Novel Word Count Guide (YA, Fantasy, Thriller, Romance & more)

How long should your novel be? What's the difference between a novella and novel? How long is TOO long to query as a debut author? George R.R. Martin writes 500K fantasy novels, so why can't I? Why is a novel over 100K a red flag for agents? I'm covering ALL your novel word count questions!

First, why adhering to contemporary word count conventions for your category/genre is important as a debut... and literally why shorter books are smart business. Why looking to famous authors and older books won't help you determine realistic word counts. And then of course I'll share target word counts AND some recent examples.

TIMESTAMPS
Why you can't look at word counts for famous/classic novels/authors 01:20

Why debut books should be under 100K (practically speaking) 04:20

Minimum word count to call something a novel 08:42

How long is too long for a novel? 10:27

Why super high/low word counts are red flags for agents 11:21

Kidlit vs. Adult market word count ceilings 14:30

Word Count Guide by Genre 15:52

MG & YA Word Count Guide: 17:36

Word Count Examples for YA SFF, Adult Fantasy, Adult Romance, and Thrillers (YA & adult) 19:56

Why editing your book down to 100K or under is a good idea 22:28

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[AlexaDonne]

TIMESTAMPS
Why you can't look at word counts for famous/classic novels/authors 01:20
Why debut books should be under 100K (practically speaking) 04:20
Minimum word count to call something a novel 08:42
How long is too long for a novel? 10:27
Why super high/low word counts are red flags for agents 11:21
Kidlit vs. Adult market word count ceilings 14:30
Word Count Guide by Genre 15:52
MG & YA Word Count Guide: 17:36
Word Count Examples for YA SFF, Adult Fantasy, Adult Romance, and Thrillers (YA & adult) 19:56
Why editing your book down to 100K or under is a good idea 22:28

[misteryA]

"You are not JK Rowling"
Thank GOD

[racoon]

i’m such an underwriter, i can’t imagine hitting 100k

[erikrinard]

Just to add some more data points: George R. R. Martin's first novel 'Dying of the Light' (1977) was 365 pages long. 'A Dance with Dragons' (2011) clocks in at 1, 016 pages. So once again: famous author at the start of their career does not equal famous author after they become a household name.

[reamdelrey]

Alexa complaining about writers being arrogant not wanting to cut their 160k Words Count novels and I’m here sitting on top of 20k Words Count short story thinking it’s a novel. 😭

[urorazbojnik]

I had the beginning on mute by accident but I swear I could hear hello everyone Alexa Donne here haha. Love that intro <3

[MsGreenwalls]

really puts fanfiction into perspective, doesn't it

[linzlsleepy]

In many ways a cap is a blessing. If you overwrite your draft, you're forced to cut what's not important. IMHO, it can strengthen the novel as a whole.

[jak_]

I think most people forget or don’t know is that classics like War and Peace, Little Women, and Dickens while sold in single volume tomes today may not have originated as such. War and Peace was serialised before being published as a single novel, same with much of Dickens’ work, and Little Women was published as two volumes originally. So it’s not even accurately reflecting the publishing industry of the time to say that these authors could just publish 600-1000 page tomes, because it ignores what the industry was actually like back then and that serialisation and other publishing practices of the time contributed to their larger word counts compared to today’s standards.

But your main point is right; the market is completely different than what it was back than - for traditional publishing in the western market. And knowing your market is the most important thing whatever publishing route you choose.

[jasminef]

I always struggle with word counts, I’m such an underwriter and even that goal of 80, 000 words for a historical novel is too high for me 😬

[booksvsmovies]

This may just be the fanfic reader in me but I think word counts are a much more effective way of communicating the length of a book than page count.

[iferawhite]

Ugh I'm such an overwriter. In the middle of a story that's currently 50k words and not even near the midpoint turn...

I can't wait until my first revision, like 70% of the story is gonna get deleted because I can't stop writing filler istg hahaha

Thanks Alexa, this was super helpful!

[DesperationLasts]

To me, another hold up for publishers buying super long debut novels is a lot of potential readers aren't going to be willing to read a behemoth novel from an author they are unfamiliar with.

[aestover]

LMAO that face you made after you said "you aren't has me DEAD

btw: (idk if you've done something like this already, but...!!) have you considered holding a writing workshop/live writing session through zoom? I think a lot of us would be willing to participate in something like that 🤞

[Mitcham]

This is honestly the video I needed. I’ve been writing fan fiction for years and so when I transitioned into original work, I went at it with the same mindset. Spent a whole year writing this book, only for recently my friend to tell me “Dude, I thought all of this was 3 books in a series!” And he told me the same things you did. I was blown away, I accidentally ended up writing three whole books in one, and the whole time I’m thinking I’m about to sell this 300, 000 word book as my debut. Holy hell.

You are a godsend for making this video. It truly opened my eyes to how the industry works and the very practical reasons behind word count and publishing. And honestly, it’s a big weight off my shoulders. The fact that I have three books worth of content, which obviously guarantees nothing, but it makes me feel like I can accomplish my goal of finishing book way sooner than I would have thought. Thank you so very much for this video, you are truly one of the most helpful people in this community and YouTube.

[ketrakrelek]

also another point with classics being longer; often at the time they were originally published in serialised form (thinking of dickens here) or even in multiple book "volumes"...

[jayramirez]

Honestly, I am so happy that middle grade is gettin he some longer books. I moved up to reading YA at eight because middle grade was too short for me. Ngl, I was kinda stripped of some innocence when I was young. Some middle grade readers are ready for harder books, so I am so happy that middle grade is welcoming longer and more challenging books.

[brittneysbookshelf]

I was in a writing group that I had joined off of Wattpad. I had posted a little infographic about word counts for debut that an agent had posted on twitter. I got attacked by people telling me that "writing doesn't have rules" and they were all "going to be the exception".

[Loach]

Me, sitting on a 160k SciFi novel: *sucks air through teeth

[alieunscripted]

This was sooo good. I started to feel bad that my Y/A contemporary novel was at 80, 000. 😅 this made me feel better. 😂