Ya novel average word count

Most agree that under 1,000 words would be rather short and that over 5,000 might be rather too long. Famous novels have been extremely long, like 530,000 words for vic. Jan 18, 2012 when i look for word counts, however, i like to cut right to the chase and see what is actually out there. My upperlevel ya novel is 211 pages, 61,078 words, tnr 12 pt. Harry potter and the sorcerers stone has 17 chapters with titles, and about 4560 words per chapter. From picture books to ya information to get you started at. Martin and harper lee keep things more evenly paced in a game of thrones and to kill a mockingbird, respectively.

Some books, however, go up to 150,000 to 180,000 words. Also, heres another list i may swipe and add in here. Jan 08, 2018 word count suggestions will vary from agent to agent, for example janet reid a literary agent with a fantastic blog suggests 150k minimum for sweeping epic fantasy, saying you cant do it right in less and 65100k for ya, whereas nathan bransford thinks your odds of attracting an agent with a debut novel over 150k are probably lower. Depending on your genre, having too many or too little can not only hurt your book sales.

With books like twilight at 118,975 words and divergent at 105,143 words, this. Most adult books are about 90,000 words, and no longer than 100,000 words unless youre jk rowling. But for mainstream ya it is always best to stick to under 80k. Perhaps more than any other, ya is the one category where word count is very flexible. The problem im having is that im thinking its to long. These word counts assume that a novel is more for commercial consumption, and for adults. Word count is commonly used by translators to determine the price of a translation job.

When i look for word counts, however, i like to cut right to the chase and see what is actually out there. A novel is usually defined as anything over 40,000 words. If you dont know what that might be, read publishers submission guidelines at their sites. On the upper end, a novel over 110,000 words is considered an epic. Your guide to book word counts fiction and nonfiction. The average word count could be anywhere from 70,000 to 120,000 words. However, i understand that the length of twilight is unusually long for a debut novel. If youre working on a novellength book, aim for 50,000 words at the very least but its better to aim for 90,000. 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. 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. Writing middle grade a look at the numbers hannah holt. Word count for novels and childrens books at the guide to literary agents blog. What is the average word count in a youngteenage novel. Aug 07, 2017 word counts for children, mg, ya, and adult books, by genre august 7, 2017 august 3, 2018 sarahnicolas ive been getting a lot of word count questions from pitch wars hopefuls, so i though id write everything out in a post for ease and convenience.

Each genre and subgenre has its own word count range. How many words does it take to write a young adult book. 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. This video is all about word counts for your novel, in particular word counts for ya novels. Coyne uses the nanowrimo wordcount length of 50,000 words for his examples, calling 50,000 words a good foundation to build upon. Now, the page count was dramatically higher using the courier font, but word count didnt change. Ya fiction for mainstream ya, anywhere from about 45k to 80k.

Science fiction and fantasy novels typically have a word count between 90,000 to 125,000 words. That said, this figure differs from book to book and organization to. Based on this list compiled by nicole humphrey cook. Word counts may also be used to calculate measures of readability and to measure typing and reading speeds usually in words per minute. 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. Count the pages in each chapter and divide by 250 to get an answer for what is the average number of words per chapter. The second or third in a particularly bestselling series can go even higher. 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. You know this, i know this, and ive done my damndest to cut it i shaved 12k off in the past two weeks.

When converting character counts to words, a measure of 5 or 6 characters to a word is generally used for english. Or perhaps because these novels tend to be part of a series, readers are more bought in and are looking for a longer continuation of the story. The word count at big five publishers had a slightly narrower range. Everything you need to know about novel word counts nathan. Attempts were made to factcheck the word count, and some other sources vary on exact word count, but managed to agree within a 10% window.

But lists of ya word counts are hard to find, so i wanted to make it easy for you guys. The average chapter word count of these novels falls within the 2,0005,000 range. The highest word count was 115,000, the lowest was 47,000, and the average was 75,000. Most young adult novels fall between 55,000 and 70,000 words. 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. She is currently querying her epic fantasy novel heirs of war with a word count at 7k. Learn the differences between middle grade and young adult fiction. For most publishers, a book is novellength when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words. I then did a word count after switching to times new roman 60,705.

How many words in a novel vary depending on genre, audience, and the story itself but in general, the average words in a novel is between 60,000 and 90,000 words for most genres. A single novel can be longer, but once the length is above 110,000 words publishers may look at cutting it back, unless it is a particular kind of book books over the 110k word count are usually considered epics. An average novel tends to be anything from 6080,000 words. Instead, i looked at various scenes at the beginning, middle and end of each book, and multiplied the page numbers by the number of words on an average page an average manuscript page is about 250 words, but paper and font sizes vary with published books, so i had to do sample page counts for each bookfor instance, my copy of old man and.

A 90,000 word count signals to professionals that you know what you are doing. Book page count calculator how many pages is my novel. Apr 05, 2015 generally a 50,000word novel would be the minimum word count. Word count for famous novels, in ascending order by number of words. If you feel it doesnt have everything it could in it, of course you could lengthen it if you wanted to. But novellas can work and if its got everything it needs to have in it, dont make it longer just for the sake of it.

By most peoples standards, 40,000 words would be pretty short for a novel. Although, if its over 110,000 words, some may call it an epic, not a novel. Thats the level where publishers may suggest dividing a story into multiple volumes. Aug 05, 2019 for most publishers, a book is novellength when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words. All of these are average book word count ranges and should not be. May 19, 2008 and ya novels, which have grown in popularity, can often be the same length as a standard novel 80,000 words. Here are the average novel word counts in the top five genres in the book publishing industry in no particular order. Multiply it with the page count and you get a vague idea. Jun 27, 2019 put simply, the sweet spot for a novels word count is generally said to be around 8090k. Word count suggestions will vary from agent to agent, for example janet reid a literary agent with a fantastic blog suggests 150k minimum for sweeping epic fantasy, saying you cant do it right in less and 65100k for ya, whereas nathan bransford thinks your odds of attracting an agent with a debut novel over 150k are probably lower. This is due to the audience youre reaching preferring that length. For young adult fiction, the word count is once again lower, with the ideal being 55,000 80,000 words.

