Word count self published books

A way to check word count of published books anita nolans blog. Collecting comp titles will prove useful to you throughout your novels journeyespecially later, when trying to market your book. Of course, word count wont matter if a story doesnt hook the target audience. Urban fiction publishing requirements urban fiction news. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook. The cost to publish a book depends on a the length of the book and b the level of quality you want.

They are all in the selfhelp niche and thats why the examples i include are for that field. Cover you can create your book cover using kdps cover creator tool or submit your book cover in a pdf. My first novel, beautiful demons, was only about 47,000 words. Go to that books page and scroll down to inside this book.

All fonts in the cover should be embedded in the native program before publishing. Writing competitions preparing your entry writers digest. May 11, 2009 i have published three books which have been fairly successful. I get a lot of questions about word count for urban. Excluding endnotes and index, the book has about 200 pages of text, which means its total word count is about 74,000 words. Step 4 is measure your manuscript in word count, not pages. Traditionally published mysteries, like the books of sara paretsky, louise penny, laurie r. To be picked up by a traditional publisher, my manuscript needs to fall in a similar wordcount window. A way to check word count of published books anita nolan. As with many publishing standards, word count guidelines exist for a number of. Oct 23, 2017 twenty percent of multi published young adult authors were not represented.

For an author who will be published traditionally, word count is more important for your publisher. At a writers conference i recently attended, publishing veteran jane friedman said 80,000 words is good for most fiction, below 60,000 isnt novel length territory, and above 120,000 is likely too much. Similarly, if your book is published and lands in a bookstore, you dont. As for nonfiction books, the standard bestsellers have word counts similar to adult novels. Since supernatural books often create entire worlds, they sometimes require more words than realistic novels. After that, your agent will be able to help you more. If you want your work traditionally published, i would definitely hold off on selfpublishing it. A certain length of novel feels right to certain audiences, sort of like how the sweet spot for most movies is somewhere between one and a half to two and a half hours. Basically, instead of applying a formula for word count, we apply the final format and see what results. For standard trim sizes of books, here are some formulas. Ive covered the steps ive taken to selfpublish over 10 books. On the layout tab, in the page setup group, click margins. Pencilthin books on narrow topics that are under 50,000 words are quite common. Divide your word count by 390 to arrive at the approximate number of pages ex.

Usually i dont write them all at oncewriting half of. Shes written more than 200 novels, tackled topics from romance to murder and sold more than 500m books around the world. Everything you need to know about novel word counts nathan. Theres just a minimum cost of printing a book, trucking it to a store.

First time authors should steer clear of writing anything over 80,000 words. A small window will appear with the total number of words. Enter your books trim size into the width and height fields. How to write and publish a book in less than 30 days.

Weaving another character or subplot into the story is going to make it longer, and trust me, by the 5th or 6th editing pass, youre going to be a little bored and start adding things. When it comes to selfpublished booksdoes size matter. She also, interestingly for those of us split between trade and self publishing, mentions that word counts in sp arent just a case of whatever, noones telling me what to do. Not only do you need to know how many words are in a novel, but also why and how the genre youre writing it can change this word count this is how many words are in a novel. Sep 30, 2015 when it comes to selfpublished booksdoes size matter. If you can decide on the right vision for your book, and you therefore know your trim size, you can tailor your writing to your target. But if marketability matters to you, its not that simple. Whats the best word count for selfpublished fiction. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using pod print on demand technology. Heres the general rule for any book published traditionally or self pubbed. The information we give is specific to the 2016 version of word, but the steps are similar in most versions. Even if she self publishes, the cost per copy would be high, and few readers would. Nov 22, 2008 but the way i see it, especially if you intend to self publish, make it as long as you want.

So no agent is going to sign you to represent a selfpublished project. If you feel you have to add on stuff that you dont really need, or remove quality work, to fit a certain word. Some authors believe the word count is irrelevantwhether it takes 20,000 words. Jun 12, 2009 as a nonfiction writer myself, i know this is tough. As for submissions, the only two fonts i see recommended are courier and times roman. What is a good length for a selfpublished book on amazon.

I put in anne of green gables and clicked on the first entry, and it listed the. Traditionally, artamene ou le grand cyrus, has been considered the longest novel, but has lately been surpassed by at least one novel, or two depending on the criterion used to determine length. I published my first novel on amazon this year mongruxx wolfpac and am. Heres our word count guide for 18 different book genres. Viceversa, if your book is short, a smaller trim size. I clicked on the unabridged version, and it lists the word count as 97,364.

This resizes your pages and changes your page count, which you need to know for setting your margins. Often a novellettelength work is difficult to sell to a publisher. The best thing that you can do is look over comparable. The best thing that you can do is look over comparable books and try to judge word count by their size, average wordspage, and illustration content.

However, all of the authors selling ten or more books had agents. In addition, ebooks dont feature page numbers, so if you plan to only publish electronically, the word count isnt a major concern. Selfpublishing is the publication of media by its author without the involvement of an established publisher. The selfpublishing school library books published through selfpublishing school search clear search will you be next. Jun 05, 2018 books sell by keywords, or by word ofmouth. Step 5 is to target your writing so you will be on track for your books vision. I published my first novel on amazon this year mongruxx wolfpac and am 40k words into the next book mongruxx starship umbra. If your book does not contain bleed, you can upload your manuscript as a pdf, doc, docx, rtf, html, or txt file. Self publishing is the publication of media by its author without the involvement of an established publisher. List of standard books sizes to make the right size selection. However, there is a wide range of acceptable word counts for nonfiction books. Often a novellettelength work is difficult to sell to a. Kdp doesnt print hardcover books, but ingram spark offers a wide range of hardcover print book options, running from 5 by 8 to 8. Finish the draft first, then worry about word count.

