Naverage published book word count

Word count, with a little help from amazon alexis grant. Publishers word count requirements were set up back in the days of typewriters when courier was the only option. In contrast, word count is finite and usually i can calculate book length with about 99% accuracy in part because also included in any calculation is a count of figures, tables, etc. These were to do with whether the book would be categorised as a novel or a novella or an epic or something else. So should i stay with this word count, or try to bring the word count down. It covers all of my core initial free marketing strategies. 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. Word count is commonly used by translators to determine the price for the translation job. Using your current word count and the appropriate formula below, calculate the number of pages you can expect in your finished book. A books word count does matter and if you get it wrong, this can impact your. A minimum count for a nonfiction ebook is about 10,000 words, as. Check that the book actually starts on page 1 sometimes the stuff before it starts is counted then go to the last page before any bibliography, acknowledgements, appendices, etc. The word count is the number of words in a document or passage of text. So if you want to write and publish a book successfully, this is vital information to.

For a ballpark figure, you have approximately 10,000 words per 50 pages of manuscript if you are using 12pt font and 1 inch margins and doublespaced. Are you wondering what the word count for your book should be. Books range from several words to several thousand compare goodnight moon to the polar express. The average nonfiction book is about 50,000 to 75,000 words, which is about 153 to 230 ebook pages.

Realize it over the maximum word count for erotic, science fictionfantasy genre. 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. I use amazons data feeds to come up with the calculation. We all know of outliers within each genre that have been. There are exceptions, of course, one of them for nias. For example, atonement has a word count of 123,378 and my utility comes up with 110,765 words. Based on this list compiled by nicole humphrey cook. Coffee table books and other illustrated books may have very little text, but be very expensive to print because the extensive illustrations require better quality paper. As a result, a 100k manuscript can size up very differently on a shelf. Again, this doesnt necessarily apply if youve already published a bestseller. In these cases, the overall design of the book determines the publishing costs more than word count. As a reader i love the huge word count novels steven king has written and the very short. Feb 20, 2008 to get an accurate word count for your manuscript, take the character count and divide by 5.

Publisher word count for magazine writing word counter blog. Now the decisions can be made based on your writing and whether your book is a fit for that publishing house. The figure was found through looking at a number of books text stats, until brave new worlds. How to write and publish a book in less than 30 days. Similarly, if your book is published and lands in a bookstore, you dont. The lowest wordcount i have so far is brent weeks at 156k with way of shadows. By the fifth book, harry potter and the order of the phoenix, the word count had grown to 257,000 words. I put in anne of green gables and clicked on the first entry, and it listed the. Readers looking for a good beachread in the mystery section will not likely gravitate towards a 1,000page 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. Step 5 is to target your writing so you will be on track for your books vision. Also, heres another list i may swipe and add in here. The longest is the order of the phoenix with a word count of 257,000 words.

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. I put in anne of green gables and clicked on the first entry, and it listed the word count as 17,129. Ive looked at articles that say literary agents wont consider a book with a word count of over 100 000, so you can see why im a little concerned. In this post, id like to share some thoughts on word count considerations.

In itself, no measure is perfect but personally i find word count the most useful. Search for word count totals in books word counters. Its about 20k words more than a novella, so its right on the low end, id say. If you can decide on the right vision for your book, and you therefore know your trim size, you can tailor your writing to your target. Your guide to book word counts fiction and nonfiction.

In 2011, the lists average length peaked at 467 pages. Ive heard that some people actually dont sell a single book and thats probably the reason why i want to take a stab at it with something relatively short that wont take too long to write. On average, there are about 300 words per page in a book. Unfortunately, they dont offer word count so ive created an algorithm based on the number of pages, genre, and the dimensions of the book. Hey, im writing a book and im a bit worried about the word count. Most publishers these days will accept manuscripts in any clear, easily readable font, but there is a lingering belief. Tolkiens initial novel, the hobbit, contained 95,022 words. 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 for famous novels, in ascending order by number of words. It is very rare that the first published book is the first one the author wrote. Is there a website that gives the word counts on books. Most published books average closer to 300 words per page than 200.

