Track your manuscript's word count above and compare it against what publishers and readers expect for your genre.
Book Word Counts by Genre
| Genre | Typical length |
|---|---|
| Adult fiction (general) | 70,000–100,000 words |
| Fantasy / science fiction | 90,000–120,000 words |
| Young adult (YA) | 50,000–80,000 words |
| Middle grade | 20,000–50,000 words |
| Novella | 17,500–40,000 words |
| Memoir | 60,000–90,000 words |
| Nonfiction / business | 50,000–75,000 words |
Guidelines reviewed as of July 2026.
Why Genre Norms Matter
Agents and publishers use word count as a first filter — a 180,000-word debut novel signals editing problems before anyone reads a page, and a 40,000-word “novel” gets reclassified as a novella. If you are querying traditionally, landing inside your genre's range removes an easy reason to reject. Self-publishing is more forgiving, but reader expectations for pacing still track these numbers.
Tracking Your Progress
- Chapters typically run 1,500–5,000 words; consistency matters more than any exact number.
- Daily goals compound: 500 words a day is a complete first draft in about six months.
- NaNoWriMo pace is 50,000 words in 30 days — 1,667 per day.
- First drafts run long. Expect to cut 10–20% in revision; draft accordingly.
How many pages is my word count?
A standard manuscript page (double-spaced, 12pt) holds about 250 words — so 80,000 words ≈ 320 manuscript pages, or roughly 300 pages in a typical printed paperback.
How long should my chapters be?
Most novels land between 2,000 and 5,000 words per chapter, but consistency matters more than any single number. Publishers judge the total manuscript length; chapters are a pacing tool you control.