What Is the Best Novel Length?
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As a developmental book editor, one of the most common elements I discuss with writers is the length of their novel, specifically if they should expand or condense it. Although it might not seem obvious from a reader’s standpoint, word count is one of the most important features of a book. The online novel writing community is always concerned with book length, for good reason, as it can determine how publishable your manuscript is.
So, if you are working on a manuscript right now, word count is probably something at the top of your mind. You may be wondering, “How do I know what the best novel length is? How do I know if it’s too long or too short?”
To ease the process, in this article I’m going to give you some advice and pieces of framework to help you identify the best novel length. Admittedly, there is no single rule or answer, but I’ll offer some strategies and factors to consider when you are thinking about your novel’s length and if it should change.
1. Genre
The first factor you should consider when thinking about the optimal length for your novel is genre. Genre is probably the most important factor to consider, in fact, because there are recommended word count benchmarks for each genre, especially when it comes to traditional publishing.
First, you'll want to think about the age range for your target audience. If you are writing a middle grade novel, then your novel should typically be between 20,000 and 50,000 words. Then, for a YA novel, it should be between 40,000 and 80,000 words. For adult novels, I find the ideal range to be between 60,000 and 90,000 words.
If you are writing adult fiction, you should also consider which common genre your novel falls under. Thrillers, women’s fiction, and any other book under the umbrella term “beach reads” or “book club reads” tend to fall on the shorter end of the spectrum, because they are meant to be a fast read. But, novels that delve deeply into characterization, like literary fiction, or set up whole new worlds, like sci-fi and fantasy, tend to fall on the longer end of the spectrum, potentially even going over 90,000 words.
A side note is that anything shorter than 60,000 words would be considered a novella rather than a full-length novel. While there is nothing inherently wrong with a novella, publishers tend to avoid publishing these books, as it’s harder to convince a reader to pay the same price for a novel as they would a novella.
If your novel falls outside of the range, you might be wondering what to do. Rest assured that you do not need to overhaul the whole story or give up your dreams of getting published. Instead, you need to consider the other two factors that determine word count.
2. Your Publishing Goals
Now that we understand the basic framework regarding how the best novel length aligns with your genre, let's go over the next factor: your publishing goals. If you hope to get your book traditionally published by a major publishing house, then the word count is going to be significantly more important than if you are self-publishing.
That's because literary agents and publishers are going to expect your book to fall within the standard range for its genre. If it doesn't, you're going to have to fight hard to justify why your novel has that shorter or longer length. So keep that in mind when you query literary agents, especially since you have to declare the word count in the query letter. They will be able to immediately see that your novel is of irregular length, which can be a red flag to them.
The reason why an irregular book length can be a red flag is because it is harder to sell to publishers. And that is because the length of your manuscript has a direct correlation to the production cost of making the physical book.
A significantly longer book is going to require more formatting as well as more paper pages, which will ultimately affect the price the publisher can set for that book. They might have to price it higher than their other books, which then affects the book deal they can offer you as the author. At the other end of the spectrum, if your novel is short, the publisher could feel they have to set a lower price point for the novella and worry they can't make a profit on that book.
That is why it is best to stay within the designated word count range for your genre if you want to be traditionally published. Doing so will increase your chances of getting a literary agent's representation and, in turn, increase the chances that the literary agent is able to successfully sell your book to a publishing house.
However, if you want to self-publish your book, you do have the freedom to publish your novel at whatever length you want. However, that doesn't necessarily mean you should publish your 200,000 word novel as is. Remember, you're most likely going to have the most success if your book follows the typical standards for whatever genre it is.
For example, if you're writing a thriller and self-publishing, I would not recommend exceeding 200,000 words. Thriller fans aren’t going to be expecting a book of that length and might not engage well with it.
Also keep in mind that when self-publishing, the book’s length should be proportional to the price point. Books that are significantly longer should be priced higher, and books that are novella length should be priced lower. Adjusting the price will affect the readership and the audience you are able to attract because some people might not want to invest for a longer book.
3. The Narrative Structure
The final consideration when you are thinking about your novel’s ideal length is the narrative structure of your story. There are two key elements of your story that will naturally help determine the overall length of your manuscript.
The first is the time span your novel covers. Does your novel take place over the course of a single day, or does it take place over years? While a longer time span does not necessarily correlate to a longer word count, a story taking place over a decade will likely be longer than one taking place during a single summer.
The second narrative element you want to consider is the point of view(s) that you are following. Are you following one single protagonist's journey from beginning to end, or do you have three interlocking storylines? The latter might justify a longer word count. Of course, depending on how you treat those narrative elements, they will ultimately require a different amount of space on the page. The novel length will also be unique to your personal storytelling approach.
As you edit your novel, the goal is to find the Goldilocks balance with your novel's length, one that is neither too long nor too short but just right.
If you are struggling to figure out if your novel is too long or short, or you know for sure it’s irregular but don’t know how to approach editing it, then I recommend working with a professional editor. A professional book editor will definitely be able to identify any issues with your novel’s length and provide guidance on what you might do to correct it.
I also hope this article helped you determine the best novel length, or at least offered some benchmarks for your genre that you can work toward.
Thank you for reading, and happy writing!