Generally a 50,000word novel would be the minimum word count. My own past research on ya word count turned up 5080,000 as an average guideline. 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. Oct 18, 2017 the average chapter word count of these novels falls within the 2,0005,000 range.

Also remember because there are a bunch of new novel imprints opening their doors, a novella is 40k or less. For debut books in this field the average word count tends to be 35k and it has therefore become the. It is feasible to count the number of words in a published chapter. For childrens fiction, the general rule is the younger the audience the shorter the book, and for ya novels the average is 50,00070,000 words. The average wordcount for adult fiction is between 70,000 to 120,000 words. Most young adult novels fall between 50,000 and 80,000 words. Oct 23, 2017 the average mean word count was about 73,000 words. Only word counts are below, not page counts, as some novels vary between editions. Plotting a novel by the numbers live write breathe.

How many words should there be per chapter in the average ya. That gives us a rough range of 61,00089,000 words, with about 3 out of 4 queried ya books falling into that range. The average mean word count was about 73,000 words. Now im seeing a lot more mg books with up to 60,000 words, so i think the water has become a bit murky here. The harry potter books are young adult titles, and ya publishers generally look for manuscripts in the 50,000 to 80,000word range.

Is 109,000 words to long for a ya adult fantasy novel. At amazon the page count for books for 10yearsold children varies from 120 to 350. 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. There are exceptions, like ya books that exceed 250,000 words, but. There are a lot of books that fit nicely into this range, such as enders game with 100,609 words and the martian with 104,588 words. If the word count of twilight is disregarded, the average becomes around 88,625. Younger still, middle grade fiction ages 912 should. Some people will let you know that 2,500 words is about average per chapter, while. Most middle grade novels are between 40,000 and 69,000 words long. A minimum count for a nonfiction ebook is about 10,000 words, as long as the content is solid. On average, there are about 300 words per page in a book. Frequently asked questions getting published meg cabot.

For example, if youre writing for genres that have a word count range of 80,00089,999 words i. Generally, 50,000 would be considered the minimum word count, and ideally a novel should be over 70,000 words. A books word count does matter and if you get it wrong, this can impact your. As a general guideline, chapters should be between 3,000 to 5,000 words. This 90,000word guideline for how many words in a novel is just that, a guideline. Ya manuscripts can have a word count anywhere from 55k to 90k. To give you a general idea of the average chapter length, the range is usually between 3,000 to 5,000 words. And ya novels, which have grown in popularity, can often be the same length as a standard novel 80,000 words. A closer look at word counts for young adult novels. Sep 18, 2017 the highest word count was 115,000, the lowest was 47,000, and the average was 75,000. Mainstream, thriller, horror, romance, suspense, mystery, and literary and you. The longest is the order of the phoenix with a word count of 257,000 words. But remember, this is more of a guideline than a rule.

On average, young adult novels usually fall around 55,000 and 70,000 words. Pick up a childrens book in your collection and count the words on one page. The sweet spot, according to donald maas, is 100,000 to 115,000 words. But lists of ya word counts are hard to find, so i. Better to have solid, clear information than rambling to make a page count. Go to the library and look at the top you define top ya books similar to what you are writing. Most middle grade novels are not pitched as a series. Try not to completely tether yourself to word counts. Do check your comparable titlesrecent debuts onlyto make sure your story falls in that range. As a starting point, heres an agentmaintained list of word count guidelines. Rowlings recordbreaking series began with two titles on the high end of that spectrum and finished with five that left the guidelines in the dust. Oct 11, 2012 she is currently querying her epic fantasy novel heirs of war with a word count at 7k.

If my manuscript is coming in at 280 pages it would be acceptable at 70,000 words using the 250 per page method but the docs count may be as much as 6,0007,000 words less and so not hitting the ideal. 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. Less than 70,000 unless its fantasy or scifi, which can stretch to 90,000 at a push. Like a general fiction novel, a good target word count for a memoir is 80,000 words. I just did a word count of my ya novel in courier new 60,705. Writing for young adults a look at the numbers hannah holt.

Plus, its always nice to know if your novel will be fatter or skinnier than the latest shelf buster at barnes and noble. Put simply, the sweet spot for a novels word count is generally said to be around 8090k. Mostly, it will depend on the story you want to tell. Counting chickens a few words about word counts at hope vestergaards site. 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. 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 for children, mg, ya, and adult books, by genre august 7, 2017 august 3, 2018 sarahnicolas ive been getting a lot of word count questions from pitch wars hopefuls, so i though id write everything out in a post for ease and convenience. The average nonfiction book is about 50,000 to 75,000 words, which is about 153 to 230 ebook pages. Word count for young adult books the word count range for young adult is 55,000 to 90,000. Shorter novels such as fahrenheit 451, the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, the great gatsby, and slaughterhousefive are between 4050,000 words. I keep hearing that houses are looking for books around 200 pages long. The society of childrens book writers and illustrators scbwi does offer length guidelines in terms of the appropriate number of manuscript pages for various genres meaning the number of pages a writer would submit to a publisher. You wont get exact, but youre wondering whether 35k is reasonable, so you dont need exact. With books like twilight at 118,975 words and divergent at 105,143 words, this genre has been trending higher.