You type the last line, open the word count, and it says 63,412. Is that a novel? Is it too short for a fantasy, too long for a romance, enough for an agent to read past page one? The answer depends on who is counting: an award committee, a literary agent, a publisher with a printed submission spec, or the reader of a self-published paperback.
This guide gives each of those answers with the source it comes from: the award rules that define a novel, the ranges agents publish for each genre, the exact counts publishers print in their submission guidelines, and what a word count turns into once your book is a paperback with a print cost and an audiobook with a running time.
How Many Words Is a Novel?
A novel is a work of fiction of 40,000 words or more. That is the line every award body that publishes a number draws: the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America for the Nebula Awards, the World Science Fiction Society for the Hugo Awards, the Horror Writers Association for the Bram Stoker Awards and the British Fantasy Society.
What agents and publishers expect from a first adult novel is higher:
- 80,000–89,999 words is "a good range you should be aiming for" for adult literary and commercial fiction, in Chuck Sambuchino's word count guide for Writer's Digest.
- 75,000–100,000 words, with 80,000–90,000 as the sweet spot, in literary agent Rachelle Gardner's guidelines for adult fiction.
- 50,000–75,000 words for a series romance, where Harlequin prints one exact count per line.
- 100,000–130,000 words for science fiction and fantasy at Baen Books, which says it is "uncomfortable with manuscripts under 100,000 words."
So a 63,412-word manuscript is a novel by every definition. Whether it is the right length depends on its genre, which the tables below cover.
Novel vs. Novella vs. Novelette vs. Short Story
The categories below the novel come from award rules, and the award bodies agree only on the top line. Here is what each one sets:
| Award body | Short story | Novelette | Novella | Novel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFWA, Nebula Awards | under 7,500 | 7,500–17,499 | 17,500–39,999 | 40,000+ |
| WSFS, Hugo Awards | under 7,500 | 7,500–17,500 | 17,500–40,000 | 40,000+ |
| HWA, Bram Stoker Awards | up to 7,499 | none | 7,500–39,999 ("long fiction") | 40,000+ |
| British Fantasy Awards | under 15,000 | none | 15,000–40,000 | over 40,000 |
| World Fantasy Awards | not stated | none | 10,001–40,000 | not stated |
Where a novella begins depends on who you ask: 17,500 words for SFWA and the Hugos, 15,000 for the British Fantasy Society, 10,001 for the World Fantasy Awards. Publishers set their own lines for what they buy. Tor.com Publishing's novella call asked for 20,000 to 40,000 words, and a book's own marketing can call it a novella at a length the award rules would count as a novel.
Below the short story, the limits come from magazines and contests. SmokeLong Quarterly publishes flash up to 1,000 words, and a drabble, as Writer's Digest defines it, is a story of exactly 100 words.
Novel Word Count by Genre
Agents publish ranges; publishers publish specs. The two columns below keep them apart, because they are different kinds of evidence: an agent's range is advice about what sells to editors, and a publisher's count is a condition of submission.
| Genre | What agents and guides suggest | What publishers ask for |
|---|---|---|
| General and commercial fiction | 75,000–100,000 (Gardner, Bransford); 80,000–89,999 (Writer's Digest) | 70,000–110,000 (Entangled Sideways, thriller and women's fiction) |
| Literary fiction | 50,000–120,000 (Bransford); 80,000–89,999 (Writer's Digest) | No publisher we found states a count |
| Mystery | 75,000–90,000 (Bransford) | No publisher count found |
| Thriller | 80,000–100,000 (Bransford) | 70,000–110,000 (Entangled Sideways); 55,000–60,000 for romantic suspense (Harlequin Intrigue) |
| Romance, category | 50,000–90,000 for romance overall (Bransford) | 50,000–75,000 by Harlequin line; 45,000–65,000 (Entangled) |
| Romance, single title | 50,000–90,000 (Bransford) | 75,000–100,000 on average (Entangled); 85,000–100,000 (Love Inspired Trade) |
| Fantasy | 80,000–120,000 (Bransford); 100,000–115,000 (Writer's Digest); up to 120,000 (Gardner) | 100,000–130,000 (Baen) |
| Science fiction | 90,000–120,000 (Bransford); 100,000–115,000 (Writer's Digest) | 100,000–130,000 (Baen) |
| Historical fiction | 80,000–120,000 (Bransford) | 70,000–75,000 for historical romance (Harlequin Historical) |
| Horror | 80,000–89,999, grouped with commercial fiction (Writer's Digest) | No publisher count found |
| Young adult | 55,000–79,999 (Writer's Digest); 50,000–90,000 (Gardner); 60,000–80,000 (Bransford) | 80,000–100,000 for 13+, 90,000–120,000 for 16+ (Entangled) |
| Middle grade | 20,000–55,000 (Writer's Digest); 25,000–40,000 (Gardner); 30,000–60,000 (Bransford) | No publisher count found |
The agent sources are Rachelle Gardner's 2021 guidelines, former agent Nathan Bransford's word counts by genre (which he calls his "rough stab"), and Chuck Sambuchino's Writer's Digest guide from 2016. The publisher counts come from each house's own submission page, linked in the sections below.
