The short answer
A novel is typically 70,000 to 100,000 words. 80,000 words is the canonical debut novel target. Genre matters: fantasy and sci-fi run longer, romance and mystery sit a little shorter, literary fiction sits right in the middle. Anything under 50,000 words is generally a novella, not a novel.
Fiction length categories
The standard categories used by award bodies, agents, and the industry. These ranges come from the Hugo and Nebula award definitions plus general publishing conventions.
| Category | Word count | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Flash fiction | Under 1,000 | Sometimes called sudden fiction or microfiction. |
| Short story | Up to 7,500 | The Hugo/Nebula upper limit. Flash fiction (under 1,000) is a sub-category, not a separate length class. |
| Novelette | 7,500 to 17,500 | Mostly used in sci-fi and fantasy markets. |
| Novella | 17,500 to 40,000 | Of Mice and Men, A Christmas Carol, Heart of Darkness. |
| Novel | 40,000 + | Most published novels are 70,000 to 100,000. |
Novel word counts by genre
Genre matters more than people expect. Submitting an 80,000-word epic fantasy is too short. Submitting a 130,000-word romance is too long. These ranges reflect what agents and publishers actually buy.
| Genre | Typical word count | Debut sweet spot |
|---|---|---|
| Literary fiction | 70,000 to 100,000 | 80,000 to 90,000 |
| Commercial / upmarket | 80,000 to 100,000 | 80,000 to 90,000 |
| Romance | 70,000 to 100,000 | 80,000 to 90,000 |
| Mystery / thriller | 70,000 to 90,000 | 75,000 to 85,000 |
| Cozy mystery | 65,000 to 80,000 | 70,000 to 75,000 |
| Science fiction | 90,000 to 120,000 | 90,000 to 100,000 |
| Fantasy | 90,000 to 120,000 | 95,000 to 110,000 |
| Epic fantasy | 120,000 to 200,000+ | 110,000 to 130,000 (debut) |
| Historical fiction | 90,000 to 120,000 | 95,000 to 110,000 |
| Horror | 70,000 to 90,000 | 75,000 to 85,000 |
| Western | 65,000 to 85,000 | 70,000 to 80,000 |
| Memoir | 70,000 to 100,000 | 80,000 to 90,000 |
Word counts by age category
Children's and young adult fiction has its own word count ranges, and they are often stricter than adult genres.
| Age category | Word count | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Picture book | 500 to 1,000 | Under 500 is often better. |
| Early reader | 1,000 to 2,500 | Designed for new independent readers. |
| Chapter book | 5,000 to 15,000 | Roughly ages 6 to 9. |
| Middle grade | 20,000 to 50,000 | Ages 8 to 12. Sweet spot is 30,000 to 45,000. |
| Young adult (YA) | 50,000 to 90,000 | Sweet spot is 60,000 to 80,000. |
| YA fantasy / sci-fi | 70,000 to 100,000 | Can stretch to 110,000 for established authors. |
| New adult (NA) | 60,000 to 85,000 | Sits between YA and adult. |
How many words in a chapter?
There is no industry standard chapter length. The best answer is "as long as the scene needs to be." Empirically:
- Most published novels: 2,000 to 5,000 words per chapter on average.
- Commercial thrillers: 1,500 to 3,000 words per chapter, sometimes shorter, for pace.
- Literary fiction: 4,000 to 8,000 words per chapter is common.
- Middle grade: 1,000 to 2,500 words per chapter, kept short for younger readers.
- Fantasy / sci-fi: 4,000 to 7,000 words per chapter, sometimes longer.
Some bestsellers have chapters under 500 words (James Patterson, certain Stephen King). Some have chapters over 15,000 words (Donna Tartt). The "right" chapter length is the one that serves the scene's pace.
How many words is a screenplay?
Screenplays are measured in pages, not words. The convention is one page equals roughly one minute of screen time. A feature screenplay is usually 90 to 120 pages, or about 18,000 to 24,000 words at the typical 200 words per page of formatted screenplay.
| Format | Pages | Approximate words |
|---|---|---|
| TV pilot (half-hour) | 30 to 35 | 6,000 to 7,000 |
| TV pilot (hour) | 55 to 65 | 11,000 to 13,000 |
| Feature film | 90 to 120 | 18,000 to 24,000 |
| Short film | 1 to 40 | 200 to 8,000 |
Word counts of famous novels
Useful reference points. These are approximate and vary slightly between editions.
| Novel | Approximate word count |
|---|---|
| The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald) | 47,000 |
| The Old Man and the Sea (Hemingway) | 27,000 |
| The Catcher in the Rye (Salinger) | 73,000 |
| 1984 (Orwell) | 89,000 |
| To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee) | 100,000 |
| Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Rowling) | 77,000 |
| The Hobbit (Tolkien) | 95,000 |
| The Hunger Games (Collins) | 100,000 |
| The Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien) | 187,000 |
| A Game of Thrones (Martin) | 298,000 |
| The Stand (King, uncut) | 472,000 |
| War and Peace (Tolstoy) | 587,000 |
How long does it take to write that many words?
For the data-backed answer, see how long does it take to write a novel. For planning a daily target around a deadline, use the daily word count goal calculator. For converting word counts to manuscript or book pages, use the words to pages calculator.
Track the words as you write them
That target number means nothing sitting in a browser tab. Authorlytica records your daily output, projects your finish date based on your actual pace, and shows the whole arc of the manuscript. Free forever plan, no card.