TL;DR Most novels run 70,000–100,000 words. Your target depends on genre and audience: romance and mystery sit around 70,000–90,000, fantasy and sci-fi run 90,000–120,000+, and middle-grade stays between 20,000–55,000. Hit your genre's expected range and you protect your sales, reviews, and shot at agents. Miss it badly and readers notice.
Word count feels like a technicality. It isn't. Write too long and readers bounce; write too short and the book feels thin. Either way, your reviews and sales take the hit because readers judge a book against the unwritten expectations of its genre before they judge the writing.
You can't hand a 9-year-old the longest Harry Potter book and expect them to finish it. Most kids that age can't hold one plot line that long, so they'll call it "boring" or "confusing" even when it's well written. Adults do the same thing with genre: a 200,000-word debut romance signals this author doesn't know the market, and a literary agent may pass on your sample chapters for that reason alone.
The good news: the "rules" are simple, and once you know them you can write to your reader on purpose. Here's exactly how many words belong in a novel—by genre and by age—plus the real word counts of bestselling books so you can benchmark your own.
How many words in a novel?
The standard novel is 70,000–100,000 words. That range covers most adult fiction, and in recent years the average has crept upward as readers reward longer, more immersive books.
If you're writing your first book, research your specific genre below and choose the industry-standard count for it. For example, 90,000 words for a romance novel. Word count matters because landing outside your genre's range doesn't just look unprofessional; it costs you 5-star reviews, and fewer 5-star reviews means fewer sales. Picture buying an "epic fantasy" that turns out to be 10,000 words. You'd be annoyed too.
Here's how many words belong in a novel for each major book genre.
Words per book genre
Use this as your quick-reference table. These are industry-standard ranges for the finished, edited manuscript.
| Genre | Standard word count |
|---|---|
| Memoir | 60,000 – 90,000 |
| Self-Help | 40,000 – 70,000 |
| Fantasy | 90,000 – 200,000 (debuts: stay under 140,000) |
| Sci-Fi | 80,000 – 120,000 |
| Romance | 70,000 – 90,000 |
| Mystery | 65,000 – 90,000 |
| Horror | 70,000 – 100,000 |
| Dystopian | 70,000 – 110,000 |
| Contemporary | 70,000 – 100,000 |
| Thriller / Suspense | 70,000 – 100,000 |
| Young Adult | 60,000 – 90,000 |
| Middle-Grade | 20,000 – 55,000 |
Want to see where your idea fits the market? Our guide to the most popular book genres on Amazon breaks down what's selling right now.
How many words are in a novel per age
Word count scales with reader age—younger readers need shorter books, and expected length climbs steadily into adulthood.
- 0–3 years old: up to 100 words
- 4–6 years old: 500 – 1,000 words
- 7–8 years old: 1,000 – 8,000 words
- 9–13 years old: 9,000 – 30,000 words
- 14–19 years old: 30,000 – 100,000+ words
- 20+ years old: 60,000 – 200,000+ words
Younger readers are still building the attention span and comprehension to retain long books, which is exactly why length tracks with age. There are always exceptions, some advanced 9-year-olds devour the Harry Potter series and remember every detail, but you should write to your target audience while knowing other ages will find the book too.
Writing for the youngest readers? See how to write a children's book for age-banded length and structure guidance.
8 Examples of Word Counts for Bestselling Books
These real counts help you feel what each genre's range looks like on the page. Compare them to the genre guidelines above—you'll see most bestsellers sit inside the range, and the outliers succeed despite their length, not because of it.
| Book | Author | Genre | Word count |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Shack | WM Paul Young | Thriller / Suspense | 76,000 |
| The Host | Stephenie Meyer | Science Fiction | 154,750 |
| The Fault in Our Stars | John Green | YA Romance | 65,752 |
| Gone Girl | Gillian Flynn | Mystery | 145,719 |
| The Hunger Games | Suzanne Collins | Dystopian | 99,750 |
| The Help | Kathryn Stockett | Historical Fiction | 158,012 |
| I'm Glad My Mom Died | Jennette McCurdy | Memoir | 95,680 |
| A Game of Thrones | George R.R. Martin | Fantasy | 292,727 |
The takeaway: some titles run well outside the recommended guidelines, but the outliers aren't bestsellers because of their unusual length. Aim for your genre's range, then earn the right to break it.
Before you write a word, outline. Books that never get finished usually fail at the planning stage, not the writing stage. Grab our free Book Outline Generator—pick fiction or nonfiction and get a chapter-by-chapter outline in your inbox.
How many pages is 1,000 words?
1,000 words is about 1 single-spaced page in Word or Google Docs, or roughly 3 pages in a printed book.
Page count depends on your text size and spacing. Write 1,000 words double-spaced in Google Docs and you'll get about two pages; drop below 12-point font with tighter spacing and it may be one to one-and-a-half pages. To stretch 1,000 words past two pages, you can increase the font size by 0.5–1 point, increase the line spacing, or enlarge the punctuation.