Still, instead of word count being neutral, it could be a negative. The second book is the kindle formatting bible its a step by step guide for formatting books for kindle and also stepbystep instructions on uploading your book to kindle and publishing it. When it comes to self published books does size matter. Apr 05, 2015 it word count 274,407 and page count 417. There are some easy ways to find the word count for a published bookonline bookstores. 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. Sep, 2015 after some time write posts like things i learned from publishing my first book, how i selfpublished a book in a month with no experience, steps to write a book in 30 days or less, what i did to write a selfhelp book in a month, etc. Minimum realistic word count of nonfiction book writing. 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.

The word count that your computer gives you is not a standard word count like they use in publishing. A key issue is the fact that picture books are 32 pages storybooks. Higher word counts cost more to produce and if publishers are already taking a chance on a new author, taking a chance on a high word count is one more element of risk they have to deal with. The best answer to your question is on the shelves of most bookstores. When it gets closer to 1,000, editors and agents may shy away. Using e publisher word count will almost always give you more words than the straight word count. Like a general fiction novel, a good target word count for a memoir is 80,000 words. These are some examples of page count from books we publish. Word count matters more than it should in my opinion. That said, the average word count for science fiction and fantasy novels.

If the editor doesnt care and you get paid by word for your articles, using publisher word count can increase. Basically, instead of applying a formula for word count, we apply the final format and see what results. 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. For debut books in this field the average word count tends to be 35k and it has therefore become the. I remember reading some westerns in high school and, if i. You have just discovered the wonderful world of bibliographic metadata. Getting published comments and advice for academic authors. Ive been researching the word countspages of ya novels to make sure im not under or over. To be picked up by a traditional publisher, my manuscript needs to fall in a similar wordcount window. Since 2011, the average length of a bestseller has dropped steadily from year to year. Standard word counts for books publishing with kindle. We all know of outliers within each genre that have been published well under, or well over, these word counts. Kindle publishing faq tck publishing book publisher.

Hes been published by each of the three largest publishers in the world. Is there a website that gives the word counts on books that. For traditional publishing or self publishing, youll have the best odds of success. Literary agent paula munier says a 90,000 word count is the sweet spot for debut fiction.

While page counts are a common but not universal feature of bibliographic metadata, word counts are much less. Nowadays, it is rare that an academic book is seen in an actual bookstore and, if it is, not for long. Anything above 70k but less than 115k science fiction and fantasy tend to run up around 100k115k words. On the other hand, a high word count doesnt have to be the kiss of death. And besides, if its just the first book in a series, like the ones youve listed, then you have further books to expand the scope and build upon an epic vibe in the first book with more words and worldbuilding. Stephen king word count 112263 274,672 bag of bones 203,3 black house 252,270 blockade billy 15,917 carrie. The third book is the kindle publishing bible and this is the gold mine for marketing. Return to writing for children printmobilefriendly version. It takes the question of length completely off the table as an issue. So many people want to write and publish a book these days. Im not sure if im pushing the word count over, been trying cut. While its important that every story find its natural length, it takes time to develop an instinct as.

You should be fine, but it wouldnt hurt to get it closer to 70k. A way to check word count of published books anita nolan. See the article revision 911 for fiction picture books. Sharp objects has a word count of 80,565 and my utility calculates it at 80,7. Deconstructing five spooky picture books with spoilers and word counts. Therefore, word counts are still based on the standards of umpteen years ago. May 11, 2012 these were to do with whether the book would be categorised as a novel or a novella or an epic or something else. Some of the greatest books ever published didnt have the proper word count and i believe they were better for it.

I clicked on the unabridged version, and it lists the word count as 97,364. 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. The binding, font and paper size establish how many pages a published book will be. More important is whether or not your book reads like a picture book succinct, musical, pictorial. Ive heard that some people actually dont sell a single. The average wordcount for adult fiction is between 70,000 to 120,000 words. Jul 08, 2014 you have just discovered the wonderful world of bibliographic metadata. The book will be part of a trilogy, and although ive only written little over half of the entire thing, the estimated word count is.

This is a general list of age categories and word counts for childrens books. Jan 14, 20 hey, im writing a book and im a bit worried about the word count. 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. According to amazons great text stats feature, the median length for all books is about 64,000 words. Better to have solid, clear information than rambling to make a page count. Heres how the wordcount of your book will decide what category your masterpiece falls in. To get an accurate word count for your manuscript, take the character count and divide by 5. Of course, rules are made to be broken, especially in literature. Because it allows me to check out length for published books in my genre. Odd thomas 108,9 the face of fear 60,8 the bad place 146,472. A way to check word count of published books anita nolans blog. Every word does count and careful consideration must be taken to ensure the pacing of the story and the illustratability is supported in a way that fits a picture book format. Where can i find a database of all published books word. Many, yes, but there are exceptions due to the layout and font size of a.

