How Long Should Your Book Be?

How long should your book be? That depends. 

One of my junior high English teachers refused to give parameters for our writing assignments. “It can be a paragraph. It can be several pages,” he’d say. “Writing is like taking a drink of water. Sometimes you only need a sip. Sometimes you want the whole glass.” As unhelpful as this sounds, he was right. Your book is for you and ultimately for your readers. The length that’s best for them is how long your book should be. 

Words, Not Pages

The first thing to know is that the publishing industry measures book length in word count, not pages. This is because the page count varies depending on the font, spacing, and layout you use. So, if someone asks how long your book is (especially a publisher), look at the bottom left of your Word document, and it will tell you. 

And yes, you should use Microsoft Word to write your book. It’s the industry standard and it’s what editors, proofreaders, literary agents, and publishers use. If you’re using Google Docs or Pages or something else, you’ll most likely have to transfer everything to a Word document before publishing (which will mess up the formatting), so it’s best to purchase a Microsoft Office program if you’re writing on a regular basis.

(I know, I know. Microsoft was never the best. But they were the best at marketing, and so became the standard before anyone knew better. Unfortunately, I don’t think Chromebooks support Microsoft software. And anytime you open a Word document on a different device the formatting may change. It is what it is.) 

Word Count by Genre

The general rules for the length of nonfiction genres are as follows: 

• Shorter E-Books or Booklets (like Who Moved My Cheese): 10,000–30,000
• Business, Leadership, How-To, and Self-Help: 30,000–60,000
• Memoir, Biography, and Narrative Nonfiction: 60,000–110,000

These are rough estimates, and there are exceptions to every rule. Adults reading nonfiction today generally have short attention spans, so shorter is sometimes better. Writer Jeff Goins is a good example. On the other hand, Malcolm Gladwell’s books are longer and include research, anecdotes, and personal stories that add to his books’ legitimacy and reader engagement. There is no “one size fits all.”

Adult fiction also differs depending on the genre. For example, epic fantasies are longer than romance novels. But like I said, there are exceptions to every rule. Children’s books have their own categories because the target age group will determine not just your word count but also the tone of voice, amount and style of illustrations, and so on.

Flow Like Water

You may already have an idea of your book’s length based on your content or on the books you like to read. But your book will evolve as you write it, and you won’t necessarily know how long it should be until it’s finished, after you’ve gotten feedback from your target audience and/or editors. 

A good line editor can help you condense sentences and paragraphs so that your writing packs even more punch. If your book ends up a lot longer than you’d like but you feel all the content is relevant, think about breaking it up into multiple books, or selling companion booklets or workbooks. Publishers love authors with multiple books because it gives them (and you) more potential sources of revenue. Or the longer length might be “just right.”

Writing should be like water. Sometimes you need a lot, and sometimes a sip is better. Like the famous Bruce Lee quote: “Empty your mind. Be formless. Shapeless, like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow. Or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”

I’m not sure if that’s the best quote to use here but I couldn’t resist. If Bruce Lee doesn’t put you in a good writing mood, you’re just weird. Whatever you do, don’t let the “proper” length stop you from moving forward. Start writing! 

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