How many words per page in a book?
A published book averages about 300 words per page.
That number drops when a scene is dialogue-heavy, because dialogue forces frequent paragraph breaks and white space. Pages of unbroken narration hold more words than pages of back-and-forth conversation, so treat 300 as a working average, not a fixed rule.
How many words is a 300-page book?
A 300-page book contains about 90,000 words.
Because words-per-page shifts with format, dialogue density, and font size, a 300-page book realistically falls between 80,000 and 100,000 words—right in the standard novel range.
How to find how many words are in your novel so far
Knowing your running word count tells you how close you are to a finished, publishable book. Where you find it depends on your writing software:
- Microsoft Word: bottom-left corner, next to the page number.
- Google Docs: press Cmd+Shift+C (Ctrl+Shift+C on Windows), or go to Tools → Word Count.
- Scrivener: Scrivener → Preferences → Editing, then enable live counts to show the word/character box on the bottom bar.
- Pages: View → Show Word Count from the toolbar.
- OpenOffice: visible in the bottom-left corner.
Not sure which tool to write in? Compare your options in our roundup of the best book writing software for authors.
Book length calculator
To estimate your page count, divide your total word count by 300.
That gives you the approximate number of pages in your finished book. It's a rough estimate—final formatting will shift it—but it's accurate enough to plan chapter lengths and set writing goals. Curious how long the writing itself takes? See how long it takes to write a book.
Word counts by genre, explained
The table above gives you the numbers. Below is the why behind each range, plus real examples so you can benchmark against published books in your lane.
How many words are in a memoir?
Memoir word count: 60,000 – 90,000 words. Aim not to exceed 90,000.
We recommend 60,000–80,000 words for most memoirs—enough to hold intrigue without intimidating readers. That's roughly 200–265 pages. Once a memoir passes 300 pages, readers start to expect an autobiography (a full life timeline) rather than a focused, themed personal story.
Exceptions where a longer memoir works:
- You're already well-known. An existing audience will happily read more of your life, not less
- Your memoir carries multiple lessons or messages. Multi-part memoirs can run longer—though two focused books often beat one sprawling one
- It's a first draft. Over 90,000 words in a rough draft is fine; professional editing trims the excess
New to the form? Start with what a memoir is and then build your structure with a memoir outline.
How many words are in a self-help book?
Self-help word count: 40,000 – 70,000 words. That's about 133–230 pages.
Readers come to self-help and motivational nonfiction to solve a problem fast—they don't want a novel-length climb to the payoff. A tighter book actually serves them better. Our own Student Success Strategist, Lisa Zelenak, wrote Find Your Thing, a self-help book about escaping monotony in your early 20s and doing work that matters. It's about 30,000 words and 178 pages formatted and it works precisely because it delivers the lesson quickly.
Writing in this space? See how to write a motivational book and our broader guide to writing a nonfiction book.
How many words are in a fantasy novel?
Fantasy word count: 90,000 – 200,000 words—but the right number depends on your category.
Writing young adult fantasy? Keep it under 90,000 words (about 300 pages); that audience prefers it. Writing adult or epic fantasy? You have room to run from 90,000 to 200,000+. Epic fantasy is a sub-genre built on long, journey-driven plots—think George R.R. Martin, Brandon Sanderson, and J.R.R. Tolkien. For reference, James Islington's The Will of the Many (2023), a breakout epic fantasy, runs roughly 240,000 words. Not every fantasy novel is epic fantasy, so match your length to your sub-genre.
Building a world from scratch? See best fantasy book series for genre benchmarks worth studying.
How many words are in a science fiction book?
Sci-fi word count: 80,000 – 120,000 words — roughly 266–400 pages.
Sci-fi is flexible thanks to its huge variety of plot types and story arcs. Real counts vary widely:
- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams — 50,895 words
- Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card — 100,609 words
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury — 46,118 words
- I, Robot by Isaac Asimov — 69,000 words
- The Stand by Stephen King (Complete & Uncut) — ~500,000 words
- The Martian by Andy Weir — 104,588 words
Note how far the range stretches, but don't write a 500,000-word debut. Stephen King earned that length; a first-time author hasn't yet.
How many words are in a romance novel?
Romance word count: 70,000 – 90,000 words.
Romance lives and dies on two characters and their arc together. Stretch that too far and you risk losing the reader's attention, which is why most romance stays under 90,000 words. Nicholas Sparks' The Notebook, one of the most recognizable romances ever, is just 52,000 words.
Writing a darker corner of the genre? See how to write dark romance.
How many words are in a mystery novel?
Mystery word count: 65,000 – 90,000 words.
