By The Numbers... Average Genre Word Counts

It seems that not a week goes by when someone asks me about word counts.  "How many words should my book be?"  Well, according to Writer's Digest Magazine, here are the average word counts by genre.  Keep in mind that each publishing company, agent, and editor will have their own specific expectations for word counts.  These are benchmarks to be aware of - but not necessarily rules written in stone.

Non-Fiction: average 50,000, depending on topic

Fiction:
Short story: any fictional work under 7,500 words
Novelette: between 7,500 and 17,500 words
Novella: between 17,500 and 40,000 words
Novel: anything over 40,000

Adult & New Adult Novels: Commercial & Literary:

• 80,000 – 89,999:       Totally cool
• 90,000 – 99,999:       Generally safe
• 70,000 – 79,999:       Might be too short; probably all right
• 100,000 – 109,999:      Might be too long; probably all right
• Below 70,000:         Too short
• 110,000 or above       Too long

Science-Fiction & Fantasy:

• 100,000 - 115,000

Western & Romance:

• 50,000 - 80,000

Memoir:

• 80,000 - 89,999

Young Adult:

• 55,000 - 69,999

Middle Grade or Tween Novels:

• 30,000 - 55,000

Chapter Books

• 6,000 - 10,000

Early Readers:

• under 3,500

Picture Books: (about 24-32 pages)

• 500-60

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