How Long Should Your Novel Be?

With NaNoWriMo here, many authors are gearing up to weave worlds, characters, and stories into novels with their words. But, how many words does a novel make? And when it comes to creating art, just how important is it to stick to the rules — such as standard word counts?

If your goal is to publish and sell your novel, those rules are darn important. As with many publishing standards, word count guidelines exist for several reasons — including marketing and sales — and help create stories free from plot or pacing issues that can exhaust readers. You wouldn’t be reading this article right now if a quick scroll down showed an apparent 10,000 words, would you?

How many words should my novel be?

The sweet spot for a novel’s word count is generally said to be around 80-90k. Shorter novels such as Fahrenheit 451, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Great Gatsby, and Slaughterhouse-Five are between 40-50,000 words. Longer novels top the 100k mark.

However, this figure differs from book to book and organization to organization. According to NaNoWriMo, manuscripts must be over 50k words to qualify.

1. Short story: under 7,500
2. Novelette: between 7,500 and 17,500
3. Novella: between 17,500 and 40,000
4. Novel: over 40,000

Is 40,000 words enough for a novel?

A story over 40,000 words is generally considered a novel. However, it will be on the short side, as the average length of a novel hovers around 50,000-70,000 words.

However, if your book is around 40,000 words, you’re in good company. But before you celebrate and race to send your manuscript off to the presses as a novel, there’s something else that you should consider. Whether a word count is “enough” for a novel depends on one thing and one thing only: its genre. A fiction novel’s sweet spot is around 80-90k words.

What are the standard word counts by genre?

Be aware that word count standards differ vastly by genre. Could you, as a first-time novelist, get an agent or publisher to bite at your 200k-word YA epic? Maybe — but it would be tough.

1. How many words should a fiction novel be?
   • Commercial and literary novels are generally 80,000 to 110,000 words.
2. How many words should a fantasy novel be?
   • Fantasy and science fiction novels are lengthier than other books. Fantasy takes the cake: some books in a fantasy series exceed 140,000 words. However, the average word count for science fiction and fantasy novels generally lies between 100,000 and 115,000.
3. How many words should a romance novel be?
   • Romance novels are shorter, lying between 80,000 and 100,000 words. However, since romance has many sub-genres, this figure may vary. (For instance, regency romances and paranormal romances must be above 40,000 words).
4. How many words should a middle-grade novel be?
   • Middle-grade novels are generally 20,000 to 55,000 words. Chapter books will come in at the lower end of the spectrum, while middle-grade books meant for older readers may even slightly exceed 55,000 words.
5. And, in case you’re wondering, here are the average word counts for other popular genres:
   • Young adult: 55,000 – 70,000
   • Mystery: 75,000 – 100,000
   • Thriller: 90,000 – 100,000
   • Memoir: 80,000 – 90,000
   • Western: 45,000 – 75,000

Of course, there will be books that smash these “rules.”

How to stick to word count guidelines…

The rule of thumb is that you shouldn’t worry about word count when you’re writing your first draft — and it should be even less of a concern in the outlining phase. However, if you’re done with your first draft and you’re shocked by the amount of words in it, it might be time to cut down.

1. Don’t edit until the first draft is completed
   • Put your manuscript aside for a few weeks before going back to it. With a little distance, you’ll be able to see where there are superfluous scenes or unnecessary purple prose.
2.  Send extraneous movement of characters to the cutting room floor
   • Extraneous movement of characters through space is something that beginning writers are loyal to. It’s challenging to figure out how to move characters from one scene to the next. But readers need not see every step a character makes. It’s good to leave some things to the imagination, and the reader in their own mind can fill in the blanks between scene cuts.
3. Ask yourself, “Does the reader really need to know this?”
   • One bad habit that inflates word count in historical fiction, especially is the tendency to info-dump historical facts into the narration. This is a tough habit to break. To create a world of verisimilitude, the writer has to research this information. So they cannot believe the reader need not know it, too. I recommend curtailing historical information to those tidbits that further the plot or develop a main character. This can be applied to any genre, however: if a detail doesn’t serve a purpose, it’s extraneous and should be cut.
4. Avoid the “brother and sister explaining family life to each other” exposition
   • Know what characters would know about each other/themselves, and try to be creative when imparting this information to the reader. It is possible to explain many things without being obvious or writing it directly into dialogue. Some things can be inferred.
5. Edit out adverbs for stronger verbs
   • Instead of ‘walking quickly,’ why can’t your hero ‘stride’ across the room? This is especially something to remember when you’re writing fight scenes.
6. Know your over-used words
   • Every writer has ‘pet’ words they use all the time, often without realizing it.
7. Too many adjectives are not necessarily a good thing
   • Great writing creates a skillful balance between what the writer provides on the page and what the reader brings to the story with their own imagination. One lean but carefully chosen, perfect-for-the-context description is much more valuable than fluffier, or lengthy descriptions of character or scene. Knowing what to keep and what to cut should be driven by voice and tone — they will dictate the cadence of the story’s language.
8. Don’t shy away from contractions
   • People frequently avoid contractions, both in narrative and dialogue. This often (depending on when a book is set and what the characters are like) gives a sense of formality. Always use more contractions for a more direct and natural feel.

To bend or not to bend the rules…

Authors should not underestimate the value of staying within standard word counts. Editors in traditional publishing houses believe that it’s easier to market books that meet genre expectations. If you’re hunting for a book deal or for an agent, you want to eliminate any reason for them to eliminate you.

These sentiments acknowledged, these days self-publishing has given authors the ability to play around with the rules. While sticking to standard word counts is important from a sales or marketing standpoint, a greater pool of publishing options means that writers need not view “the rules” as entirely rigid and unbendable — especially when going against the grain ultimately serves the story.