Past 90,000 words, mysteries get harder to pull off—the more you write, the more clues you leak, and the easier it becomes for readers to solve the case before you want them to. Agatha Christie, one of the bestselling mystery writers of all time, wrote between 40,000 and 60,000 words per book.
How many words are in a horror novel?
Horror word count: 70,000 – 100,000 words.
Like mystery, horror loses its grip if it drags. Stay between 70,000 and 100,000 words to keep the tension tight. Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic is a strong benchmark at an estimated 93,000 words.
Not sure whether you're writing horror or thriller? Here's the difference between horror and thriller.
How many words are in a dystopian novel?
Dystopian word count: 70,000 – 110,000 words, with room to run longer.
Dystopian fiction is usually a sub-genre nested inside fantasy or sci-fi, which gives it space to expand. Real counts bounce around:
- The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood — ~102,000 words
- Red Rising by Pierce Brown — ~140,000 words
- The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau — 59,937 words
Keep your target audience (young adult, middle-grade, adult) front of mind, since that drives how long you should go.
How many words are in a contemporary book?
Contemporary word count: 70,000 – 100,000 words.
Contemporary novels focus on modern, real-world problems, so they rarely exceed 100,000 words—go longer and you risk losing the reader. Becky Albertalli's Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda is a solid example at 60,965 words.
How many words are in a thriller / suspense novel?
Thriller / suspense word count: 70,000 – 100,000 words.
Thrillers span many sub-genres, but most land around 90,000 words and only push past 100,000 in specific cases. If you want to write longer thrillers, earn your audience with an average-length book first, then give them something bigger.
How many words are in a young adult novel?
Young adult word count: 60,000 – 90,000 words—up to 150,000 for YA epic fantasy.
YA is a category, not a genre, so it cuts across every genre. What matters is the audience: younger readers generally top out around 90,000 words, while new-adult and adult readers will happily read past 100,000. Match length to reader age.
Writing for teens? See how to write a young adult book for structure and pacing.
How many words are in a middle-grade book?
Middle-grade word count: 20,000 – 55,000 words.
Keep middle-grade tight so younger readers can follow and retain the story. Cap your first draft around 65,000 words with the plan to cut what you don't need in editing.
Remember: these ranges build credibility with readers and agents, but they're guidelines, not laws. At selfpublishing.com we teach that you have to know the rules before you can confidently break them.
What if my book falls below novel length?
If your finished manuscript lands under ~40,000 words, you may be writing a novella, not a novel. That's not a problem, it's a positioning decision.
Novellas (roughly 17,500–40,000 words) sell well in series and serialized fiction. If your story feels complete at a shorter length, see how to write a novella and when to write a novel vs. a novella before you pad the word count just to hit "novel" territory. Forcing filler to reach 70,000 words hurts the book more than a confident, tighter novella ever would.
Once your draft is done, format it correctly before you submit or publish—start with what a manuscript is and proper manuscript format.
Frequently asked questions
How many words are in a novel?
A standard novel is 70,000–100,000 words. The exact target depends on genre — romance and mystery run shorter (65,000–90,000), while fantasy and sci-fi run longer (80,000–200,000+).
How many words is a 300-page book?
About 90,000 words, typically falling between 80,000 and 100,000 depending on format, font size, and how much dialogue the book contains.
How many pages is 30,000 words?
About 100 pages in a printed book (at ~300 words per page), or roughly 30 single-spaced manuscript pages. A 30,000-word count is middle-grade or novella length, not a full adult novel.
How many words are on a page in a novel?
Around 300 words per printed page on average. Dialogue-heavy pages hold fewer words because of paragraph breaks; dense narration holds more.
What is the average word count for a fantasy novel?
90,000–200,000 words. Debut fantasy authors are encouraged to stay under 140,000; young adult fantasy should stay under 90,000. Epic fantasy (like A Game of Thrones at 292,727 words) runs far longer.
How many words is Red Rising?
Red Rising by Pierce Brown is approximately 140,000 words, placing it at the upper end of the dystopian/sci-fi range.
How many words should a romance novel be?
70,000–90,000 words. Most successful romance stays under 90,000 to keep the central relationship arc tight and the reader engaged.
How many words is The Handmaid’s Tale?
Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale is approximately 102,000 words.
Who this guide is for
If you're writing your first book and second-guessing whether it's "long enough" or "too long," this is the exact problem we solve every day. Most first-time authors either quit around the 20,000-word mark because the finish line feels impossible, or they overwrite to 150,000+ words and stall in edits. Both come from writing without a target.
At selfpublishing.com, we've helped a community of 250,000+ authors go from blank page to finished, published book, with a word-count plan built for their genre from day one. If you want a proven, coached path instead of guessing, that's what our programs are built for.
Ready to write to a number, not a guess? Start with the free Book Outline Generator, then explore how to write a book for the full step-by-step process.
This post was originally published on self-publishingschool.com and has been updated and migrated to selfpublishing.com.
