Roselynne asks, “I’m writing a book on the computer and I wanted to know how many book pages there are per computer page.”
Roselynne,
If you format your manuscript with 1″ margins all around and use 12-point font, double spaced, it’s generally about the same as a novel. So a 300 page manuscript will be roughly a 300-page book.
According to SCWBI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators), early readers should be about 20 pages (5,000 words) and chapter books should be from 40-60 pages (10-15,000 words). And most middle grade novels are in the 20,000 to 40,000 range. The Magic Treehouse books are about 5,000 to 12,000 words, depending on which one you pick up.
Also, around 80,000 words is about a 300-page novel. That’s a good target length if you are writing YA novels or adult novels. Replication: The Jason Experiment is 85, 214 words long and the final book is 294 pages.
I was curious about this. Thanks for posting!
I have wondered about that so now I have an idea about where it ends up. Thanks for the info, Jill.
You’re welcome!
🙂
Thanks so much for this Jill! Would 60,000-70,000 words be a good target or not? Usually this is what all my books come out about. 😀
For YA books? It might be okay for contemporary YA. It really depends on your publisher. Some like YA to be a little shorter. Some want it to be a little longer. I’d shoot for the 70,000 range if you can. Or just finish them and wait and see what publishers you find and what their guidelines are. If they like your premise and writing, but feel the story is too short, they might ask you to rewrite it or contract you and have you add some scenes during editing.
Thanks! I was wondering this as well!
My novel, which I have just finished and am editing, is 60,650ish words. I’m hoping to get a few thousand more words. It depends. I will decide when my critique-rs finish theirs. 🙂
I have thought about doing self-publishing, but I would much rather go traditional.
Thanks again, I really needed that info.
You’re welcome, Brian! 🙂
Hi, thanks for the post it was really informative for me. I had a followup question about chapter length. I’m a big fan of Cormac Maccarthy’s style and his chapter divisions are sometimes really short or long. I only bring this up because I want to create a stopping point to shift the story rather quickly so in theory could I have a single word chapter? Someone just saying someone’s name and then blank page. Of course this is an over-exaggeration, but can rules be bent?
Patrick,
The rules can always be bent. Do what you’ve got to do to tell the story you want to tell.
🙂
Jill
I have been writing a book for a while now. And I am almost done. Do you have any advice. On where I find someone who would publish it. Or could I self publish it. And what would be best to find a editor. Sorry for so much. I love my book and I hope I could share it to the world. I love books.
Hi, Rose Marie! That is a HUGE question. In fact, it’s so huge, my friend Stephanie and I blog about it weekly at http://www.GoTeenWriters.com and we wrote a book about it called Go Teen Writers. Once you finish your book, you’ll want to edit it yourself before hiring an editor. I highly recommend the book Self-Editing for Fiction Writers. It’s was very helpful for me. Our Go Teen Writers book also deals with the editing stage as well as publishing options.
While you’re editing, I suggest you take your time and read about the publishing process and decide whether or not you’d like to pursue traditional publishing or self-publishing. Once you decide, there are two very different paths to pursue. Also, if you can, try to attend a writers conference. They are invaluable to new writers. Use Google to see if you can find one near where you live.
Good morning.
Is there a rule when writing about yourself? I’m writing a book about various medical problems I went through from 2007-2014. I’m hoping it can be an inspiration for others. Anyways, is there a specific number of pages I should aim for? Is there certain I should or shouldn’t include as far as what I went through while trying to recover from these medical issues?
Depends on your goal, Patrick. Are you writing a memoir? Or a nonfiction self-help book? I don’t know much about these genres. You might go down to Barnes & Noble and look for books that are similar to yours, then see how long they are and how they are formatted. You can learn a lot that way.
I googled this question and yours was the first of many! I’m glad I didn’t have to continue to search…thanks a bunch! I’m currently at 7000 words, I have a ways to go, but at least I have a goal.
Good for you, Carolyn! Keep at it. 🙂
Is this saying that my word spacing would be 1 instead of 1.5 and then the font is 12 and the pages will equal what they would in a book?
A manuscript should always be 12 point font and double spaced. Not single spaced or 1.5 spaced. If your manuscript is formatted correctly, then the pages should roughly equal what they would in a final book. And while that is usually true, it’s not always true. Case in point, my manuscript for King’s Folly is 800 pages long, but since the book was so long, the publisher formatted the book with smaller font and a little narrower margins to create a 550 page book, which keeps the book a more affordable price. So sometimes things like that can change this theory. Most 80,000-word manuscripts are about 300 pages long in a book format.
Just finished a 343 page, 246,363 words book. Is it horrificly too long if it’s single-spaced?
Um, probably. 🙂 First of all, if you’re looking to submit to a publisher or an agent, a manuscript should always be double-spaced, 12-point font, Times New Roman, one-inch margins on all four sides. Here is a link to proper manuscript formatting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3-jtDFRu7Y
Most books are between 80,000 and 120,000 words. Some of mine have been longer, but not my first one. My longest book ever was right around 200,000. If you’re writing epic fantasy, books can be longer, so you might be able to get away with that long of a book. It depends on your writing goals. The length of a book matters more if you’re looking to be published by a publishing house like Tor compared to if you want to self publish.
Brandon Sanderson (the reigning king of long books) once said that if you’re a new writer looking to break in to epic fantasy, the best way is to write a stand-alone novel no longer than 120K. The reason for this is that publishers have to charge the same about for a book that is 120K long and one that is 246K. But yours is twice as long, which means twice as much editing and twice as much paper to print it. The costs are not in their favor for an unknown author. So if you like the book as is, pitch it and see what happens. Or maybe you think you could break the book into two books. Or maybe you love this one as is, haven’t been able to sell it yet, so you set it aside and write a shorter one that might help you break in with the hope of selling this one later when you have a fan base. OR if you’re looking to self-publish, then the length doesn’t matter. If that’s the case, you’ll need to hire a freelance editor who is good with epic fantasy to help you make the book as strong as it can be.
Good luck!
Oops! I goofed, I meant horrifically.