Larson writes science fiction with a word count around 100k. My first novel ran 120k words, the next one most likely 200k. As you can see, you need to know your word count, not the number of pages your word processor produces. The best word count for your selfpublished novel self. Depending on your ebook, some steps may be unnecessary e. With my selfpublished books, i might give myself a little more leewaybut still around 3 doublespaced 12 pt. Choose your book type, genre, and audience for a word count and page number total. If you feel you have to add on stuff that you dont really need, or remove quality work, to fit a certain word count, it will take away from the quality of the book. Of course, if you just want to get your book out there, you can always format it for free and selfpublish. Put a title the exact title in the search engine, then click on the title, or one of the titles if more than one comes up. Count refers to all words making up the story no matter. Another topselling selfpublished genre, science fiction and fantasy books do best with a word count between 80k150k words.

Its rare, rare, rare, rare, rare x that selfpublished books are ever republished by traditional. Any content not intending to be trimmed off should be a minimum of 0. When talking about book length, its common to talk about word count rather than. The information we give is specific to the 2016 version of word, but the steps are. Definitely not an article for selfpublished writers.

I have published three books which have been fairly successful. But the way i see it, especially if you intend to selfpublish, make it as long as you want. This is a list of the novels over 500,000 words published through a mainstream publisher. Jan 15, 2020 heres how to track your books the word count in word. Some authors believe the word count is irrelevantwhether it takes 20,000 words or 200,000 words, the book will be done when youve. Sep 05, 2019 the cost to publish a book depends on a the length of the book and b the level of quality you want. This stepbystep guide shows you how to turn a manuscript written in microsoft word into a file ready to be uploaded to kdp. There are two main strategies for nonfiction books. There are two noteworthy exceptions to word count requirements. After i published my first book, it took six years before i published my second book. However, if you are self publishing and paying for everything, book pages will end up being more important than your word. None of them fit the industry standard in word count. Jan 18, 2010 because it allows me to check out length for published books in my genre. Jul 24, 20 with my selfpublished books, i might give myself a little more leewaybut still around 3 doublespaced 12 pt.

Even if she selfpublishes, the cost per copy would be high, and few readers would. Its rare, rare, rare, rare, rare x that selfpublished books are ever republished by traditional editors. Now these word counts may have made sense in the traditional world, where books had to be printed, bound and shipped all over the world. Divide your word count by 475 to arrive at the approximate number of pages. That said, there isnt a clear correlation between books sold and annual income. Each page contains about 34 lines, with an average word count of 11 words per line, thus 375 words per page. Entry forms must have the wordlinepage count listed where requested. Wool, which was originally selfpublished as a series of enovellas. Were here to help you tell it, whether youre busy, idealess, or bad at writing. Make a list of 15 recently published comparative titles. Count refers to all words making up the story no matter the number of letters in the word. In your word document, click tools from the top menu tool bar. He used the 270,000word memoir as an example because 1 memoirs are close to impossible to traditionally publish, so a word count that long wont get past the agent, and 2 its very. Kdp will automatically convert these file types to pdf prior to publishing printing.

Ive been researching the word countspages of ya novels to make sure im not under or over. Entry forms must have the word linepage count listed where requested. Oct 17, 2018 there are two noteworthy exceptions to word count requirements. King, and lee child run well over 90k, sometimes going as high as 120k. In the apply to list, select whole document and click ok. Word count to book pages resources for independent authors. The actual word count for the hunger games is 99,750 and my utility calculates 94,743 words. Search for word count totals in books word counters. I read a lot pretty much daily and have noticed many sci fy novels in the 75k word count range. I infrequently see selfpublished authors attempt this length. Some authors believe the word count is irrelevantwhether it takes 20,000 words or 200,000 words, the book will be done when youve finished telling your story. Recently i got asked this question, what is the ideal length word count wise for my first book.

Theres just a minimum cost of printing a book, trucking it to a store, marketing it, and everything else. Sep 09, 2012 word count i get a lot of questions about word count for urban fiction novels. Sep 12, 2012 put a title the exact title in the search engine, then click on the title, or one of the titles if more than one comes up. Word count, with a little help from amazon alexis grant. Twenty percent of multipublished young adult authors were not represented. At a writers conference i recently attended, publishing veteran jane friedman. As a nonfiction writer myself, i know this is tough. An author with three books published wont necessarily earn more money in a year than an author with only one book. Do not count the title or contact information in the word count. No matter where you live or work, you have a story to tell. For traditional publishing or selfpublishing, youll have the best odds of success. I use amazons data feeds to come up with the calculation. For a selfpublished book i think thats pretty good. Because it allows me to check out length for published books in my genre.

May 15, 2020 these are the most common book sizes for most fiction and nonfiction books. These are the most common book sizes for most fiction and nonfiction books. You can try to invent an idea that spreads throughout the collective consciousness subtle art of not giving a fck, the war of art, or you can solve a specific problem design for hackers, how to incorporate. Do you want to publish a wide format bookwith inspiring quotes down the side margins. Formatting print books with word alliance of independent. Martins a game of thrones, has a word count of almost 293,000. Unfortunately, they dont offer word count so ive created an algorithm based on the number of pages, genre, and the dimensions of the book.

Usually i dont write them all at oncewriting half of them in the morning when i wake up and half later in the morning or after lunch. Use your word processor to figure out your average word count per manuscript page and your total word count. Apr 23, 2018 however, there are also genre conventions at play that influence even selfpublished books that arent likely to be sold on a shelf. The first is selfpublishing, in which readers tend to be more forgiving when it comes to length. For most publishers, a book is novellength when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words. Still in doubt about a desirable word count for your novel. Its increasingly important to put out a professional product as a self publisher and allen notes that word count increasingly applies to those books as well as trade.