,000 to 80,000 word. The answer will be the approximate page count of a printed book. If yours is too short, restructure it and add more tightly written stuff. I put in anne of green gables and clicked on the first entry, and it listed the word count as 17,129. The longest is the order of the phoenix with a word count of 257,000 words. If perhaps it had even more pictures it would be even a lot better. For example, childrens books are going to have fewer words per page than a book meant for adult readers.

Where can i find a database of all published books word. If the publishing industry spoke about page numbers, the number would constantly change depending on the stage the book was in. I would limit the book at 100,000 words to be safe. Word counts may also be used to calculate measures of readability and to measure typing and reading speeds usually in words per minute. Word count for famous novels organized commonplace book. 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. Hilo books for upper elementary grades at ala example titles ranging from 1090k words. 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.

Literary agent paula munier says a 90,000 word count is the sweet spot for debut fiction. And remember, keeping to word counts is important, but what makes or breaks your chances with a publisher is the quality of your manuscript. Childrens book categories are not static and they are not written in stone. This is a list of the novels over 500,000 words published through a mainstream publisher.

Some authors believe the word count is irrelevantwhether it takes 20,000 words or 200,000 words, the book will be done when youve finished telling your story. Word counts how many pages is a published 85,000 word. Whats more annoying is when people rationalize it as comparable to quality when the requisite word counts were higher not too long ago. But your word count might be a reason it is being rejected. If the publisher has a convincing argument for cutting a passage or two, the book will be shorter. Sep 30, 2015 when it comes to selfpublished booksdoes size matter. Because it allows me to check out length for published books in my genre. Apr 09, 2014 multipublished authors break these limitations all the time. Word count, on the other hand, stays pretty much the same. When converting character counts to words, a measure of 5 or 6 characters to a word is generally used for english. Heres our word count guide for 18 different book genres.

Writing for reluctant readers at writing world stated count of 4001200 words. However, there is a wide range of acceptable word counts for nonfiction books. As for nonfiction books, the standard bestsellers have word counts similar to adult novels. Never pad your manuscript just to meet a word count guideline.

Why word count matters when you submit your book the. Everything you need to know about novel word counts. Apr 05, 2015 generally a 50,000word novel would be the minimum word count. When it comes to selfpublished booksdoes size matter. But if marketability matters to you, its not that simple. Word count for famous novels organized by hawthorn mineart, under books, writing. My manuscript without the index is sitting at 111,000 right now but theres not much more i can cut and every word counts. The actual word count for harry potter and the sorcerers stone is 78,792 and my utility calculates 77,876. 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. The longest novel is artamene ou le grand cyrus, originally published 164954 in ten parts, each part in three volumes. As technology has shifted, so has our understanding of what it means to be published. 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.

However if youre curious to see what the average word count is for standard genres, check out the breakdown in the article. 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. At times the readers of books may be interested in discovering how many words they read. When it gets closer to 1,000, editors and agents may shy away. When writing a longer book that is aimed at 12yearolds and could maybe be considered tween, using the term upper middle grade. The word counts of some famous novels for comparison.

Published childrens books are divided into three main categories. Still, if you have any feedback id love to hear it. Jan 18, 2010 this is awesome enough for me to get excited over. Are you wondering what the word count for your book should be. So if you want to write and publish a book successfully, this is vital information to know even if it seems trivial. Authors book business book marketing books conferences contests ebooks editors for kids interested in writing literary agents magazine nj scbwi pearl s. Here is everything writers need to know about novel word counts. Of course, theres a problem with just taking a writers word counts and trying to deduce too much insight from them. Now regarded as classics, these debut novels had to be edited to reduce them to these published word counts. However, that isnt to say that a shorter or longer book cant be a bestseller too. But rules are made to be broken, and the most successful publishing phenomenon in history did just that. A way to check word count of published books anita nolan. These include using published information about the book to determine an exact word count, estimating the number of words based on industry standards and.

