How many words is a novel?
Most adult novels are 70,000 to 100,000 words, which is about 230 to 400 printed pages or 280 to 400 double-spaced manuscript pages. Reading one takes about 5 to 7 hours.
Work it out
pages, single-spaced, Arial 12 pt, about 500 words a page
- Handwritten pages
- 320
- Reading time
- 5 hr 36 min
- Speaking time
- 8 hr 53 min–10 hr 15 min
- Typing time
- 33 hr 20 min
- Paragraphs
- 400–800
- Sentences
- 4,000–5,333
- Characters with spaces
- about 480,000
Write it in the word counter with a goal of at least 80,000 words.
Open the word counterNovel in pages and minutes
| Length | Single-spaced | Double-spaced | Reading time | Speaking time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70,000 words | 140 | 280 | 4 hr 54 min | 7 hr 46 min–8 hr 58 min |
| 100,000 words | 200 | 400 | 7 hr | 11 hr 6 min–12 hr 49 min |
Estimates for US Letter or A4 with 1-inch (2.54 cm) margins and ordinary paragraphs; reading at 238 words a minute, speaking at 130 to 150.
Novel lengths by genre
These are the ranges literary agents and publishers commonly give for a debut. Established authors, and books that are simply that good, can go outside them.
| Kind of novel | Usual length in words |
|---|---|
| Literary and general adult fiction | 70,000–100,000 |
| Romance | 50,000–90,000, depending on the line |
| Mystery and thriller | 70,000–90,000 |
| Science fiction and fantasy | 90,000–120,000 (more) |
| Young adult | 60,000–90,000 (more) |
| Middle grade | 30,000–55,000 (more) |
For awards, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) counts anything of 40,000 words or more as a novel; shorter works are novellas, novelettes and short stories.
How long famous novels are
Approximate counts, often quoted, that show how wide the range is:
- The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald: about 47,000 words.
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J. K. Rowling: about 77,000.
- Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell: about 89,000.
- The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien: about 95,000.
- To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee: about 100,000.
- Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen: about 122,000.
A first draft of 50,000 words, the target of the November novel-writing challenge made popular by NaNoWriMo, is a real achievement but usually short of a full adult novel; most writers add scenes and depth in revision.
Questions and answers
How many words is a novel?
Usually 70,000 to 100,000 for adult fiction. Under about 50,000 is hard to sell as an adult novel; well over 120,000 is hard for a debut.
How many pages is a 80,000-word novel?
About 270 to 320 printed pages in a typical paperback, or 320 double-spaced manuscript pages.
How long does it take to read a novel?
At about 260 words a minute, a 90,000-word novel takes around six hours of reading.
How many words is a chapter?
There is no rule; many novels use chapters of 2,000 to 5,000 words.