Where the sources disagree, the table shows both figures instead of a made-up middle. Young adult is the widest example: Writer's Digest puts it at 55,000 to 79,999 words, while Entangled's imprint for readers 16 and up asks for 90,000 to 120,000.
Romance Word Counts: The Exact Numbers Publishers Print
Romance is the one genre where publishers give single numbers, because category romance is sold in lines with a fixed length. These are the counts on Harlequin's submission page as of October 2026:
| Harlequin line | Word count |
|---|---|
| Harlequin Presents (Mills & Boon Modern) | 50,000 |
| Harlequin Romance (Mills & Boon Love Always) | 50,000 |
| Harlequin Medical Romance | 50,000 |
| Love Inspired | 55,000 |
| Love Inspired Suspense | 55,000 |
| Harlequin Intrigue | 55,000–60,000 |
| Harlequin Heartwarming | 70,000 |
| Harlequin Romantic Suspense | 70,000 |
| Harlequin Special Edition | 70,000 |
| Harlequin Historical (closed to submissions) | 70,000–75,000 |
| Afterglow by Harlequin | 75,000 minimum |
| Love Inspired Trade | 85,000–100,000 |
Entangled Publishing draws the line between the two kinds of romance in its own FAQ: category romances are "shorter (45k-65k), trope-driven", and single-title romances are "standard-length (75k-100k, on average)". Its imprints run from 45,000–60,000 words for Bliss to 70,000–120,000 for Amara. Harlequin's digital imprint Carina sets a minimum of 50,000 words and no upper limit.
If you self-publish romance, the line lengths are still the best guide to what readers of each subgenre are used to buying: a wholesome romance in the Heartwarming mold runs near 70,000 words, a Presents-style romance near 50,000.
Fantasy and Science Fiction: Why They Run Longer
A fantasy or science fiction novel has a world to build before the plot can move, and the word counts reflect it. Baen Books gives a preferred length of 100,000 to 130,000 words and warns that it is uncomfortable with anything under 100,000, so at Baen a short manuscript is the risk. Writer's Digest calls 100,000 to 115,000 "an excellent range" for the genre, and Nathan Bransford tops out at 120,000, which he calls "kind of the upper limit for the genres that allow some leeway."
The famous long ones are not debuts. A Game of Thrones runs about 292,700 words and Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings about 383,400, by the counts in Renaissance's AR BookFinder. Both authors had published novels before them. Andy Weir's debut The Martian came in at about 104,600 words, inside the range Baen and Writer's Digest give.
Young Adult, Middle Grade and Children's Books
Children's books split into more categories than adult fiction, and literary agent Jennifer Laughran of Andrea Brown Literary keeps the most detailed public list in her post "Wordcount Dracula", last updated in May 2026:
| Category | Range | Sweet spot |
|---|---|---|
| Picture book | 0–1,300 | 300–550 |
| Early reader | 100–2,500 | – |
| Chapter book | 4,000–13,000 | 6,000–10,000 |
| Highly illustrated middle grade (8+) | 13,000–35,000 | 18,000–25,000 |
| Realistic middle grade (10+) | 25,000–75,000 | 40,000–60,000 |
| Fantasy middle grade | 35,000–90,000 | 45,000–75,000 |
| Realistic young adult | 40,000–90,000 | 45,000–75,000 |
| Fantasy young adult | 50,000–150,000 | 65,000–85,000 |
Laughran's note on the 2026 update says middle grade is now split in two because of "a trend toward shorter MG books". For picture books she advises keeping the text under 600 words, 800 at the very top. Where the Wild Things Are has 336 words.
