Average length of a non-fiction book

In this article im going to attempt to answer that question. Jul 14, 2011 book length average length of a non fiction book a 10 minute training video from video discusses how to determine the av. Word counting may be needed when a text is required to stay within certain numbers of words. I heard 10,000 words can be accepted as an ebook at a short length at least for nonfiction. Many wouldbe authors worry that readers will not take a short book seriously. As for nonfiction books, the standard bestsellers have word counts similar to adult novels. In this writeup im mosting likely to try to respond to that inquiry.

Every category will have an average length, including childrens books, young adult, business books, etc. As a kindle book buyer and reader myself, i dont care about the length whenever i am looking to buy a book. Another interesting way to find a good chapter length i think, would be to sit down and read a book from the first chapter, for about 510 minutes, or however long you wish your chapters to be, and see how many words you have read in that amount of time. Aug 05, 2019 before diving into the specifics of genrebased word counts, lets look at the broader picture of average book length. I know fiction works on average come in at 60,000 but i really had no idea about non fiction. I get asked this a lot, and my answer is always the same. Book length average length of four types of non fiction book.

Non fiction typically has longer sentences and less white space because it doesnt have dialogue. Sep 03, 2017 amazons most sold charts rank books according to the number of copies sold and preordered through, amazon books stores, and books read through digital subscription programs once a customer has read a certain percentage roughly the length of a free reading sample. Minimum realistic word count of nonfiction book writing stack. Not a very satisfying answer, i know, but i say it for a reason. I heard 10,000 words can be accepted as an e book at a short length at least for non fiction. If the topic really justifies length and especially if your credentials are highly impressive you can go longer, but check that you remain interesting, even at length. The average adult novel runs approximately 100,000 words while those in other categories run 80120,000 words. Jun 07, 2017 when talking about book length, its common to talk about word count rather than page count. Though the average word count of a chapter is around 2,000 5,000 words, it all depends on your story. The retail price you set for your book impacts your profit margin. At 250 words per page using times roman 12 and oneinch margins, that means theyre usually six to eight pages long. Nonfiction requires more thinking time from your reader, so you need to consider the role of your book.

Shorter isnt necessarily better, but it can be an important consideration. You can use comparable, successful books as models to determine the length you book should be. As for non fiction books, the standard bestsellers have word counts similar to adult novels. For most publishers, a book is novellength when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words.

If youre drawn to writing much shorter tales, the ideal is to make them part of a series or to link them in some other way so that you can publish several of them in something vaguely novelsized. The length can vary greatly between genres, though. By 2017, however, that number has dropped to 273 pages. As an interesting side note, amazons text stats show that the average length of all books on amazon is about 64,000 words. Know your content, know your mainline pitch and some. The only thing i care is whether or not the book would solve my problems. Sure, i may get attracted by its beautiful cover like i always do, or the sizzling title, or the irresistible book description and eventually buy the book. Jun 24, 2019 be aware that the word average means that for every book that sells 15,000, there is one that sells 5,000. If yes, then most publishers still work on specific word count lengths for books so youll probably be aiming for around 60,00080,000 words for nonfiction. It is a story poem format with a short introduction before each poem to help with some additional history information.

Is that a good length for your reader on this topic. Generally speaking, traditional publishers expect completed nonfiction book. Non fiction usually has longer sentences and also much less white room since it does not have discussion. I guess 50,000 is a short novel and some early novels before goes as low as 40,000 which can be considered to be a novella. But i also know of others who have sold over 500,000 copies. Nonfiction typically has longer sentences and less white space because it doesnt have dialogue. Book length average length of a non fiction book 29th june 2018 posted in. Nonfiction readers, in particular, want value fast. Indeed, most traditional publishers limit nonfiction authors to 80,000 words for standard 6 x 9 books, between 240 and 280 pages. There are plenty of books that purposefully play with the word counts of their chapters. Probably too long for a first book, only go this long if youve got a best seller under. Alternatively, this is an acceptable length for a short work of non fiction.

This entry was posted on monday, may 11th, 2009 at 11. I dont know if the question is meant as a mentalstatistical exorcise. If the content is stepbystep and high quality, 15 pages is enough for a 99 cent kindle book or a freebie used for lead generation. And conversely, a longer book of over 60k words or 200 pages can command a higher price. The average nonfiction book, if such a thing exists, runs about 50,000 words. According to amazons great text stats feature, the median length for all books is about 64,000 words. The word count is the number of words in a document or passage of text. Bestselling books are getting longer, study finds mental floss. You definitely dont need to write the equivalent of the 300,000 word novel that you might pick up when youre going on holiday.

Pencilthin books on narrow topics that are under 50,000 words are quite common. When planning your nonfiction book it helps to have an idea of how long a book needs to be to be marketable. Easygoing, fairly light, userfriendly, nonfiction book for the masses. But, most nonfiction publishers want to be sold the concept, and therefore be able to discuss the direction of the project, before you write the book. Oct 27, 2018 chapter length matters more than you think. One of the concerns that brandnew authors constantly ask is how long should my nonfiction publication be.

May 11, 2009 32 responses to word count and book length. In the publishing industry, 250 words is considered a printed page of text. Add screenshots or other graphics and youve got a nicesized ebook. Alternatively, this is an acceptable length for a short work of nonfiction. In this article youll discover the average number of pages for four different types of book. Book length average length of a non fiction book book n.

