Word count long books

From picture books to ya information to get you started at. If you are an author of a book or know of a books accurate wordcount, contact me. The eight harry potter books have an impressive combined word count of over 1 million words. We want to give authors an easy way to show how long their book or novel is. Word count for novels and childrens books at the guide to literary agents blog. I built one logos word list like this for every single book of the bible. Word counts may also be used to calculate measures. Generally a 50,000word novel would be the minimum word count. Reading length is a participant in the amazon services llc associates program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to and affiliated sites. More recently the fault in our stars comes in at 67,000. May 15, 2011 if it does need to be this long, it is not a middle grade, or it should be divided into 20 books, not 6. Like novels, these books fall into the 70,000 to 120,000word range. Aug 05, 2019 he used the 270,000word memoir as an example because 1 memoirs are close to impossible to traditionally publish, so a word count that long wont get past the agent, and 2 its very, very hard to sell a memoir even through selfpublishing, let alone at that word count.

Word count signals to people what kind of book theyre dealing with. For a few examples, lets start on the low end of word count where we have the great gatsby clocking in at approx. Yes, having a book that is overly short or overly long for its genre will incrementally decrease your odds of finding traditional publication. They are short books, usually with a lot of illustrations. Search for word count totals in books word counters.

Wordcounter will help to make sure its word count reaches a specific requirement or stays within a certain limit. As always, be sure to keep it interesting so you can justify the word length. I do find if someone has written a very short or overly long novel, they. He used the 270,000 word memoir as an example because 1 memoirs are close to impossible to traditionally publish, so a word count that long wont get past the agent, and 2 its very, very hard to sell a memoir even through selfpublishing, let alone at that word count. Like novels, these books fall into the 70,000 to 120,000 word range. The mystery unfolds and involves three men, a long journey from america to britain, and a plot for revenge and murder. Word counts may also be used to calculate measures of readability and to measure typing and reading speeds usually in words per minute. On average, how long is a childrens book for children. If it does need to be this long, it is not a middle grade, or it should be divided into 20 books, not 6. A step up from picture books, these are for kids who have just started reading by themselves. Shorter novels such as fahrenheit 451, the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, the great gatsby, and slaughterhousefive are between 4050,000 words. Of course, rules are made to be broken, especially in literature. And since word count information isnt easily available, some of these numbers may have been estimated based on page counts and may not be all that accurate.

For example, if an author has to write a minimum or maximum amount of words for an article, essay, report, story, book, paper, you name it. Search for a book, tell us how fast you read, and start reading. Each page contains about 34 lines, with an average word count of 11 words per line, thus 375 words per page. While its important that every story find its natural length, it takes time to develop an instinct as. Do you want to publish a wide format book with inspiring quotes down the side margins. Yes, having a book that is overly short or overly long for its genre will incrementally decrease your odds of finding. Oct 18, 2017 to find out how long should a chapter be, we examined books from a wide variety of genres and eras. Can be publisher specific, ranging from 3,000 to absolute max 5,000. Picture book word count, and other rules that are meant to be.

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. By using these three options to more accurately define your writing, the words per page calculator should provide a better estimate on how many words you need to write to fill a page. For most publishers, a book is novellength when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words. This is a list of the novels over 500,000 words published through a mainstream publisher. But at the end of the day, you have to write the novel you want to write. These are basic learning books that creatively teach colors, numbers or simple, fun stories for bedtime.

As you can see, you need to know your word count, not the number of pages your word processor produces. Ive been researching the word countspages of ya novels to make sure im not under or over. Probably the best very long novel of the last century, its a great american one, too, and a pure distillation of new york, from its homerun opening. Find out how long your favourite books are and how they compare to their contemporaries and books in other genres. Between 80,000 and 89,999 words is a good range you should be aiming for. Based on this list compiled by nicole humphrey cook. I once entered a competition that set a maximum word limit of 80,000 for young adult novels and 100,000 for adult novels.

We are also going to look at how harry potter is comparable to other young adult novels in regards to word count. Toegther, they solve the mystery behind the word rache, the german word for revenge, written in someones blood. To find out how long should a chapter be, we examined books from a wide variety of genres and eras. However, the drop in the overall average length of bestsellers over the last 7 years points to a marked. Yes, if you are hugely successful with your first book, your publisher will want lots more books from you. At a writers conference i recently attended, publishing. As a reader, ive never felt a good book was too long, even more than a thousand pages. However, there are averages and rough word counts expected by publishers. Word count tool this tool also reports the number of syllables, monosyllabic words, polysyllabic words, sentences, paragraphs, unique words, short words, long words.

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. Other times, the suggested word count seems to be based only on common wisdom with no reference to real books at all. Of course, figures differ depending on which publisher you ask, so the following figures are merely approximations derived from various sources. Excluding endnotes and index, the book has about 200 pages of text, which means its total word count is about 74,000 words. How to use our book page count calculator select your word print size select the book genre enter your books word count press calculate number of pages just 4 easy steps and youre done.

Average word count ranges from 70,000 to 100,000 words, although biographies of major celebrities or public figures can support a higher number. I believe the word count has increased as she wrote more books. Step 4 is measure your manuscript in word count, not pages. In the opposite direction, it can give a more accurate estimate of how many pages you have created if you only know the word count. The word count figures for the other six books, in order. If you are an author of a book or know of a book s accurate wordcount, contact me. This tool also reports the number of syllables, monosyllabic words, polysyllabic words, sentences, paragraphs, unique words, short words, long words. In 2016s list, ron chernows 816page alexander hamilton managed to crack the top spot. Theres the joy luck club and the hobbit at 91,000 and 95,000 words respectively. However, there is a wide range of acceptable word counts for nonfiction books. Word count is commonly used by translators to determine the price of a translation job. 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. Counting chickens a few words about word counts at hope vestergaards site. Word counting may be needed when a text is required to stay within certain numbers of words.

