How To Assess the Word Count of Your Novel To Fit Publishing Standards
The nuts and bolts of genre word counts, including children’s fiction
If you’re heading down a traditional publishing route, word counts matter.
As a first-time author, you can’t start off peddling a 200,000-word epic love story. Your manuscript needs to fit inside industry standards before you can wedge your foot in the door.
You can find multiple sites that give you word counts for novels; most stick to recommending a board range between 80,000 and 100,000 words for first-time writers.
Foster Grant wrote an excellent post breaking down word counts into genres. The entire post is well worth reading, but if you’re a snapshot person, here are some quick references:
Flash Fiction, Short Stories & Novellas
Flash fiction is anything from 100 to 500 words
A short story is usually anything from 1,000 to 8,000 words, but many are often longer
A novella is usually between 20,000 and 50,000 words
The average novel is usually between 80,000 and 100,000 words
An epic novel is anything over 110,000 words
Word Counts by Genre
Crime – 90,000 to 100,000 words
Thrillers – 70,000 to 90,000 words
Literary – 80,000 to 110,000 words
Romance – 40,000 to 100,000 words
Fantasy – 90,000 to 110,000 words
Horror – 80,000 to 100,000 words
Science – 90,000 to 125,000 words
Historical – 100,000 to 120,000 words
Children’s Fiction
Children’s books have vastly different word counts depending on the age of your reader. Using my experience as a Children’s Librarian, Literature Judge, and as a long-time ‘emerging’ children’s fiction writer, here is a graphic I cooked up for you. I’m from Down Under, so I’ve based these figures on trends I see on Australian shores.
Note: I didn’t include Graphic Novels because they are whole different beastie requiring a different recipe altogether.
Quick reference for those using a screen reader or who prefer text-based information:
- Picture Book: 0–500 Words (Average word count: 300 words. Words & Pictures tell the story together. Including Board Books.)
- Early Reader | Crossover Book: 100–2,500 Words (Heavily illustrated.)
- Chapter Book | Junior Fiction: 2,500–15,000 Words (Illustrations decrease as word count increases.)
- Illustrated Fiction: 3,000–20,000 Words (Illustrations combine with words to tell the story. Highly appealing for reluctant readers. Usually funny storylines.)
- Realistic Middle Grade: 25,000–60,000 Words
- Fantasy Middle Grade:35,000–70,000 Words
- MG | YA Crossover: 50,000–80,000 (High-interest content without sex or overt violence.)
- Realistic YA: 50,000–80,000 Words
- Fantasy YA: 50,000–150,000 Words
Want more writing tips? Look no further! Here’s my best tips and tricks compiled from my experience as an author, librarian, and major literary competition judge.