Debut vs. Established Authors
The ranges above are written for writers trying to get a first book accepted. Agents say plainly that the rules loosen later:
- Jennifer Laughran: "It is really not advisable to go over 100,000 words as a debut author, unless you already have a following."
- Nathan Bransford: "Most incredibly long and incredibly short books are not debuts."
- Rachelle Gardner frames her whole list as advice for anyone "trying to break in".
No source we found measures debut and established word counts side by side; what exists is agents' experience of what editors accept. The pattern in famous debuts fits it. Stephen King's first published novel, Carrie, is about 59,900 words; The Stand, published four years later, is listed at about 458,800.
What a Word Count Means for a Self-Published Novel
On KDP nobody rejects a manuscript for length, but length still sets three things you pay for or sell: the page count, which drives the print cost; the reading time a buyer pictures; and the running time of an audiobook. Here is what each common length comes to, using the same figures as the site's calculators:
| Words | Pages 6×9 | Pages 5.5×8.5 | Print cost 6×9 | Royalty at $14.99 | Reading (h:mm) | Audiobook (h:mm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50,000 | 132 | 160 | $2.58 | $6.41 | 3:12 | 5:23 |
| 60,000 | 158 | 192 | $2.90 | $6.10 | 3:51 | 6:27 |
| 70,000 | 184 | 224 | $3.21 | $5.79 | 4:29 | 7:32 |
| 80,000 | 210 | 256 | $3.52 | $5.47 | 5:08 | 8:36 |
| 90,000 | 236 | 288 | $3.83 | $5.16 | 5:46 | 9:41 |
| 100,000 | 262 | 320 | $4.14 | $4.85 | 6:25 | 10:45 |
| 120,000 | 314 | 384 | $4.77 | $4.23 | 7:42 | 12:54 |
| 150,000 | 392 | 478 | $5.70 | $3.29 | 9:37 | 16:08 |
How the columns are worked out:
- Pages assume typical fiction set in 11 pt Garamond at 1.15 line spacing, measured in the Words to Pages Calculator. A larger font or wider margins mean more pages.
- Print cost is KDP's US rate for a black-and-white paperback on white paper: $1.00 plus $0.012 a page from 111 pages up. The KDP Royalty Calculator has every marketplace, paper and trim size.
- Royalty is 60% of a $14.99 list price minus the print cost, before Expanded Distribution.
- Reading time is 260 words a minute, the average for fiction in the Reading Time Calculator; the audiobook uses ACX's 9,300 words per finished hour, as in the Audiobook Calculator.
Going from 80,000 to 120,000 words costs you $1.25 a copy at the same price, and adds four hours to the audiobook a narrator charges you for by the hour. That is a reason to cut a draft that runs long. A short draft is a different problem: padding it raises the print cost too, and a reader who pays for a 300-page fantasy expects 300 pages of story. To see how length fits with your price, read how to price a book.
Word Counts of Famous Novels
The counts below come from Renaissance's AR BookFinder, the database schools use for reading levels and the source Jennifer Laughran recommends for children's and YA word counts. Other lists give different numbers for the same books, because they count a different edition or count with a different tool. The Fellowship of the Ring is 177,227 words in AR BookFinder and 187,790 in Nathan Bransford's list.
| Novel | Author | Category | Words |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte's Web | E.B. White | Middle grade | 31,938 |
| The Giver | Lois Lowry | Middle grade / YA | 43,617 |
| Fahrenheit 451 | Ray Bradbury | Science fiction | 45,910 |
| The Great Gatsby | F. Scott Fitzgerald | Literary | 47,094 |
| The Road | Cormac McCarthy | Literary | 58,702 |
| Carrie | Stephen King | Horror, debut | 59,859 |
| The Fault in Our Stars | John Green | Young adult | 65,752 |
| The Catcher in the Rye | J.D. Salinger | Literary | 73,404 |
| Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | J.K. Rowling | Middle grade fantasy, debut | 77,508 |
| 1984 | George Orwell | Dystopian | 88,942 |
| The Hobbit | J.R.R. Tolkien | Fantasy | 95,022 |
| To Kill a Mockingbird | Harper Lee | Literary, debut | 99,121 |
| The Hunger Games | Suzanne Collins | Young adult | 99,750 |
| The Martian | Andy Weir | Science fiction, debut | 104,588 |
| Jurassic Park | Michael Crichton | Thriller | 117,645 |
| Twilight | Stephenie Meyer | YA romance, debut | 118,975 |
| The Da Vinci Code | Dan Brown | Thriller | 138,952 |
| Gone Girl | Gillian Flynn | Psychological thriller | 145,719 |
| The Shining | Stephen King | Horror | 160,341 |
| Dune | Frank Herbert | Science fiction | 181,493 |
| A Game of Thrones | George R.R. Martin | Epic fantasy | 292,727 |
| The Way of Kings | Brandon Sanderson | Epic fantasy | 383,389 |
Treat any famous count as accurate to a few percent. Agents round too; agent Sarah LaPolla, commenting on Bransford's post, put it as "Word counts are usually rounded up or down."