If the only thing wrong with your book is its length, then the agent or publisher you submit to will tell you. If you dont see the word count in the status bar, rightclick the status bar, then and click word count. Nonfiction wordcounts sit between 70,000120,000 words. The harry potter books are young adult titles, and ya publishers generally look for manuscripts in the 50,000 to 80,000 word range. Failing to mention the word count, or committing the faux pas of stating the page count instead, will also see a quick rejection. The easiest way, ive heard to publish and sell your book on the net is by publishing it on amazon and selling it on amazons kindle store. If you dont see the word count in the status bar, rightclick the status. This may particularly be the case in academia, legal proceedings, journalism and advertising.

On the other end, reference and academic books can have huge word counts. If your book falls within the standard preferred wordcount range, its one less reason for it to be rejected. Go to that books page and scroll down to inside this book. Of course, word count wont matter if a story doesnt hook the target audience.

I cannot find an epic fantasy debut published in the past 5 years that was as small as that. Jan 18, 2010 this is awesome enough for me to get excited over. Very often the first novels remain either unpublished or are published later, when the author is established and their name will. Word counting may be needed when a text is required to stay within certain numbers of words. Page count is determined by the publisher, not the writer. In word, the word count will appear on the status bar at the bottom of the workspace. But if marketability matters to you, its not that simple. The word count that your computer gives you is not a standard word count like they use in.

Use your word processor to figure out your average word count per manuscript page and your total word count. A minimum count for a nonfiction ebook is about 10,000 words, as long as the content is solid. The actual word count for the hunger games is 99,750 and my utility calculates 94,743 words. I have often looked this up and got different results, which makes it very confusing. Books range from several words to several thousand compare. It takes the question of length completely off the table as an.

Very often the first novels remain either unpublished or are published later, when the author is established and their name will sell a more difficult book. As a reader i love the huge word count novels steven king has written and the very short gems tom robbins has penned. 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. I have therefore made some averages, based on what ive heard from publishers and agents at childrens book events, and from research and reading. Estimate your page count book designer linda parke. Most young adult novels fall between 55,000 and 70,000 words. Word count for famous novels organized commonplace book. Use these numbers as a baseline for your writing goals. 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.

Count up the total number of words on 10 random full lines from different places and divide by 10 to get the average. Word count signals to people what kind of book theyre dealing with. I just popped into my office and pulled a few books off the shelf. For average word counts based on genre, see this handy reference. Count the number of lines on each page to get the linesperpage. Apr 07, 2012 higher word counts cost more to produce and if publishers are already taking a chance on a new author, taking a chance on a high word count is one more element of risk they have to deal with. Many, yes, but there are exceptions due to the layout and font size of a particular book. Im not sure if im pushing the word count over, been trying cut back the word count. The best word count for your selfpublished novel self. 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. The book will be part of a trilogy, and although ive only written little over half of the entire thing, the estimated word count is looking to be nearly 300 000 words. For paperbacks you get 2550 lines per page, with 35 being a good average. So itll be off on occasion, but it should get you relatively close for the average book. 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 195,011 doctor sleep.

If you are planning on writing a selfhelp book, a suggested avenue would be to first read other selfhelp books. However, they dont have the confidence to actually do it, dont believe in their abilities, dont know where to start, have their doubts. 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 word, click the file tab and then click close to return to your publication. Line count varies depending on page size, font size, etc. Learn the average wordcount for every type of novel, novella, genre, etc. To be picked up by a traditional publisher, my manuscript.

Find the word count for published ya and childrens books. If the editor doesnt care and you get paid by word for your articles, using publisher word count can increase your salary for an article by as much as 30% if you write for magazines or newspapers on a per word basis, this count is your friend. The the fellowship of the ring, the first book of the lord of the rings series, swelled to 177,227 words. However if youre curious to see what the average word count is for standard genres, check out the breakdown in the article. Read our guide to learn what your word count should be and our editors tips.