How many words?

[cheerful_deviant]

Make a novel?

I know that NANO says 50k makes a novel but really that's more of a novelette I think. So how long does it really have to be?

 

[starrkers]

Enough to make a book that people don't feel gypped (sp?) buying.

 

[cheerful_deviant]

Enough to make a book that people don't feel gypped (sp?) buying.

I don't know about that. I've bought plenty of books that were pretty damn long and still felt gyped. (still sp?)

 

[rgraham666]

I think it depends on the publisher. But I believe, as a rule of thumb, anything over 60K words is a novel.

 

[cheerful_deviant]

I think it depends on the publisher. But I believe, as a rule of thumb, anything over 60K words is a novel.

That still seems pretty short to me for a full length novel. I'm at 82,000 right now and it just doesn't seem novel lenght to me.

 

[starrkers]

Did a quick google search and the concensus seems to be 50,000-150,000 is a novel. Less than that is too short, more than than needs to be split into two volume.
One 'expert' said first timers shouldn't go over 100,000.

 

[jomar]

I think there's an old thread that talked about this. Seems like I recall about 90K being a novel number. But Rob probably has a better handle on it than I do.

 

[cheerful_deviant]

Did a quick google search and the concensus seems to be 50,000-150,000 is a novel. Less than that is too short, more than than needs to be split into two volume.
One 'expert' said first timers shouldn't go over 100,000.

Over 150 becomes 2 volumes? Obviously no one ever told Stephen King that.

I think there are plent of 'Exprets' who shouldn't be allowed to write over 10 words. Never mind 100k.

 

[sxcascinn]

That still seems pretty short to me for a full length novel. I'm at 82,000 right now and it just doesn't seem novel lenght to me.

Maybe as you're reading it it's a feeling of something you have left out, rather then the length of the story?

 

[cheerful_deviant]

Maybe as you're reading it it's a feeling of something you have left out, rather then the length of the story?

Actually it's not even close to done yet. But even so I look at the lenght of it in Word, (about 120 full pages at 9pt) and it just feels.... short.

 

[maggot420]

Make a novel?

I know that NANO says 50k makes a novel but really that's more of a novelette I think. So how long does it really have to be?

My novel is seven words.
I haven't edited it yet tho.

 

[MagicaPractica]

The SHOMI novel contest wants manuscripts of 80,000 to 90,000 words. Glancing through my old copy of Novel and Short Story Writer's Market, I see Harlequin at 50,000 to 60,000 words so that must be a reasonable sized paperback, not too big, but most just don't say.

 

[cheerful_deviant]

My novel is seven words.
I haven't edited it yet tho.

The editing made it eight...

It was a dark and stormy night. Fin

Who says writing a novel is hard work. That was a piece of cake.

 

[cheerful_deviant]

The SHOMI novel contest wants manuscripts of 80,000 to 90,000 words. Glancing through my old copy of Novel and Short Story Writer's Market, I see Harlequin at 50,000 to 60,000 words so that must be a reasonable sized paperback, not too big, but most just don't say.

I just looked SHOMI up. I'd never seen it before. Actually that contest looks like the perfect place to try and get my current novel out but it will probablly be over their 90k limit and it's doubtfull I can ever get it done by April. Afterall, I've been working on it since NANO... of 2004.

I suppose there's always next year.

 

[impressive]

That still seems pretty short to me for a full length novel. I'm at 82,000 right now and it just doesn't seem novel lenght to me.

82K is a good-sized book

 

[cheerful_deviant]

82K is a good-sized book

I knew you'd show up sooner or later.

Ok, ok... so I guess my 82k is novel lenght.

Now I just have to finish it and figure out what to do with it.

 

[Weird Harold]

Actually it's not even close to done yet. But even so I look at the lenght of it in Word, (about 120 full pages at 9pt) and it just feels.... short.

FWIW, I buy alot of straight to mass-market books (aka paperback only) and they tend to run 170-230 pages. IIRC, a paperback runs about 350 words/page so that works out to 59,500 to 80,500.

On the other hand, the novels released in Hardback first tend to run 450-600 pages or about 157,500 to 210,000 words.

It would seem to depend on the medium and market as to what is "novel length" but it looks to me as if 60K words fit's just about everyone's minimum definition.

 

[cheerful_deviant]

FWIW, I buy alot of straight to mass-market books (aka paperback only) and they tend to run 170-230 pages. IIRC, a paperback runs about 350 words/page so that works out to 59,500 to 80,500.

On the other hand, the novels released in Hardback first tend to run 450-600 pages or about 157,500 to 210,000 words.

It would seem to depend on the medium and market as to what is "novel length" but it looks to me as if 60K words fit's just about everyone's minimum definition.

Is there anything you don't know?

 

[jomar]

Is there anything you don't know?

I know. He's awesome. I am thankful he's connecting the answers and questions successfully.

 

[CeriseNoire]

I was just reading about that today. Here's what Writer's Digest had to say in the Q and A section of their website.

Q. How long is the typical short story supposed to be? How about novellas and novels? Are there guidelines with regard to word count for a first-time novelist? —Molly Heyl

A. There are general guidelines for each literary category: Short stories range anywhere from 1,500 to 30,000 words; Novellas run from 30,000 to 50,000; Novels range from 55,000 to 300,000 words, but I wouldn’t recommend aiming for the high end, as books the length of War & Peace aren’t exactly the easiest to sell.

Agent Lori Perkins of the L. Perkins Agency in New York says it’s much easier to market a first-time novelist’s book if the word count falls between 80,000 and 100,000 words, or roughly 300 double-spaced, typed pages—the average novel length.

“One-third of the novels that come into the agency are rejected because they’re too long or short,” Perkins says. “The cost greatly increases on books larger than 100,000 words, so agents and publishers are less likely to gamble on a manuscript the size of a dictionary.”

When you’re writing, though, don’t impose word limits on yourself. Let the story flow without interruption. Wait until you finish the first draft to go back and tighten it to a reasonable length. Save every scene you cut, though. It may lead you to another story.

 

[Weird Harold]

Is there anything you don't know?

There are tons of things I don't know. There are probably less than half of those things that I won't at least offer an opinion on.

 

[MagicaPractica]

I just looked SHOMI up. I'd never seen it before. Actually that contest looks like the perfect place to try and get my current novel out but it will probablly be over their 90k limit and it's doubtfull I can ever get it done by April. Afterall, I've been working on it since NANO... of 2004.

I suppose there's always next year.

I have a short story that I plan to turn into a novel for the competition. I'm gonna start in mid February. I am such a glutton for punishment.

 

[Boota]

Don't worry about your word count while you're writing, just roll with it. My first book ended up being 176,000+ words, which is too long for publishers to bite on for first time authors. I was told that if you want a first novel published by a major publisher you should be between 50,000 and 60,000 words tops. They don't want to invest the added cost of printing large books into an untried commodity.

I read a book that is considered a full length novel that is barely over 20,000 words, so I guess the definitions of a novel aren't hard and fast numbers.