Typical word-count ranges for books by genre, format, and reader age group. Use these industry-standard figures as a benchmark when planning or querying a manuscript.
| Book type | Typical length |
|---|---|
| Adult Novels | 50,000 to 110,000 words |
| Flash Fiction Stories | 300 to 1,500 words |
| Short Story | 1,500 to 30,000 words |
| Novellas | 30,000 to 50,000 words |
| Romance Novels | 40,000 to 100,000 words |
| Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels | 90,000 to 120,000 words |
| Historical Fiction | 80,000 to 100,000 words |
| Horror, Mystery, Crime and Thriller Novels | 70,000 to 90,000 words |
| Young Adult Books | 50,000 to 80,000 words |
| Picture Books | 300 to 800 words |
| Early Reader Books | 200 to 3,500 words |
| Early Chapter Books | 4,000 to 10,000 words |
| Middle-Grade Fiction Books | 25,000 to 40,000 words |
| Standard Non-Fiction Work | 70,000 to 80,000 words |
| Memoir Books | 80,000 to 200,000 words |
| Biographies | 80,000 to 200,000 words |
| Self-Help Books | 40,000 to 50,000 words |
Ranges are guidelines, not strict rules, and the borderlines blur. To turn a target into a daily quota and finish date, use theWord Count Planner.
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