How many words in a novel? | Word Count by Genre
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- čas přidán 11. 07. 2024
- How many words are in a novel? Worries about whether your novel is the appropriate word count are common, and that's for good reason: it can be both an important publishing factor, and a bit confusing to navigate with so many different standards for different genres, and so many popular books that seem to ignore these guidelines entirely. If you're not sure how long your novel should be, and how to actually stick within those guidelines, we're going to cover all that in this video!
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Totally off the wall, but I parallel novels to theatrical movies, novellas to one hour TV shows, short stories to half hour TV shows, and flash fiction to commercials. 😊
Novels are better off being adapted into tv series. A 2 hour film is appropriate for a novella.
My debut is currently 36804 words. Which puts it about 148 pages and its a fantasy. I plan on going for a 5 by 8 book size. Which in being single spaced would be 250 or even 300 words per gage. So at the least there book would be probably 124 pages roughly.
I did basically follow the word count recommendations by dumb luck at first, but there is a lot I will have to change if I want to get published.
Thank you for your helpful video. What is the word count for contemporary and literary fiction, please?
I'd love to read your stories. But I can't find the list. Where can I find your books?
In the description of the videos on her own channel, there are links to her stories (a lot of the short stories are available to read for free, if I’m not mistaken)
@@nevisnebis1207 Thank you! Because I write novels, I'm also interested in her novels though.
I noticed Neil gaiman coraline is a novella on Wikipedia, I think my debut fiction is probably on that ballpark
Nowadays AI apps are completely prohibited for writing profession. So in that case is it good to use Ginger Writer for writing profession ?
What about creative fiction?
I would do a book before I did a novel 📖 or a memior
Historical fiction wasn't mentioned but I'm assuming between 75k-100k?
I sometimes think of historical fiction as similar to fantasy but without the fantasy aspects, because there could be lots of world building to set the setting properly. In other words, long.
BTW, I seem to remember reading once that there used to be more specific categorization involving “novel” and “historical epic” or “romance” in that a novel was a story that dealt with the here and now in a contemporary setting with a more or less realistic depiction of the main character’s dealings with the world around them, as opposed to a story that took place in a historical setting or had more larger-than-life depiction. In other words, a novel wasn’t just about the length of the story but about the subject matter. (Maybe that’s why it was called a “novel” which means “new” perhaps…?)
No mention of the horror genre? 😢
I didn't hear anything on it either.
I wonder if maybe science fiction got a little passed over, here. I know sci-fi and fantasy are usually grouped in bookstores, but fantasies can run much longer.
She grouped sci-fi with fantasy, starting at 3:35. I think sci-fi can depend on what sub-genre. Some can be super epic world-builders, while others might be shorter novels (e.g. those focused on a single mission or assignment).
My novel word count is around 28-33k words,. Novella??
yes, i'd say it's a novella
Agreed. I would say anything between 5k and 4k falls into the “novella” catch-all.
What is the word count for an erotica book?
A hundred thousand should be ideal for a novel. Length generally indicates genres. Up to 50, 000==novella, between 50, 000 and a hundred thousand wirds==full novel. However sometimes one sets out to write a novella length story but ends up way--- longer.
There's a trick publishers use for creating illusions for potential readers: font size. A 100, 000 word 420 page novel can be made slim by font reduction, header exclusion and margin widening -- to seem like a novella of 150 pages.
How do I know (or decide) if my book is a YA or adult novel?
Why it might be YA:
- A large part of the book is about teenagers at high school.
- Some of the themes tend to speak to teenagers: relationships, family problems, bullying.
- Some adults might find it too 'quirky' or too 'edgy'.
Why it might be adult:
- It's a Gothic novel, which tends to be an adult genre.
- The story has a much longer timespan than most YA books, taking place at least over multiple years, maybe longer depending on whether the second generation's story will remain part of the novel or become a second book.
- The main characters are quite twisted (questionable morals, cruel behavior, unreliable povs) and a bit more complex, which does happen in YA but seems more common in adult fiction.
- Some of the themes and questions raised feel more adult, like the theme of 'creating a monster'.