A book that is published in paperback format and has a length of 300–400 pages would typically have between 80,000 and 100,000 words. 100,000 words is a decent goal for adult fiction (particularly crime, thrillers, women's literature, sagas, and romance). Anything longer than 400 pages may be difficult to sell and read.
For children's books, it is usual for them to be shorter than their adult counterparts. A picture book will usually be no more than 200 words, while a young adult novel might be as long as 150,000 words.
The average novel lasts about 50,000 words, so if you plan to write only one book in your lifetime, then your manuscript should be no more than 250 pages. However many books you write after that first one, each one could be any length.
It is very difficult to say how long your novel will take to write because every writer has his or her own process. Some write every day, some once a week, but most work on a monthly basis. It all depends on your creativity and how quickly you can produce content.
However long it takes you to write, your manuscript should be finished before you start publishing. If not, then you are never going to get it done in time. You need to set aside sufficient time each month to write without distraction.
Of course, it depends on the font you're choosing, but in general, 250-300 words per page. As a result, a 55,000-word book should contain around 200 manuscript pages. A 100,000-word book would be around 400 pages. The 12 point typeface is popular among editors. It's available in both black and white and has been adopted by many publications because it's easy to read and doesn't cost much.
The choice of font affects the appearance and overall feel of your book. If you choose a font that's too small, then readers will need to strain their eyes when reading along. This can be tiring for them. On the other hand, if you use a font that's too large, then it can distract readers from the story. They might not be able to read the words easily, which could affect how much they enjoy the book.
There are many different types of fonts. Each one serves a different purpose. For example, some fonts are designed to be decorative or add flavor to your text, while others are used to save space on publication pages.
The choice of font should be based on what you want readers to understand from the text. In addition, it should also appeal to your audience's sense of aesthetics. For example, something as simple as using black text on a white background makes reading easier since there's no color contrast between the text and the page.
A literary novel can range in length from 40,000 to 120,000 words. Literary agents and editors will most likely want to read a novel of between 70,000 and 100,000 words if you're a novice writer. A mainstream novel is typically best suited when it is between 70K and 100K in length.
In terms of sales, this means that a literary novel is usually longer than a commercial one. For example, E.L. James's 50 Shades series has been reported as being between 5,000 and 7,000 words each. This would make the total word count for the entire series around 55,000-77,000 words - much more than enough space for an average agent or editor to consider it a literary work.
Some novels are very short. The average poem is about 20 lines long, and a sonnet is generally considered to be 14 lines of which only the first and last lines rhyme. A short story is usually between 1,500 and 6,000 words while a novella is generally considered to be between 30,000 and 80,000 words. There are some writers who write longer works than this, of course; Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim was a novel that lasted over 1000 pages in English, for example.
The term "literary fiction" actually comes from the fact that these books are written in prose rather than verse.
A typical fantasy novel should be between 50,000 and 150,000 words long. The real word count, however, is determined by the category in which you are writing. If you're creating a young adult fantasy novel, limit the word count around 90,000 words or 300 book pages. Adult fiction tends to be longer with books often being between 100,000 and 250,000 words in length.
Children's books are usually much shorter than this, usually between 20,000 and 40,000 words. Longer children's novels are called "graphic novels" and can range from 120 to 200 pages.
For example, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is about 65,000 words long. Twilight is 120,000 words long. Game of Thrones is 150,000 words long. A Song of Ice and Fire is approximately 600,000 words long.
Epic fantasies are often even longer, with Lord of the Rings being 800,000 words long and The Hobbit 500,000 words long.
The longest fantasy novel currently published is Dan Simmons' The Last Dark Age, which is 1,100,000 words long.
So, an epic fantasy should be between 65,000 and 1,100,000 words long. There are only so many hours in a day and weeks in a year so it's important to be realistic when writing your story.
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