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. So lets begin our calculations by focusing on word count first. A nonfiction book is one that tells you facts and information about the world around you. The important thing is that your length fits your book. In this article youll discover the average number of pages for four different types of book. Amazon ebook page length by genre kindle page length. Like novels, these books fall into the 70,000 to 120,000word range. The length can vary greatly between genres, though. A minimum count for a nonfiction ebook is about 10,000 words, as long as the content is solid.
You would think i would be considered a big selling name or something, but i am not a big deal in my genre. If youre a new author, id recommend staying on the shorter side, perhaps around the 75,000 word mark. The figure was found through looking at a number of books text stats, until brave new worlds 64,531 word count landed in the exact center of all books50% of books have fewer words and 50% of books have more words. Nov 07, 2016 generally speaking, a shorter book of 150 finished pages or 40k words or less typically commands a lower price. If the average length is 300 pages, youre looking at a 75,000 word manuscript approximately one reason its harder for a new author to sell a 140,000 word manuscript is the size of the book. See more ideas about book recommendations, nonfiction books and books. Nonfiction requires more thinking time from your reader, so you need to consider the role of your book.
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. The cost of production, every product is linked to the size of the format eg, paperback. So, do this for some books in your field, find one that matches the same depth and detail that you want to attain for your book, and give yourself an estimate based on that. Have a look at what other readers have checked out you might find. Booktopia buy non fiction books online from australias leading online bookstore. Nonfiction or non fiction is content that purports in good faith to represent truth and accuracy regarding information, events, or people. Associationand nonfiction writers conference, and author of several books. Mccrum explains how i chose my list of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time. I dont know what i can say to add to what has already been said. A frequent speaker at business events and on the radio, she has been featured in entrepreneur, businessweek, and wired magazine. With digital as well as print books available, the length of books varies. Word counting may be needed when a text is required to stay within certain numbers of words. Also, in the four nonfiction books ive had traditionally published, ive never once been given a word count. Nonfiction content may be presented either objectively or subjectively, and may sometimes take the form of a story.
I have 15 books selling in the amazon kindle store of varying lengths. Typically we find that groups of books naturally after 100 pages. The cost to produce each book is related to the format size e. A journey from oregon to patagonia, and a quest for a life with no regret.
Word count is commonly used by translators to determine the price of a translation job. The best nonfiction books by category in addition to the top 10 nonfiction books listed above, i have put together more specific book recommendations by category. As always, be sure to keep it interesting so you can justify the word length. And publishers are looking for more nonfiction authors to write e book singles, which run anywhere from 20 to 100 pages in length. 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. Obviously, the size and detail of the table of contents will vary for each book, but on average, nonfiction books have between 7 and 15 chapters. Minimum realistic word count of nonfiction book writing stack. Pencilthin books on narrow topics that are under 50,000 words are quite common. Your guide to book word counts fiction and nonfiction. This isnt to say that long books are no longer succeeding. 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.
Literary agent paula munier says a 90,000 word count is the sweet spot for debut fiction. The guardians hannah jane parkinson offers a response to the 100 best nonfiction books list. According to amazons great text stats feature, the median length for all books is about 64,000 words. Book length average length of a non fiction book a 10 minute training video from video discusses how to determine the av. Most nonfiction books have between 5 and 20 chapters. Easygoing, fairly light, userfriendly, nonfiction book for the masses. I think its all right if not necessary for fiction books to be long because the more the reader invests in a story, the more shell be satisfied when she finally finishes the book. As with higherwordcount books, however, good writing is a must. A single novel can be longer, but once the length is above 110,000 words publishers may look at cutting it back, unless it is a particular kind of book books over the 110k word count are usually considered epics.
However, there is a wide range of acceptable word counts for nonfiction books. What is the ideal length for kdp when writing a nonfiction book. Aug 12, 2016 one of the best things about being both a book lover and a fan of anything is, in research terms, getting to spend time with secondary and even tertiary texts. Heres a realworld comparison of some trade paperback sizes. So you want to write a nonfiction book the washington post. Every category will have an average length, including childrens books, young adult, business books, etc. Since the paperback is going away, lets look at more realistic lengths for books. Flannery by brad gooch starts with a 50 page chapter and the rest cap out at somewhere around 30 tops, both h. The average fiction book is about 80,000 to 100,000 words, which is about 246 to 307 ebook pages. In the national book awardwinning stamped from the.