For traditional publishing or selfpublishing, youll have the best odds of success. However, there are averages and rough word counts expected by publishers. Standard word counts, page lengths and formats for self. That doesnt mean you can submit a manuscript twice the length a publisher recommends. Im curious about your advice compose the novel in the standard format from the start rather than changing it later why does this matter. Word count stays consistent regardless of arbitrary formatting choices. There are no hardandfast rules when it comes to what word count a novel in a particular genre should be. For the book hatchet, the actual word count is 41,672 and i give you 41,212. Well, if your goal is to publish and sell your novel, those rules are pretty darn important.

You can also find word counts on the accelerated reading website. A way to check word count of published books anita nolans blog. There are a few book word count guidelines for each genre, but these arent hard and fast rules. Neither too long nor too short, this book length signals a novelists competency and knowledge of the publishing market to prospective agents and editors. Word count musts vary all over the board, which is irritating. Word count signals to people what kind of book theyre dealing with. Everything you need to know about novel word counts nathan. What is the recomended wordcount for a fantasyfiction book. Jun 27, 2019 similarly, if your book is published and lands in a bookstore, you dont want to turn away prospective readers with a bizarrely small or large book spine.

I have therefore made some averages, based on what ive heard from publishers and agents at childrens book events, and from research and reading. The best word count for your selfpublished novel self. And if youre only looking for a few examples from a particular genre, the word counts for other books listed on this site have also been verified. I was in barnes and noble the other day and i found myself wondering how my book will physically compare in size to the books on the shelf in there. Whats more annoying is when people rationalize it as comparable to quality when the requisite word counts were.

I read a lot pretty much daily and have noticed many sci fy novels in the 75k word count range. Silly question, but i am trying to get a feel for how that book will look on a shelf how many pages will it wind up being. There are many writers who choose the more difficult path of convincing publishing professionals that the parameters should be stretched beyond the norm and that their manuscript justifies a larger word count. Hes been published by each of the three largest publishers in the world.

If the text box is connected to other text boxes, all the words in the connected text boxes are counted. But i f you are a first time author looking to get traditionally published, try and stick to these ages and word counts. Counting chickens a few words about word counts at hope vestergaards site. Learn the average wordcount for every type of novel, novella, genre, etc. Jun 15, 2017 this is a general list of age categories and word counts for childrens books.

Why word count matters when you submit your book the artful. Never pad your manuscript just to meet a wordcount guideline. If youve published a book successfully before, you may have more leeway in this area, but its best to play it safe by staying within the parameters set by the publisher. I clicked on the unabridged version, and it lists the word count as 97,364. Go to that books page and scroll down to inside this book. For average word counts based on genre, see this handy reference. May 11, 2009 word count and book length getting published was indeed a good blog post. This is a list of the novels over 500,000 words published through a. Multipublished authors break these limitations all the time. Use these numbers as a baseline for your writing goals. Childrens book types and suggested word counts go teen. Board books board books arent really a genre, theyre a style of book binding.

You have just discovered the wonderful world of bibliographic metadata. If it has areas that need further explanation the word count will go up. As a reader i love the huge word count novels steven king has written and the very short gems tom robbins has penned. Regarding the value of adhering to standard word counts, jackie bates, a former managing editor at aa publishing, adds. Word counts how many pages is a published 85,000 word novel. There are still many factors to consider, like your genre. Weve put together a list of the daily word counts of 20 famous authors, which you can check out here below. You would be wise to come close to these suggested.

Most traditionally published novels for adults are about 80,000 words. Some of the greatest books ever published didnt have the proper word count and i believe they were better for it. May 14, 2018 literary agent paula munier says a 90,000 word count is the sweet spot for debut fiction. 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. While, in the past, being published was limited to small numbers of people due to the cost of printing and the desire of the elite to control the dispersion of information, we now have more accessible technologies that make publishing something that many are capable of. Generally a 50,000word novel would be the minimum word count. Minimum realistic word count of nonfiction book writing. But it is a business choice, and publishing is a business, and so is writing to be published by traditional publishers. Here is a website that will give you the number of words in published books. The word counts you gave is helpful, but this is a nonfiction book, and i wonder if there might be a similar list for. Pencilthin books on narrow topics that are under 50,000 words are quite common. Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy by douglas adams 50,895 words.

