Average words nonfiction book

Inciting incident, plot point 1, midpoint, plot point 2, denouement. It only takes a quick scan of a handful of ebooks, say in the kindle store, to notice that the number of pages that constitutes an ebook is almost as wide as the pacific. The perennial favorite by gary chapman, the five love languages 1995, comes in at only 46,145 words. Most middle grade novels are between 40,000 and 69,000 words long. Histories, biographies, journalism, and essays are all considered nonfiction. Jul 23, 2012 the average nonfiction book, if such a thing exists, runs about 50,000 words. Nonfiction wordcounts sit between 70,000120,000 words. The word count at big five publishers had a slightly narrower range. A book can be 25,000 words and still be of incredible value if it is priced appropriately. By reading quickly, learning and doing, your reader will get good value, even from what you might consider to be a shorter book. In fiction, a short book is between 50,000 to 80,000 words roughly 200 300 pages in paperback.

Most traditional publishers will place restrictions on an author and require that. A typical popular business book runs 25,000 to 75,000 words. Your guide to book word counts fiction and nonfiction. Specifically, an accessible nonfiction book might be anything between about 30,000 words and 50,000 words. What is the ideal word count for a nonfiction book in the. That means your manuscript must be at least 35 40,000 words long. And dont forget to calculate what your word count will be. You want 50,000 to 85,000 words for a fulllength selfhelp book, half that for a selfpublished ebook. Short stories are often defined as any story under 7,500 words. Picture book word count, and other rules that are meant to be. According to amazons great text stats feature, the median length for all books is about 64,000 words.

Mark up your manuscript where you think the page breaks might go, or place the text on 28 separate pages, staple them together like a book, and read the story as you turn the pages. Under 500 words can be described as flash fiction between and 8000 words is a short story also, most short story competitions will stipulate their required word length for entry between 5000 and 10,000 words is a long short story. In general, fiction refers to plot, settings, and characters created from the imagination, while nonfiction refers to factual stories focused on actual events and people. Publishers ultimately decide what length is proper for a particular book. Neither too long nor too short, this book length signals a novelists competency and knowledge of the publishing market to prospective agents and editors. Mind you that great classic, the little prince, was such a work. Average word count ranges from 70,000 to 100,000 words, although biographies of major celebrities or public figures can support a higher number. Sep 03, 2017 the most popular book in vermont on this list is i know why the caged bird sings. Today, however, while the physical size of a book may still matter in a bookstore, ebooks have no dimensions.

While the stories of other peoples lives are fascinating, readers dont want to slog through anything that drags on and on. The first alone has sold more than 120 million copies, and the rest have sold at least 65 million each. Generally, 50,000 would be considered the minimum word count, and ideally a novel should be over 70,000 words. Harry potter and the halfblood prince 168,000 words.

Minimum realistic word count of nonfiction book writing. 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. Generally speaking, a shorter book of 150 finished pages or 40k words or less typically commands a lower price. May 11, 2009 for a printed book, 37,000 words is definitely on the short side less than 150 pages so publishers may not be interested as pricing will be low and volumes needing to be correspondingly high. Miranda is an awardwinning author of more than a dozen fiction and nonfiction books for children.

Count up the total number of words on 10 random full lines from different places and divide by 10 to get the average wordsperline. Sketch out your outline, make sure your structure works, and then start coming up with more clever titles for the chapters and parts, if you use those. The figure was found through looking at a number of books text stats, until brave new worlds 64,531 word count landed in the exact center of all books50% of books have fewer words and 50% of books have more words. In other words, get famous first and break the rules later. If your manuscript is on the short side, make this clear when pitching to a publisher. The average wordcount for adult fiction is between 70,000 to 120,000 words. Calculate book page count using word count for book design. And for every book that sells 20,000, there is one that is a disaster. Miranda paul is an awardwinning author of more than a dozen fiction and nonfiction books for children. Therefore, a 55,000 word book should be about 200 manuscript pages. Learn more about miranda at the end of this post, and learn more about the workshop here. Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself.