Total book sales for all seven books total over 418,000 this is only my ebooks sales, does not include my audio sales or paperback. Dec 11, 2017 2017 was a tough year for reality, in the sense that many of us spent the year trying as hard as possible to avoid it. For subsequent books, the process will speed up quite a bit. The harry potter books are young adult titles, and ya publishers generally look for manuscripts in the 50,000 to 80,000word range. Science az unit nonfiction books provide informational text at multiple reading levels to help all students be successful in the content area of science. This dimension is the territory of an academic enterprise or technical book. But the only way 2018 is going to be a better year is if we learn a few things, and theres no better way to improve your understanding of the world than via highquality nonfiction books. In todays market, this is the goto paperback size range for many novels, memoirs, and nonfiction books. If you stick to these when youre writing your nonfiction book, youll be fine.
That doesnt mean you can submit a manuscript twice the length a publisher recommends. The figure was found through looking at a number of books text stats, until brave new worlds 64,531 word count landed in the exact center of all books 50% of books have fewer words and 50% of books have more words. Learn the average word counts for various genres of fiction and nonfiction so you can determine the ideal length for your book. It can cover almost any topic, from wild animals to vikings. The rise of the e book market and the relative ease for authors to selfpublish these days has dampened retail prices and reduced the viability of brick and mortar bookstores. Though the average word count of a chapter is around 2,000 5,000 words, it all depends on your story. Whether a book is selfpublished or traditionally published, the author can make more money if she puts a substantial promotional. 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.
Take a quick look back at five centuries of great writing. Better to have solid, clear information than rambling to make a page count. When planning your nonfiction book it helps to have an idea of how long a book needs to be to be marketable. The average adult novel runs approximately 100,000 words while those in other categories run 80120,000 words. Get detailed summaries and analysis, character descriptions, themes, and quotes. Choose from a wide range of nonfiction books including. Convenient online shopping for school and office supplies, arts and crafts, gifts for all occasions, and the latest bestselling books. Long book length at the other end of the spectrum a book of 80,000 to 100,000 words has significant heft, 320400 pages. T he indie author chris fox coined the term potato chip chapters for easilydigestible book chapters of a certain size. I think the fewest words i have in a book is about 15,000. In 2017, the downward trend has continued, with an average book length of 273 pages.
Add screenshots or other graphics and youve got a nicesized ebook. That said, the average adult novel is 100,000, and most publishers for. The top one or two books in each category are listed at the beginning of each page. Mar 08, 2016 kirkus editors have sifted through all of this years books to tell you which rise to the top. 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. Some nonfiction books have illustrations pictures as well as words. Nonfiction welcome to the public library in prince albert. Popular business non fiction books meet your next favorite book. For childrens fiction, the general rule is the younger the audience the shorter the book, and for ya novels the average is 50,00070,000 words. Stephanie chandler is the founder of the nonfiction authors associationand nonfiction writers conference, and author of several books including the nonfiction book publishing plan and the nonfiction book marketing plan. As with everything else when it comes to writing a book, these are only guidelinesnot rules. Count up the total number of words on 10 random full lines from different. This may particularly be the case in academia, legal proceedings, journalism and advertising. When talking about book length, its common to talk about word count rather than page count.
Word counts may also be used to calculate measures. Most traditional publishers will place restrictions on an author and require that the manuscript not. And conversely, a longer book of over 60k words or 200 pages can command a higher price. Any less than 5 chapters, and your chapters may be running long or may contain too many ideas. The word count is the number of words in a document or passage of text. I heard 10,000 words can be accepted as an e book at a short length at least for nonfiction. A writers average income from a particular book depends upon whether the book is fiction or nonfiction as well as whether the author has gone through the traditional publishing route or published the book himself. You can use comparable, successful books as models to determine the length you book should be. Generally speaking, traditional publishers expect completed nonfiction book. Youll probably be familiar with these premium formats. Thats reason for nonfiction writers to pausebut not for too long.