And for every book that sells 20,000, there is one that is a disaster. You can do anything you want with subsequent books, if you sell a gazillion copies of the first book or two. I dont know what i can say to add to what has already been said. That number actually lines up pretty well with the data we have on this, but again, that number should neither be. But, most non fiction publishers want to be sold the concept, and therefore be able to discuss the direction of the project, before you write the book. Amazon ebook page length by genre kindle page length. Book size is often based on how thick the spine will be and how it will stand out in a bookstore although things are changing. I know of an author with a very large publisher whose novel has sold only 1,087 copies in its lifetime. Why does the length of a typical novel fall in the 80. Make it actionable, helpful, and great value and the length wont matter. Before diving into the specifics of genrebased word counts, lets look at the broader picture of average book length. At a writers conference i recently attended, publishing veteran jane friedman said 80,000 words is good for most fiction, below.

I heard 10,000 words can be accepted as an e book at a short length at least for nonfiction. Book length average length of a non fiction booki youtube. You can follow any responses to this entry through the rss 2. Jul 23, 2012 so 50,000 words is the minimum for a non fiction book. I have often looked this up and got different results, which makes it very confusing. So then its just a matter of how much you have to say or the length your contract calls for. Most manga stories run for as long as their mangaka manga author wants them to, or as long as their readership demands. If you stick to these when youre writing your nonfiction book, youll be fine. However, there is a wide range of acceptable word counts for non fiction books. Mar 20, 2020 the average adult novel runs approximately 100,000 words while those in other categories run 80120,000 words. Most print publishers prefer a minimum word count of around 70,000 words for a first novel, and some even hesitate for any work shorter than 80,000.

T he indie author chris fox coined the term potato chip chapters for easilydigestible book chapters of a certain size. Aside from the frankfurt book, is there any kind of market for something too long to be an article but too short to be a normal 250 pager. A non fiction book attractive to publishers of bestsellers starts at around 75,000 words. In 2011, the average length of a bestselling nonfiction book was 467 pages, but that dropped to 273 pages in 2017. Nonfiction ebook pricing in the kindle store by joel friedlander on april 25, 2011 61 comments pricing of ebooks is a constant source of discussion online, and weve seen the rebellions in the kindle store when publishers were allowed to start setting their own prices last year. When talking about book length, its common to talk about word count rather than page count. Be aware that the word average means that for every book that sells 15,000, there is one that sells 5,000. If you are planning to write a 200page book, then at 250words per page you are aiming for 50,000 words total.

Recently an author proposed a 30,000 word book to a publisher. How long should an intro be typically for a nonfiction book. Until an author sells 5,000 copies of his book, he makes more from royalties than he will with a selfpublished book, according to authors. Book length average length of a non fiction book a 10 minute training video from video discusses how to determine the av. Bestselling books are getting longer, study finds mental. Hi out there, ive just about finished a nonfiction book about little known young and other heroes of the american revolution. The question of fiction and nonfiction was not introduced into the story so that brings another question as to the length of nonfiction v fiction and whether there should be a separate category for nonfiction ebooks so that we can remove these ebooks from the general population for data assessment purposes or simply provide another set. So, what is the average length of a non fiction book. This is a general list of age categories and word counts for childrens books. The 1 thing you need to do to write a new york times. This may particularly be the case in academia, legal proceedings, journalism and advertising. Minimum realistic word count of nonfiction book writing. However part why the new writers, the answer is difficult to identify because the answer is so difficult.

The average income from a published book bizfluent. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site post navigation. Typically, fiction makes use of 250 words each web page, although 300 is additionally an usual worth. The average fiction book is about 80,000 to 100,000 words, which is about 246 to 307 ebook pages. But like all the numbers when discussing book length, you should think them as yardsticks rather than firm numbers. That means 75,000 words equals 300 pages, which is just about perfect for a first novel. I have therefore made some averages, based on what ive heard from publishers and agents at childrens book events, and from research and reading. The acceptable length of an academic dissertation varies greatly, dependent predominantly on the subject. Oct 10, 2016 the lengths vary hugely from title to title, but chapters released weekly seem to average 1620 pages while chapters released monthly average 3650 pages. I am working on a book about my experience with losing a 9 year old cat to lymphoma. The graph shows the average length of the top 100 bestsellers in each of the 30 main amazon kindle categories, measured in terms of the number of pages. When planning your non fiction book it helps to have an idea of how long a book needs to be to be marketable.

One of the questions that new writers always ask is how long should my nonfiction book be. Generally speaking, a shorter book of 150 finished pages or 40k words or less typically commands a lower price. How many hours does it take to write a nonfiction book. The average length of a nonfiction book is 50,000 words, with some books falling at around 3540,000 words, and others running as long as 70,000. Mar 17, 2010 i am working on a book about my experience with losing a 9 year old cat to lymphoma. This is about the length readers want for general nonfiction, and it keeps publishers happy given the high cost of paper. However, many authors, frustrated with the low price of ebooks, have taken to writing ebooks that are between 40,000 and 50,000.

Word count is commonly used by translators to determine the price of a translation job. So 50,000 words is the minimum for a nonfiction book. However, there is a wide range of acceptable word counts for nonfiction books. Amazons most sold charts rank books according to the number of copies sold and preordered through, amazon books stores, and books read through digital subscription programs once a customer has read a certain percentage roughly the length of a free reading sample. How to set the retail price for your nonfiction book. I dont think there are any hard and fast rules, but keep in mind that a digital book only gets about 10% put up in the sample, so you dont want.