How Long Should Your Book Be?

Different genres and publishers require books to be particular lengths for several reasons including the economics of book production, and reader satisfaction. If your book is too long or too short you will have difficulty finding a place for it. Publishing is a business and in order to make that business work, the product (your book) must be saleable. No-one wants to pay €14.99 for a book that's only half the size of the next one on the shelf!

So how long should your book be? Here are some rough guidelines:

• Short stories - generally 1000 - 8000 words (anything under 1000 words is generally considered Flash fiction)

• Novella - 10,000-30,000 words

• Commercial Fiction (including women's fiction, crime fiction, fantasy etc) 95-120,000 words

• Category Romance 55,000 - 85,000 words (check with each publisher/ imprint to see what they are looking for)

Children's Books: (thanks to www.superheronation.com for this information from US Agent Mary Kole)

• Board Book — 100 words maximum
• Early Picture book — 500
• Picture book — 750- 1,000 words maximum - check with specific publishers which length they prefer
• Nonfiction Picture book — 2,000 words maximum
• Early Reader — This varies widely, depending on the age level you are aiming at -· 3,500 words is an absolute maximum.
• Chapter book — 10,000 words
• Middle Grade — 35,000 words for contemporary, mystery, humor, 45,000 for fantasy/sci-fi, adventure and historical
• YA — 70,000 words for contemporary, humor, mystery, historical, romance, etc. 90,000 words for fantasy, sci-fi, paranormal, etc.

In Ireland and the UK board books are normally commissioned, so if you want to break into the very young children's market, focus on picture books. Little Tiger Press, publish fabulous picture books and accept unsolicited manuscripts, and are well worth checking out. Walker Books in the UK do not accept unagented/unsolicited submissions, but their US arm do Walkerbooks.com, so it's worth checking out their guidelines.

As you can see from the details above, books are measured in word count rather than the number of pages.This is because everyone's pages are set up differently, may or may not be double spaced, may have wide or narrow margins, so 100 pages could contain 1000 words or 3000 depending on your layout. Microsoft word has a very handy word count button that all writers use addictively!

Ensure you include the final word count in your submission package to a publisher or an agent.

If you are a new author, although it may be tempting, it is inadvisable to submit your opening chapters until your book is finished and has been revised and rewritten extensively - those opening chapters can change hugely between the start of your book and writing the final word. A publisher also wants to know that you are able to finish your book, and if they love the opening chapters may be reluctant to wait six or eight months while you produce the rest - that inital buzz will be long gone, and possibly with it, the slot in the market that they thought your book would fill.

If your book is wildly longer than the guidelines above it could be for several reasons - if it's too full of plot, it may be a book that will break out into a series, or you may find your writing is too heavy on description, or backstory. It is well worth getting your work critiqued if you feel this is the case - a professional writer/published author can give you solid feedback on your opening chapters that will point you in the right direction. Check our Services for Writers section to find listings of editors and authors who offer critiquing services, and manuscript assessment services.

Vanessa O'Loughlin is the Founder of writing.ie, runs Inkwell Writers Workshops and is a scout for leading Irish and UK literary agents.

Vanessa eBook Writing to Get Published:Bringing the Dream Alive is available to download onto your laptop or to an eReader. At only $2.99 it's an invaluable guide that brings together tips and wisdom from Inkwell Writers Workshops and the best selling authors who facilitate them. It's available in all formats including Amazon Kindle.

See Vanessa's other articles on writing.ie: How to write a covering submission letter;  Finding Opportunity in Change; How to cope with rejection; Copyright, what is it?