I published my first novel on amazon this year mongruxx wolfpac and am 40k words into the next book mongruxx starship umbra. The best word counts for each genre are the same for both traditional publishing and self publishing. And a 28,000 word manuscript is more like a booklet or novella of 90 pages. Few elements of the bookwriting process inspire such handwringing and teethgnashing as trying to constrain your novel within certain seemingly arbitrary bounds.

We all know of outliers within each genre that have been published well under, or well over, these word counts. There are some easy ways to find the word count for a published bookonline bookstores. Oct 17, 2018 following the submission guidelines for a publisher is critical. I use the running time of the audiobook to come up with the word count total. To be picked up by a traditional publisher, my manuscript needs to fall in a similar wordcount window. Word count is commonly used by translators to determine the price of a translation job. Jul 08, 2014 you have just discovered the wonderful world of bibliographic metadata. So itll be off on occasion, but it still works well for the average book.

I have often looked this up and got different results, which makes it very confusing. Jan 19, 20 ive been doing some research into epic fantasy word counts recently, especially to get an idea of debut novel figures over recent years. Therefore, a 280,000 word manuscript becomes a 900 page doorstop. Anyway, heres the figures and facts i have so far looks like big debut novels are anything but unusual in epic fantasy now. 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. Word count for famous novels, in ascending order by number of words. Surely when writing the important thing is to get words on the page even if theyre in pink comic sans. For manuscripts, the answer is about 250300 words per page if. Estimate your page count book designer fiona raven. Standard word counts for books publishing with kindle. Your guide to book word counts fiction and nonfiction. Here are the average novel word counts in the top five genres in the book publishing industry in no particular order. How to find out the number of words in a book pen and.

It is, i think, the easiest to use to quickly find the word count of a book. Ive been doing some research into epic fantasy word counts recently, especially to get an idea of debut novel figures over recent years. Word count, with a little help from amazon alexis grant. But for print publishing, the physical cost of producing the book is an issue, and the market does generally know what it likes. Oftentimes, professional editing will cut down the unnecessary information so your memoir is the appropriate word count. That doesnt mean that your book will be an instant success if your novel word count is in its optimum number. Here are the standard word counts, page lengths and formats in the traditional categories of childrens books for authors who are selfpublishing ebooks, apps, or print books that they will be selling online. Deconstructing five spooky picture books with spoilers and word counts. How many words do they or did they, in some cases write each day. Using your current word count and the appropriate formula below, calculate the number of pages you can expect in your finished book. Based on this list compiled by nicole humphrey cook.

Childrens book types and suggested word counts go teen writers. Search for word count totals in books word counters. Most published books average closer to 300 words per page than 200. Most young adult novels fall between 55,000 and 70,000 words. I am trying to approach this rather pragmatically, with a view to getting published, so id prefer to modify the project to fit the needs of publishersin that regard at least, i feel the length probably does matter. May 07, 2018 but your word count might be a reason it is being rejected. How many words per page are there in a typical novel. If you want to get published, you need to be aware that major new york publishers are looking for a specific word count, depending on your genre.

Book page count calculator how many pages is my novel. However, there are also genre conventions at play that influence even selfpublished books that arent likely to be sold on a shelf. Readers looking for a good beachread in the mystery section will not likely gravitate towards a 1,000page book. Word count matters more than it should in my opinion. Buck writing center picture books poetry contests publishers.

My first novel ran 120k words, the next one most likely 200k. Like a general fiction novel, a good target word count for a memoir is 80,000 words. For fantasy novels, you are allowed to go slightly above this limit, but unless you are an established author, i dont recommend going too far above. Word count and book length getting published was indeed a good blog post. Also, heres another list i may swipe and add in here. For novels in general, the accepted word count is 7080,000 words. 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. However, there are also genre conventions at play that influence even self published books that arent likely to be sold on a shelf. Your book may not be considered at all if you fall too far outside of the recommended word count range. Like everything in writing, you may write a work of genius that smashes all the rules.