How many words is a short story?

A short story is usually 1,000 to 7,500 words, which is 4 to 30 double-spaced pages and 4 to 32 minutes of reading. Most magazines and contests want 2,000 to 5,000.

Work it out

Words

Font

Size

Line spacing

pages, single-spaced, Arial 12 pt, about 500 words a page

Handwritten pages: 30
Reading time: 32 min
Speaking time: 50 min–58 min
Typing time: 3 hr 7 min
Paragraphs: 38–75
Sentences: 375–500
Characters with spaces: about 45,000

Write it in the word counter with a limit of 5,000 words.

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Short story in pages and minutes

Length	Single-spaced	Double-spaced	Reading time	Speaking time
1,000 words	2	4	4 min 12 sec	6 min 40 sec–7 min 42 sec
7,500 words	15	30	32 min	50 min–58 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.

How short stories are defined

The Nebula and Hugo Awards define a short story as under 7,500 words. Under 1,000 is usually called flash fiction. Literary magazines set their own limits, and many cap submissions at 5,000 or 6,000 words, so always read the guidelines.

Famous short stories

“The Tell-Tale Heart”, Edgar Allan Poe: about 2,100 words.
“The Lottery”, Shirley Jackson: about 3,400 words.
“The Gift of the Magi”, O. Henry: about 2,100 words.

A story this short usually turns on one change in one character. If yours needs several points of view and a long timeline, it may want to be a novelette or a novel.