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Novel length checker

See how your word count compares with the typical length for your genre, with every range sourced.

Literary, mainstream, women's, romance, mystery, suspense, thriller and horror.

Ranges are what publishers, agents and industry writers call typical for a first book. They are not rules, and many published books sit outside them.

Where your word count sitsIn the ideal range

85,000 words is inside the 80,000 to 89,999 range Writer's Digest calls ideal for adult fiction.

Typical range
70,000 to 109,999
Words to add
0
Length category
Novel
Pages at 6 x 9 in
About 292
    Typical ranges by source, and your word count
    Writer's Digest, ideal: 80,000 to 89,999 words
    Writer's Digest, typical: 70,000 to 109,999 words
    The same word count in every genre
    GenreTypical wordsYour count
    Adult fiction70,000 to 109,999In the ideal range
    Science fiction and fantasy90,000 to 124,999Shorter than typical
    Category (series) romance50,000 to 70,000Longer than typical
    Western50,000 to 80,000Longer than typical
    Memoir70,000 to 99,999In the ideal range
    Young adult50,000 to 87,500In the typical range
    Middle grade20,000 to 62,500Longer than typical
    Picture book500 to 750Longer than typical
    See the page count for your trim size

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    Short answer

    Most adult novels land between 70,000 and 109,999 words, and Writer's Digest calls 80,000 to 89,999 the safest range for a debut. Science fiction and fantasy run longer, about 100,000 to 115,000. Young adult sits near 55,000 to 79,999. These are typical lengths, not rules.

    How to use it

    1. Enter your word count, or tap a common one to explore.
    2. Pick the genre or category closest to your book.
    3. Read where your count sits against each source's range on the chart.
    4. Check the table to see how the same count reads in other genres.
    5. Copy the result or the share link.

    How it works

    Each genre has one or more published ranges. Writer's Digest gives an ideal range and a wider band it calls probably all right. SCBWI's The Book gives children's lengths in manuscript pages, which its Kite Tales column converts at about 250 words a page. Harlequin gives a target length for each romance series.

    In the ideal range: inside a range a source calls ideal
    In the typical range: inside any published range for the genre
    Shorter or longer: words to add or cut to reach the nearest range

    Worked example: 118,000 words of adult fiction. The widest adult range is 70,000 to 109,999, so the book is 8,001 words over. 118,000 words is inside the typical 90,000 to 124,999 range Writer's Digest gives for science fiction and fantasy. The same manuscript fits science fiction and fantasy.

    Printed pages

    The page estimate uses our word count to pages model at 6 x 9 in with a typical interior for the genre. Open the word count to pages calculator to change the trim, font and spacing.

    Reference

    Published word count ranges by genre. Ideal means the source calls it ideal or safe; typical is its wider band.

    GenreSourceRangeWords
    Adult fictionWriter's DigestIdeal80,000 to 89,999
    Writer's DigestTypical70,000 to 109,999
    Science fiction and fantasyWriter's DigestIdeal100,000 to 115,000
    Writer's DigestTypical90,000 to 124,999
    Category (series) romanceHarlequin series guidelinesTypical50,000 to 70,000
    WesternWriter's DigestTypical50,000 to 80,000
    MemoirWriter's DigestIdeal80,000 to 89,999
    Writer's DigestTypical70,000 to 99,999
    Young adultWriter's DigestIdeal55,000 to 79,999
    SCBWI The BookTypical50,000 to 87,500
    Middle gradeWriter's DigestTypical20,000 to 55,000
    SCBWI The BookTypical25,000 to 62,500
    Picture bookWriter's DigestIdeal500 to 600
    SCBWI The BookTypical500 to 750

    Questions authors ask

    How many words is a novel?

    For awards, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association counts 40,000 words or more as a novel. For publishers and agents, adult fiction usually runs 70,000 to 109,999 words, with 80,000 to 89,999 the range Writer's Digest calls "100% safe" for a first novel.

    How long is a fantasy novel?

    Writer's Digest gives 100,000 to 115,000 words as an excellent range for science fiction and fantasy, with 90,000 to 124,999 probably all right. World building adds length, but it notes that a tighter book shows you can edit.

    How long is a young adult or middle grade novel?

    Writer's Digest suggests 55,000 to 79,999 words for young adult and 20,000 to 55,000 for middle grade. SCBWI's The Book gives 50,000 to 87,500 for young adult and 25,000 to 62,500 for middle grade, converted from manuscript pages at about 250 words a page.

    How long is a romance novel?

    Mainstream romance falls in the adult fiction range, 70,000 to 109,999 words. Category romance is shorter: Harlequin's series guidelines ask for 50,000 to 70,000 words depending on the series.

    How many words is a picture book?

    Writer's Digest says 500 to 600 words is a good number to aim for, and that editors may shy away as a text nears 1,000. The standard picture book is 32 printed pages.

    What is the difference between a novella and a novel?

    The SFWA Nebula rules draw the lines by word count: a short story is under 7,500 words, a novelette 7,500 to 17,499, a novella 17,500 to 39,999, and a novel 40,000 or more.

    Is it bad if my book is outside the range?

    Not in itself. The ranges describe what agents and publishers usually see for a first book in a genre, and plenty of published books fall outside them. A count far from the range is a prompt to check pacing, or whether you have two books in one. If you self-publish, no agent screens the length, but printers cap the page count, so check it with the word count to pages calculator.

    Before and after this step

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    Sources

    Last verified against Writer's Digest, SCBWI's Kite Tales, Harlequin's series guidelines and the SFWA Nebula rules. Ranges are typical lengths, not rules. Publisher guidelines change, so check the house or agent you plan to submit to.

    Genre word counts

    Length categories