Words per Page and per Chapter
Page counts mean little until you say which page. The figures below are the site's own measurements of typical fiction, the same grid the Words to Pages Calculator uses:
- Manuscript page, Times New Roman 12 pt, double-spaced, US Letter with one-inch margins: 321 words on average.
- 6" x 9" paperback, Garamond 11 pt at 1.15 spacing: 384.
- 5.5" x 8.5" paperback, same type: 314.
The old rule of 250 words per manuscript page comes from monospaced type: in Courier New, the typewriter-style font, a double-spaced page holds 234 words, close to that figure. In a proportional font like Times New Roman, the same page holds more.
There is also a ceiling. KDP prints a black-and-white paperback of up to 828 pages on white paper in the common trim sizes. At 384 words a page, that is about 318,000 words in a 6" x 9" book: room for A Game of Thrones, not for The Way of Kings without smaller type.
An 80,000-word novel is therefore about 250 manuscript pages and about 210 printed pages in a 6" x 9" trim. Agents ask for the word count rather than the page count for this reason, and the number to give is the one your word processor's word count tool reports, rounded to the nearest thousand.
No rule sets the length of a chapter. Divide your target length by the chapters in your outline to see where you stand: an 80,000-word novel in 30 chapters averages about 2,700 words each, roughly ten minutes of reading. If you have not planned your chapters yet, outlining the book is the step that fixes them.
Is 50,000 Words a Novel?
Yes. By every award definition, 50,000 words is a novel, 10,000 words past the line. The number is familiar because of NaNoWriMo, the November challenge that ran until the nonprofit closed in 2026: you "won" by writing 50,000 words in the month. Its own FAQ called that figure "a threshold, not necessarily a stopping place", and said you still win "if you reach 50k but have not yet completed your novel."
Whether 50,000 words is enough depends on the genre. It is a full Harlequin Presents, a full-length middle grade novel, and well short of what Baen expects from a fantasy. Check your draft against the genre table above, then decide whether it needs more story or simply more time with a first draft that is not finished yet.
FAQ
What is the minimum word count for a novel?
40,000 words. SFWA, the Hugo Awards, the Horror Writers Association and the British Fantasy Society all start the novel category there.
How many words should a debut novel be?
For adult fiction, 80,000 to 100,000 words covers what Writer's Digest and agent Rachelle Gardner recommend. Agent Jennifer Laughran advises against going over 100,000 words as a debut unless you already have a following.
Is 100,000 words too long for a novel?
Not for fantasy or science fiction, where Baen asks for 100,000 to 130,000. For a debut in most other adult genres it sits at the top of the ranges agents give.
How many words is a novella?
Up to 40,000. Where a novella starts depends on the award body: 17,500 words for SFWA and the Hugos, 15,000 for the British Fantasy Awards, and 10,001 for the World Fantasy Awards.
How many pages is an 80,000-word novel?
About 210 pages in a 6" x 9" paperback set in 11 pt Garamond, about 256 pages at 5.5" x 8.5", and about 250 double-spaced manuscript pages.
How many words are in a romance novel?
Category romance runs 50,000 to 75,000 words by Harlequin's line specs, and Entangled puts single-title romance at 75,000 to 100,000 on average.
Choosing the Right Length for Your Novel
Forty thousand words makes a novel. The genre decides how long it should be: about 50,000 to 75,000 for a category romance, 75,000 to 100,000 for most adult fiction, 100,000 and up for fantasy and science fiction, and far less for middle grade and picture books. Check your draft against the right row, and if you publish it yourself, run the count through the Words to Pages Calculator and the Royalty Calculator before you set the price.