Generally speaking, traditional publishers expect completed nonfiction book manuscripts to be between 50,000 to 75,000 words. Book length average length of a non fiction booki youtube. Brands and paul kriwaczek particularly kriwaczekhis chapters can be anywhere from 40 to 14 pages frequently have chapter lengths that vary from long to short, and the same. In my opinion, if your nonfiction book is fewer than about 30,000 words 120 pages, it does not feel substantial enough to be real book. The guardians 100 best nonfiction books of alltime book. At a writers conference i recently attended, publishing veteran jane friedman said 80,000 words is good for most fiction, below 60,000 isnt novel length territory, and above 120,000 is likely too much. Dec 31, 2017 after two years of careful consideration, robert mccrum has concluded his selection of the 100 greatest nonfiction books of all time. Neither too long nor too short, this book length signals a novelists competency and knowledge of the publishing market to prospective agents and editors. The reason for this is related to the pricing of a print run. The untold story of the captain of the 1980 gold medalwinning u. I think for first time authors you really have to follow the rules to the letter. So 50,000 words is the minimum for a nonfiction book.
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. Absolutely, chapter lengths can be all over the place. In fact, the average nonfiction book on amazon is 10,000 words. These are the essay collections, memoirs, and nonfiction reads that we absolutely loved in 2016.
These nonfiction science books at three reading levels provide a broad foundation for each science az instructional unit, ensuring that students learn important core ideas and crosscutting. Multilevel unit nonfiction books for kids science az. Regarding nonfiction, unless the topic is really extensive or the author is an expert, ive noticed that a lot of nonfiction books. The titles cover a wide range of subjects including politics, economics, art, literary criticism, philosophy, science, sociology, biography, and history. Feb 16, 2017 so you want to write a nonfiction book a few tips for those writers intimidated by the idea of writing something that contains many pages and a spine. Enjoy same store prices at national book store online. I dont know if the question is meant as a mentalstatistical exorcise. The perfect uplifting novel of love and friendship for 2020 welcome to whitsborough bay book 1 jessica redland 4. Plus you have to take figures and tables into consideration with your word count or manuscript page count. The average income from a published book bizfluent. Amazons most read charts rank titles by the average. May 05, 2015 we love all of the amazing non fiction books from usborne children learn so much from informative texts with beautiful illustrations and photography here are some of our favorites for ages. The average wordcount for adult fiction is between 70,000 to 120,000 words. Nonfiction wordcounts sit between 70,000120,000 words.
Since the new york times nonfiction bestseller list began in 2000, books of all sizes have claimed. Indeed, most traditional publishers limit nonfiction authors to 80,000 words for standard 6 x 9 books, between 240 and 280 pages. As long as the book is written well and keeps the readers attention, the length doesnt matter. Please note that this is a separate list from guardian 100 greatest non fiction, published june 2011. As for nonfiction books, the standard bestsellers have word counts similar to adult novels.
This being said, there are plenty of books with 30 or 40 chapters. Typically you will find that books groups naturally after about 100 pages. Nonfiction picture books at usborne childrens books. Write as much as it takes to tell the story, and no more. This is about the length readers want for general nonfiction, and it keeps publishers happy given the high cost of paper.
The reason for this is linked to the price of a tie. After you have some books under your belt is when i think you can become one of. The retail price you set for your book impacts your profit margin. Selfpublished authors on average, however, are hardly reaping a fortune. Nonfiction books best selling nonfiction books waterstones. Rather than focusing on the fictionnonfiction aspect of a memoir, read books specifically about writing. Browse our range of best selling nonfiction books with free uk delivery on orders over. We offer non fiction titles for adults and children, and young adults. For nonfiction picture books ive even been advised to not go above 1500. But rules are made to be broken, and the most successful publishing phenomenon in history did just that. For most publishers, a book is novel length when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words. You definitely dont need to write the equivalent of the 300,000 word novel that you might pick up when youre going on holiday.
Lifelong learning is a wonderful thing and the non fiction sections of the john m. Book writing and publishing faq how long should my. Over that size is the territory of the academic or technical business book. If its about something that really happened or something that really exists, it is nonfiction. Oct 7, 2016 taylor public library staff non fiction pick of the week. Generally a 50,000word novel would be the minimum word count. In 2011, the average length of a bestselling nonfiction book was 467 pages, but that dropped to 273 pages in 2017. I get this question a lot, and its a valid oneespecially since the answer can be divided between traditionally published books and selfpublished books. 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. Dec 03, 2008 more and more non fiction authors are creating dedicated book blogs to supplement published work graeme thomson wed 3 dec 2008 05. More to the point, if the market for 5yearolds is defined by short books say, 80 pages long with a bit of simple text aimed precisely at that age group and with quite a few illustrations, then offering a publisher a book that is double the length and without a precise target age group just wont fly. I just popped into my office and pulled a few books off the shelf.