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How Many Pages Is a Novel? Guide by Genre & Length
January 5, 2026The Cursed Book of Naetheai
August 4, 2024How Many Pages Is a Novel? Guide by Genre & Length
January 5, 2026How Many Words Are in a Novel? A Simple Guide by Genre
If you've ever wondered how many words are in a novel, then you aren't alone. New writers are frequently perplexed by the question of how "long enough" their novel/story should be and often ask their mentors or agencies for advice, which is completely understandable.
Generally, a novel has to be at least 40,000 words to be considered a novel. Most novels tend to range between 70,000 and 100,000 words, with many averaging between 80,000 and 90,000. The length of a novel also depends upon the genre you decide on, your target audience and your publishing method.
Word count is important for a novel because it has an effect on your story's pacing, reader expectations, publishing guidelines, and even printing costs. Your novel's length can assist agents and publishers in identifying where your novel falls within the marketplace.
For example, young adult novels tend to range between 50,000 and 80,000 words and fantasy novels tend to range between 90,000 and 120,000 words.
If you're planning on using a traditional publisher, it's more crucial to adhere to these guidelines since they can be quite strict. If you're planning on self-publishing, you have more latitude with your length.
Reader expectations are also affected by the length of your novel, so these word counts have become general industry and community guidelines. The most crucial thing to remember is that your novel should be as long as it needs to be in order to thoroughly tell your story, rather than simply adhering to a number.
Word count impacts the page count, see How Many Pages Is a Novel?
What does it mean by that?
Let’s put it this way.
A novel is a long, extended work of fiction. A novel differs from a short story in that it provides greater scope for developing the characters and their world and for telling the story. As this article is about word count, let’s discuss word count for beginners,
- If the word count is less than 40,000 words, it’s a novella.
- 40,000–70,000 words is considered a short novel.
- 70,000–100,000 words is the norm for a novel.
- 100,000+ words is considered long novel.
But, again, this is dependent on the genre, as each genre holds 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/first time authors, it is extremely important to stick to these standard ranges if opting for a traditional publisher, as they won't want to risk their investment in a potentially too long or too short manuscript. So, what is the ideal word count for beginners? If you can get away with telling your whole story in 40,000 or more words, then that's great. If you feel like it was rushed, consider expanding on it. Technically, anything 40,000 words or more can be considered a novel, but your readers will most likely feel like they've read a short novel or something close to a novella.
How To Find The Number of Words in Your Novel (Step-By-Step)
If you’re looking for a method to find how long your novel should be, 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.
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 relationships. This helps you to decide your target word count early.
Step 2: Know Who Your Target Audience Is
Ask yourself, for whom are you writing?
- Kids
- Teens
- Adults
Younger audiences typically enjoy shorter novels, while others desire more depth and longer stories. So your target audience plays a part in your word count, as well.
Step 3: Outline Your Story
Another way to estimate how many words your novel may 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.
Step 4: Set a Flexible Word Goal
Set a range, rather than a specific number.
For example, you could say, '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 in the first draft should be getting your story written and then planning for the word count during editing.
Step 6: Revising and Making Length Adjustments
Once you have your first draft, you have time to work on the word count. If the story feels rushed, add more detail to scenes to develop the characters or environment. You can stretch it out by adding character arcs, developing conflicts, or adding significant detail to the environment or world-building.
If it feels long, cut out scenes that aren’t necessary to the story, that feel repetitive, that slow down your story narration or that don’t advance the story.
Your final word count should be natural, not forced.
Examples / Mini Tips
Let’s examine a couple of simple examples.
Example 1: Romance Novel
If your goal is 70,000 words across 20 chapters, each chapter will average about 3,500 words.
Try to make each of your chapters somewhat consistent in the word count. But some chapters may be shorter or longer, depending on what the story needs.
Example 2: Fantasy Novel
If your goal is 100,000 words across 25 chapters, each chapter will average about 4,000 words.
Don't try to overload the beginning of your story with world-building. 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 for some reason, 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 stage of writing will slow down your writing process and distract you from completing your story.
There's a common myth that longer novels are always better, but that's not true. A well-written novel of 70,000 words is far better than a bloated 120,000+ word novel.
FAQ
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 word count. They care whether your story is complete, interesting, and satisfying.
You don’t need to have a perfect number of words in your novel, you just need to get started, rather than concentrating on words.
To learn more, read 'How to Outline a Book' and 'How to Write a Novel from Start to Finish'.
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