The Sweet Spot When it Comes to Word Count

You might not think about word count while crafting your masterpiece, but writers have to if they hope to sell their book. Publishers and agents are looking for a specific length. Readers expect genre books to be a certain length. So, it’s important to hit that sweet spot when it comes to word count.

Writer’s Digest gives a general breakdown for the average adult novel:
In short, word counts should be:
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

It also depends on the length of the story:
Short story under 7,500
Novelette – 7,500-17,500
Novella – 17,500-40,000
Novel – over 40,000

But what is a good length for each genre? After exploring over a dozen top websites, it became apparent that the range varies. Below is a list of multiple genres with a general word count range and an estimated sweet spot in parenthesis.

General fiction 70,000-110,000 (80,000)

Literary fiction 50,000-100,000 (80,000)

Romance 50,000-90,000 (75,000-80,000)

Mystery 70,000-90,000 (80,000)

Suspense-thrillers 70,000-90,000 (80,000)

Horror 70,000-100,000 (80,000-90,000)

Science fiction 70,000-125,000 (90,000-115,000)

Fantasy 90,000-150,000 (100,000-115,000)

Historical fiction 75,000-100,000 (80,000-90,000)

Chick lit 70,000-80,000 (75,000)

Westerns 50,000-80,000 (60.000-70.000)

Picture books 500-700 (600)

Middle grade 25,000-50,000 (35,000-40,000)

Young adult 55,000-80,000 (60,000-70,000)

New adult 50,000-80,000 (70,000)

Self-help 30,000-60,000 (40,000-50,000)

History 80,000-200,000 (100,000-150,000)

Memoir 50,000-80,000 (70,000)

Are there books that fall out of those word counts? George R. R. Martin and J. K. Rowling have multiple books that far exceed the average in their genres. But they are the exception not the rule and as established authors, they have a lot more leeway.

Now when your manuscript is finished, you’ll have a good idea if it falls into a good range for both publishers and readers. And you’ll know if you need to do some serious cutting. (Or flesh out the story more!)

Do your stories fall within range?