How Many Words Are in a Novel? (A Beginner-Friendly Guide)

If you have ever asked yourself the question, “How many words are in a novel?” you are not alone. Many new writers are confused as to how “long enough” their story should be and often seek answers from mentors or agencies. Generally, a novel must be at least 40,000 words in order to be considered a novel. However, most novels are between 70,000 and 100,000 words and the average is about 80,000 to 90,000. This depends on your genre, your target audience and how you are writing.

Word count is also important as it impacts pacing, reader expectations, publishing standards and even printing costs. It helps agents and publishers to quickly grasp where your book fits in the market. If you are looking to traditionally publish, adhering to these ranges more closely is more important, since publishers are more stringent in their expectations. If you are self-publishing, you have more flexibility. For example, young adult novels tend to fall between 50,000-80,000 words and fantasy novels tend to fall in the 90,000-120,000 words range. Readers also have their expectations around length, so these figures exist as general industry and community standards. The most important thing to remember, is that your novel should be as long as it needs to be to tell your story fully, not just to meet a number.

Word count affects the number of pages, see How Many Pages Is a Novel?

What does it mean by that?

Let’s put this in simple terms.

A novel is a piece of long fiction. Unlike short stories, novels give you the room to develop your characters, build your world and tell your story more deeply. Since this article is about word count, here’s how to think about word count for beginners,

If it’s fewer than 40,000 words, it’s a novella.
50,000-70,000 words is considered a short novel.
70,000-100,000 words is the norm for a novel.
100,000+ words is considered long for a novel.

But again, this depends on the genre and each genre has its own expectations,

Romance ranges from 60,000 to 90,000 words
Fantasy/Sci-fi ranges from 90,000-120,000+ words
Mystery/Thriller ranges from 70,000-100,000 words
Young Adult ranges from 50,000-80,000 words

For debut authors it is particularly important to stay within these standard ranges because publishers(traditionally are less likely to take risks on unusually long or short manuscripts. So if you have a question about what the perfect word count is for beginners, if you feel like you can tell your complete story in 40,000+ words, do it. If it is rushed, then think of expanding it. Technically, any more than 40,000 words can be referred to as a novel, but from the reader’s point of view, it might seem short and more aligned with a short novel.

How To Find The Number of Words in Your Novel (Step-By-Step)

If you are looking to get an idea of the length of your novel, here’s a basic process you can follow.

Step 1: Choose Your Genre

To begin with, decide what kind of story you are writing. Each genre has its own word count range that it is expected to have.

For example, fantasy/sci-fi tends to require more words for world-building purposes and romance tends to focus more on relationship. This helps you to decide your target word count early on.

Step 2: Know Who Your Target Audience Is

Ask yourself, who are you writing for?

Kids
Teens
Adults

Younger audiences typically enjoy shorter books, while older people expect more depth and longer stories. So your target audience plays a part in your word count, as well.

Step 3: Outline Your Story

Another method to get an idea of how many words you will have is to draft a simple outline. By breaking your story into beginning, middle and end, you can have a rough idea of how long your novel might be. If you want to know more check out the article How to Outline a Novel Step-by-Step.

Step 4: Set a Flexible Word Goal

Set a range, rather than a specific number.

For example: “I will aim for 80,000 words.”

This takes away pressure and keeps you focused on writing because your word count may change during the editing process.

Step 5: Write First, Edit Later

Many beginners fall into the trap of worrying about word count too early during the writing process. The main focus should be getting your story written first on first draft and then dealing with the word count during editing.

Step 6: Revising and Making Length Adjustments

Once you have your first draft, there is time to work on word count. If it seems rushed, add more detail, depth or character development. If it’s too long, cut out things that aren’t necessary or repeat over and over.

Your final word count should be natural, not forced.

If your novel is too long, look for scenes that don’t advance the story. If it’s too short, you can stretch out character arcs develop conflicts, or add significant detail.

Examples/Mini Tips

Let’s examine a couple of simple examples.

Example 1: Romance Novel

If you have a goal of 70,000 words and you are planning for 20 chapters, then your words per chapter is going to be around 3,500.

Try to make your chapters somewhat consistent but not necessarily they are equal. Some chapters may be shorter while others may be longer depending on what the story needs.

Example 2: Fantasy Novel

If you put your goal at 100,000 words and are planning for 25 chapters, your words per chapter comes out to about 4,000.

Don’t try to over load your story with world building at the beginning. Focus on the story, and create your world very naturally as you revise.

Mini Tips for Beginners

Write daily and don’t worry too much on total length
Use word count tools (such as Google Docs or Word)
Break your goal down into smaller chunks (such as 1,000 words each day)
Your first draft doesn’t need to be perfect, concentrate on telling your story.

Common Mistakes Made By Beginners

Here are some common mistakes writers make when thinking about word count,

There is no “perfect” word count. Concentrate on telling a whole story.
Don’t make your story too short just so that it fits a number, it could sound rushed or incomplete
Adding extra scenes just to add up words can weaken your story
Constantly counting the number of words in the early writing stage can slow you down and distract you

There’s a common myth that longer novels are always better, they’re not. A well-written novel of 70,000 words is far better than a bloated 120,000-word novel.

FAQ

1How Many Words in a Beginning Novel?

For beginners, a novel is usually between 70,000 and 90,000 words, and this is fine for most genres.

2Is 50,000 words enough for a novel?

Yes, 50,000 words can be a novel, especially for genres or shorter works, but it can feel short when compared to your expectations.

3What is the average length of novels?

Most novels range from 70,000 to 100,000 words, depending on the genre and audience.

4How long should my first novel be?

Your first novel should be as long as it takes for you to tell your story well, but a goal of 70,000-90,000 words is a practical goal.

Final Thoughts

So, how many words are in a novel? The answer is usually somewhere in the 70,000 to 100,000 words range but what really matters is how long your story needs to be.

If you are just starting out, give yourself a flexible goal and work on getting your draft finished. Ultimately, readers don’t care about the exact number they care about whether your story is complete, interesting and satisfying.

You don’t need to have a perfect number you just need to get started. If you are just starting out, you may also find my guide How to Write a Novel from Start to Finish.

The Cursed Book of Naetheai

How Many Pages Is a Novel?