Basically, instead of applying a formula for word count, we apply the final format and see what results. Jun 27, 2019 most of the time, an overly long word count is a symptom of major plot or pacing problems in a novel issues that need to be solved during the revision process. Word count for famous novels organized by hawthorn mineart, under books, writing. Put simply, the sweet spot for a novels word count is generally said to be around 8090k. The actual word count for harry potter and the sorcerers stone is 78,792 and my utility calculates 77,876. The word count is the number of words in a document or passage of text. For the book hatchet, the actual word count is 41,672 and i give you. Apr 08, 2019 rather than sticking too rigidly to word count, its best to strive for a manuscript in which the function and the format work together. Neither too long nor too short, this book length signals a novelists competency and knowledge of the publishing market to prospective agents and editors. Yes, you should go through the novel revision checklist and take out anything extraneous no matter what.

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. Word count for famous novels, in ascending order by number of words. That left me with 66 logos word lists, each giving me every originallanguage word in a given book of the bible. For average word counts based on genre, see this handy reference. Word count for famous novels organized a commonplace book. I mean, sure, they have to create an entirely different universe in some cases, that takes description, but, i do struggle with reading really long books, and usually end up skimming some of the descriptive narrative parts. Word count is a direct way to measure the length of a novel in a manner unaffected by variations of format and page size. May 14, 2018 literary agent paula munier says a 90,000 word count is the sweet spot for debut fiction.

Find out how long it will take you to read any book by using our book word count search. This may particularly be the case in academia, legal proceedings, journalism and advertising. They were willing to accept longer books because they knew to follow up books would sell well. Of course, hiring a professional editor does come with a price tag, and most freelancers calculate their costs based on the number of words. This is a 100% safe range for literary, mainstream, womens.

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. As for nonfiction books, the standard bestsellers have word counts similar to adult novels. Word counts of the most popular books in the world foster grant uk. Most young adult novels fall between 55,000 and 70,000 words. 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. Your guide to book word counts fiction and nonfiction. Aug 03, 2017 there are no hardandfast rules when it comes to what word count a novel in a particular genre should be. The harry potter books are young adult titles, and ya publishers generally look for manuscripts in the 50,000 to 80,000word range. Rather than sticking too rigidly to word count, its best to strive for a manuscript in which the function and the format work together. Word count estimates are not guaranteed to be accurate.

For the classic picture book group, i realize that 48 is a pretty big age range. This isnt to say that long books are no longer succeeding. Word count is a direct way to measure the length of a novel in a manner. Many of these books are written in rhyme or in a simple singsong meter that is catchy and fun.

Everything you need to know about novel word counts nathan. For debut books in this field the average word count tends to be 35k and it has therefore become the marker many industry professionals look for in queries from new writers. The 57 year old reading range straddles a few different categories of books. That said, this figure differs from book to book and organization to. May 24, 2010 dont let the word count dictate what you want to write, but definitely keep it in mind. Picture book word count, and other rules that are meant to. The longest is the order of the phoenix with a word count of 257,000 words. Like a general fiction novel, a good target word count for a memoir is 80,000 words. Pencilthin books on narrow topics that are under 50,000 words are quite common. Book page count calculator how many pages is my novel. Better to have solid, clear information than rambling to make a page count. In this article, were going to look at how many words are in the harry potter series. Sep 16, 2019 toegther, they solve the mystery behind the word rache, the german word for revenge, written in someones blood. When converting character counts to words, a measure of 5 or 6 characters to a word is generally used for english.

Length of a book is typically associated with its sizespecifically page count leading many to assume the largest and thickest book equates to its length. This article on writers digest also suggests a length of around 100115,000, and takes a good look at desirable word count ranges for different genres. If i were to ask you how long your book is, and you answer that it is 225 manuscript pages, i am still not clear. Heres a general guideline i sometimes use for fiction board books for babies and toddlers to picture books for upper elementary and middlegrade learners. 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. The graphic looks at the length of some famous novels, poems, and plays from literary history. The chinese wuxia novelist jin yong wrote a number of long novels, of which the.

The hunger games has a word count of 99,750 and my utility calculates it at 98,916. Yes, the more successful your books, the longer they will get to be without anyone batting an eyelash see. Jan 08, 2018 this article on writers digest also suggests a length of around 100115,000, and takes a good look at desirable word count ranges for different genres. The average nonfiction book is about 50,000 to 75,000 words, which is about 153 to 230 ebook pages. Dont let the word count dictate what you want to write, but definitely keep it in mind. 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. Word count for famous novels organized commonplace book. There are a number of factors deciding the word count, topmost being what sort of book it is. The best research tool is to read lots of books and see which publishers print books at which lengths.

In 2017, the downward trend has continued, with an average book length of 273 pages. Literary agent paula munier says a 90,000 word count is the sweet spot for debut fiction. A minimum count for a nonfiction ebook is about 10,000 words, as long as the content is solid. Of course, word count wont matter if a story doesnt hook the target audience. From these numbers, we can establish some guidelines. Word count tool is a word counter that provides an extensive statistics about the word count, character count, the number of characters without spaces. Onethird of the novels that come into the agency are rejected because theyre too long or short, perkins says. Traditionally, artamene ou le grand cyrus, has been considered the longest novel, but has lately been surpassed by at least one novel, or two depending on the criterion used to determine length. He used the 270,000word memoir as an example because 1 memoirs are close to impossible to traditionally publish, so a word count that long wont get past the agent, and 2 its very, very hard to sell a memoir even through selfpublishing, let alone at that word count. The page count is 32 or 40 pages with a word count of under 1,500.