The most important thing here is to realize that there are always exceptions to these rules. Standard nonfiction business, political science, psychology, history, etc. Minimum realistic word count of nonfiction book writing stack. Sep 06, 2014 according to chuck sambuchino see below for word count. However, here are some guidelines you will find helpful. Most adult books are about 90,000 words, and no longer than 100,000 words unless youre jk rowling. Technically, in fiction, most publishers and awards consider anything over 40,000 words to be a novel, but many publishers wont look at anything under 60,000. 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. Microfiction and flash fiction are the tweets of the fiction world. It contains 38 lines per page, with an average of 12 words per line, thus 456 words per book page.

May 07, 2018 this 90,000word guideline for how many words in a novel is just that, a guideline. The difference between fiction and nonfiction book riot. I know why the caged bird sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Apr 07, 2014 generally speaking, traditional publishers expect completed nonfiction book manuscripts to be between 50,000 to 75,000 words. Average fiction word counts flash fiction word count. Fantasy, scifi, and epic novel writers should be forewarned. Any selfhelp or motivational nonfiction book should be between 30,000 and 70,000 words. Once you have a vision for your booksmall, standard, or wide formatyou can move on to the second step in deciding how many words you should write. Once you have a vision for your book small, standard, or wide formatyou can move on to the second step in deciding how many words you should write. How to make a living with your writing is my shortest nonfiction book at 27,000 words and looks fine in print. Sep 29, 2014 he wrote, the number of ebook singles any ebook between 5,000 and 30,000 words in length published in the third quarter increased a whopping 27 percent compared to the second quarter of 20.

May 14, 2018 literary agent paula munier says a 90,000 word count is the sweet spot for debut fiction. Less than 100 pages and it becomes difficult for a printer to print the title of the book on the spine. The average picture book is 32 pages long, but the front matter title page, page, etc. Some editors charge a minimum fee for their services to cover the cost of their time and energy spent on a particular project in lieu of other work. Generally speaking, traditional publishers expect completed nonfiction book. Do check your comparable titles recent debuts onlyto make sure your story falls in that range. He wrote, the number of ebook singles any ebook between 5,000 and 30,000 words in length published in the third quarter increased a whopping 27 percent compared to the second quarter of 20.

Usually, nonfiction has a higher standard to uphold than fiction. Obviously, my point is not that you should submit a first book of anywhere near. Synonyms for nonfiction include factbased, factual, reference, truelife, realistic, authentic, true, historical, real and biographical. For writers and readers alike, its sometimes hard to tell the difference between fiction and nonfiction. Better to have solid, clear information than rambling to make a page count. It depends on the font you are using, of course, but in general, 250300 words per page. A minimum count for a nonfiction ebook is about 10,000 words, as long as the content is solid. How to set the retail price of your book mill city press. In fiction, a book about between 50,000 and 80,000 words about 200 to 300 pages in paperback. The typical books wordsperpage count tends to range between 225 and 275an average of 250. One rule of thumb is you can get 60 percent of a manuscript page into one typeset page said manuscript being in 12point type, doublespaced, preferably times new roman, with oneinch margins on an 8. Harry potter and the deathly hallows 198,000 words. Her picture book nine months, illustrated by caldecott honoree jason chin, released in. Writing middle grade a look at the numbers hannah holt.

However, the difference between these two genres is sometimes blurred, as the two often. Look at the books that sell well, and are in competition with yours. I remember reading some westerns in high school and, if i. The art of the nonfiction book proposal writers relief. Its easy to extrapolate from this what your total expected editing cost could be. Nov 02, 2017 nonfiction, by contrast, is factual and reports on true events. The average fiction book is about 80,000 to 100,000 words, which is about. The introduction to your nonfiction book should clearly and concisely explain what the book is about, what the reader can expect to gain from the book, the motivation behind the book, and any background the story behind the story that may be interesting and relevant. Nov 07, 2016 when you look at competitors book pricing, note the page count.

The average nonfiction book is about 50,000 to 75,000 words, which is about 153 to 230 ebook pages. How, why, and when to write an introduction for a nonfiction book. In 2011, the lists average length peaked at 467 pages. Deconstructing five spooky picture books with spoilers and word counts.

On the upper end, a novel over 110,000 words is considered an epic. Nonfiction book 25,000 150,000 words fiction novella 18,00040,000. Simply divide the total word count from your word document by the number of words per page. Be aware that the word average means that for every book that sells 15,000, there is one that sells 5,000. I get this question a lot, and its a valid oneespecially since the answer can be divided between traditionally published books and selfpublished books. Write out your basic storyline in major plot points only. Dont submit an outline for a book that contains less than 9 chapters. Since 2011, the average length of a bestseller has dropped steadily from year to year. But i also know of others who have sold over 500,000 copies. By most peoples standards, 40,000 words would be pretty short for a novel.

