Are you a self-published author who finds word counts restricting? It’s okay; many writers do. However, keeping your story within the average word count for a book may determine how likely your book is to sell. Sticking to these general word count guidelines also helps your readers follow along with your story and know what to expect out of your book. Our editors at EABooks Publishing have years of experience in the publishing industry. Over this time, we’ve kept up with trends and tendencies in book lengths to determine what sells best. Below, we discuss what you need to know about how long your book should be.

Why Does the Length of My Story Matter?

You may be wondering why we’re even discussing how long a book should be. A book should be as long as you need it to be to tell the story laid on your heart, right? While you don’t want to stifle your creativity with standard word count restrictions, understanding the average word count for a book will help you serve your audience well and keep them engaged. For instance, a reader may be skeptical of the practical insight they’ll gain from a self-help book that’s only 2,000 words, which is the length of an in-depth article. On the other hand, a reader looking for a fun and light story for a long weekend at the beach probably won’t pick up a 700-page fantasy epic. Crafting your story to a particular length based on genre also helps standardize printing costs so you can adequately budget for printing services when self-publishing your book.

What’s a Good Length for Your First Self-Published Book?

The average word count for a standard book is between 50,000 and 90,000 words. A threshold of 40,000 words is considered the minimum word count for a novel, while a maximum word count is between 150,000 to 200,000 words. When self-publishing your first novel, we recommend making it between 50,000 and 80,000 words. This is plenty of room to tell your story without overwhelming them with a lengthy novel. Once you’ve published your first book and established a following, you can stretch these averages and create a longer story if desired.

Ideal Word Counts By Book Type

Here are standard word count guidelines for different types of books. These word counts are based on eligibility rules for the Nebula Awards®:

Short Story— less than 7,500 words

Novelette— between 7,500 and 17,500 words

Novella—between 17,500 and 40,000 words

Novel—40,000 words or more

Non-Fiction Books—40,000-60,000

Devotionals—30 day—60 day, with 250-700 words per day

Average Word Count for a Book by Genre

These word counts represent the average word count for a book in each genre, using data from the traditional publishing industry standards and the best-selling books on Amazon in 15 categories.

Fiction —80,000 to 100,000 words

Non Fiction —40,000 to 60,000 words

Fantasy—90,000 to 110,000 words (with some above the 150,000-word range).

Science Fiction—90,000 to 110,000 words

Romance—60,000 to 100,000 words

Young Adult—45,000 to 80,000 words

Mystery—75,000 to 100,000 words

Memoir—60,000 to 80,000 words

Action/Adventure —50,000 to 80,000 words

Historical Fiction— 50,000 to 10,000 words

Children’s Picture Books —250 to 750 words

Christian Fiction—45,000 to 80,000 words

What if my Book is Longer Than Industry Standards?

These averages are based on traditional publishing sales. As a self-published author, you have ultimate control over the length of your book. If you believe your story warrants a higher word count than these guidelines, it’s up to you. However, you’ll want to consider your target reader’s expectations and attention span when writing a story longer than these standard word counts. Many editors and publishing companies believe it’s easier to market books that meet these genre word count guidelines. The longer your novel, the more chances you have for your readers to become disinterested and never finish your book. As a first-time self-published author, we recommend aiming for the lower end of these numbers.

How Long Should My Book Chapters Be?

Most novel chapters range between 3,000 and 4,000 words. Chapters in young adult books tend to be shorter than this, and non-fiction books fall at the higher end of this range, at about 4,000 words each.

Tips for Increasing Word Count

If you’re concerned your story may not hit the minimum average word count for a book, you can do a few things to try to increase the word count. You should write your draft first, then edit it later. This will allow you to get everything you want to say on paper, then craft and hone your story afterward. Also, creating a solid outline for your story will help you develop your plot points and characters, which will help you increase your story’s word count. Remember the five senses and layer your book with these to bring it to life.

Tips for Decreasing Word Count

For many writers, cutting back on your story and decreasing your word count is more challenging than trying to increase it. However, this work is important and will help your readers know what to expect from your story, making them more likely to purchase your book. First, don’t attempt to edit your story until you’ve finished the first draft. Let your story sit for a few days or weeks before editing it. Then, review your story’s major plot points, significant character details, and other primary points of your story. With these in mind, you can start to edit your work, removing any unnecessary information or tangents that may confuse the reader. Search your story for overused words and remove them when possible. A story with an inflated word count may be due to a plot or character problem, wordiness, or poor sentence structures. Having a good editor on your side to review your manuscript can help you refine your story and cut out information that doesn’t move your story forward. EABooks offers free sample edits and Developmental Edits to help you. Contact us for these details.

How Long are Best-Selling Books?

Over the past ten years, the average length of best-selling books has decreased. According to the New York Times, the average length of a bestseller decreased by over 50 pages between 2011 and 2021. Today, most best-selling books range from 200 to 350 pages, with about 250 to 300 words per page.

Self-Publish Your Story with EABooks Publishing

Not sure how to refine your story to adhere to the average word count for a book? Our editing team at EABooks Publishing can help! We offer a variety of editing services to help you develop, refine, and polish your manuscript. Then, we provide the resources you need to self-publish your story and market it to your target readers. Contact our team here for a free 15-minute consultation about your book. We can’t wait to help you share your God-given story!