Before starting to write your novel, it is crucial to know how long it should be.
I say should because books have strict rules about length that you don't want to miss if you want to be published, find an agent or deliver a professional product with self-publishing.
Some will say that the content is what matters but this is not the truth. If you don't fill the length rules, publishers won't even bother to read. If the length is not respected they will presume it will be the same about plot structure and character development.
Keep in mind that in the professional word of publishing, we count words and not pages so this is how the length will be counted here.
General length
Flash fiction
100 to 500 words
Short story
1.500 to 10.000 words
Novella
20.000 to 50.000 words
Novel
More than 55.000 words - even though most novels are more than 60.000 words - .
The safe range
80.000 to 90.000 words would be fine for almost all the genre
Western
45.000 to 75.000 words
Romance
60.000 to 100.000 words
Young Adult
55.000 to 80.000 words
Commercial and literary novels for adults
80.000 to 90.000 words
Crime,Mystery,Thriller,Horror
70.000 to 90.000 words
Historical
90.000 to 120.000 words
Fantasy and SCI-FI
90.000 to 125.000 words
Middle Grade Fiction
20.000 to 50.000 words
Children’s Picture Books
500 to 1.000 words
The more famous you are, the more you can do whatever you like with word count so don't try to understand why well-known authors seem to follow any rules.
In all cases, check the website of the publishing house you are sending your manuscripts to see how long the books in your genre that are publish.
Same if you are planning on publishing on Amazon.
In doubt, cut off; it's always better to write less than too much.
How long is your story and what genre is it?
Don't hesitates to share your opinions and comments. ❁
Interested in reading my book?
You can find it -> HERE