May 14, 2010 the introduction to your nonfiction book should clearly and concisely explain what the book is about, what the reader can expect to gain from the book, the motivation behind the book, and any background the story behind the story that may be interesting and relevant. Generally speaking, traditional publishers expect completed nonfiction book manuscripts to be between 50,000 to 75,000 words. Long book length at the other end of the spectrum a book of 80,000 to 100,000 words has significant heft, 320400 pages. As a publisher who has laid out dozens of books for printinga 50,000 word manuscript should end up somewhere between 180 and 220 pages.

I asked agents elizabeth pomada and michael larsen of larsen pomada literary agency to add their thoughts to the subject. A fulllength nonfiction book usually contains 9 to 15 chapters of average length. Now that you know the average number of words per page in your book, you can calculate the page count with a little arithmetic. All book publishers and book designers have a standard they go by to estimate page length. Apr 08, 2019 special thanks to miranda paul for this guest post. Make sure you have enough material and time to fulfill this obligation before you propose it. For most publishers, a book is novellength when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words. 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. Average nonfiction word counts biographies and memoirs. Most traditional publishers will place restrictions on an author and require that the manuscript not exceed a specified word count, unless special concessions are made.

Literary agent paula munier says a 90,000 word count is the sweet spot for debut fiction. Obviously, my point is not that you should submit a first book of anywhere near 200,000 words. Frequently asked questions getting published meg cabot. For a printed book, 37,000 words is definitely on the short side less than 150 pages so publishers may not be interested as pricing will be low and volumes needing to be correspondingly high. Jun 07, 2017 in my opinion, if your nonfiction book is fewer than about 30,000 words 120 pages, it does not feel substantial enough to be real book. Although science fiction and some other kinds were now invasive and can exceed 400 pages 200,000 words. One plastic bag, water is water, and i am farmer were all named junior library guild selections and her book whose hands are these. The average mean word count was about 53,000 words. For a 120,000word book, your editing costs could be. 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.

The average nonfiction book, if such a thing exists, runs about 50,000 words. Each genre and subgenre has its own word count range. A nonfiction book attractive to publishers of bestsellers starts at around 75,000 words. Some markets dont recognize the novelette as a separate. Know your content, know your mainline pitch and some. Picture book word count, and other rules that are meant to.

How to set the retail price for your nonfiction book. In my opinion, if your nonfiction book is fewer than about 30,000 words 120 pages, it does not feel substantial enough to be real book. The best thing that you can do is look over comparable books and try to judge word count by their size, average words page, and illustration content. A type of popular business book runs from 25,000 to 75,000 words. This is a story that is between 10,000 and 40,000 words. There is no reliable data from 2012 to make a viable yeartoyear comparison. In 2011, the average length of a bestselling nonfiction book was 467 pages, but. As a nonfiction writer myself, i know this is tough. Apr 05, 2015 under 500 words can be described as flash fiction between and 8000 words is a short story also, most short story competitions will stipulate their required word length for entry between 5000 and 10,000 words is a long short story. A few smatterings of fact in a work of fiction does not make it true, while a few fabrications in a nonfiction work can force that story. When it gets closer to 1,000, editors and agents may shy away. 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. When you look at competitors book pricing, note the page count. This means your book will be between 100 and 230 pages in total.

And man, people love to point out exceptionsand they always will. Although science fiction and some other genres have been creeping up and can now exceed 400 pages 200,000 words. And conversely, a longer book of over 60k words or 200 pages can command a higher price. Popular nonfiction like novels, these books fall into the 70,000 to 120,000word range. Roughly how many pages would 50,000 words produce in a. 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. The total page count excluding appendices and index is 204 pages, thus about 93,000 words. The art of the nonfiction book proposal writers relief, inc. For more information on plot points, take a look at my book plot perfect. Of course, rules are made to be broken, especially in literature. For a book that contains a fair amount of research, statistics, endnotes, charts or graphs, a color interior, or other details that make it an extensive and unique book, its reasonable to price the book higher.