Aug 05, 2019 for most publishers, a book is novellength when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words. In every category, there are also a few random outliers, like sarah, plain and tall a middle grade at 9,000 words or this is all. Fantasy and science fiction middle grade have a history of getting away with longer word counts same as they do for ya and adult. Search for word count totals in books word counters.
For most publishers, a book is novellength when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words. To get a book, kids first go through a parent, a teacher or a librarian. So should i stay with this word count, or try to bring the word count down. Chapter books would be on the lower end, while upper middle grade would be fine in the upper range. There will likely be a subplot or two that help to carry the story in a substantial way. Chapter books would be on the lower end, while upper middle grade would be fine in the. Neither of those book series held anywhere close to the word count youre talking about for ya. Board books are those tough little things you give to the smallest of readers. Typically age 10 for a younger mg novel, and up to age for older, more complex books. A book like harry potter and the sorcerers stone, with 78,792 words, is higher than recommended, but with any genre, there are exceptions. Many, yes, but there are exceptions due to the layout and font size of a particular book. Whether your book is considered chapter book or upper middle grade will depend on the age of your characters, and the subject matter. Sharp objects has a word count of 80,565 and my utility calculates it at 80,7.
Middle grade fiction is generally 30,00050,000 words though fantasy can run longer to allow for adequate worldbuilding. My middle grade novel is hovering around 70,000 words or 270 pages. Middle grade novels are generally 20,000 to 55,000 words. The actual word count for the hunger games is 99,750 and my utility calculates 94,743 words. Middle grade is for middle school ages, 10, young adult is high school, 1418, and adult is everything after, 19 and up. Chapter book this varies widely, depending on grade and reader level, usually starting at 4,000 words and 15,000 words max. Childrens chapter books word count age 69 word count. Lets start with middle grade since thats what i write. These are books that resemble young adult in matter and storytelling, but still. Focus on friends, family and the characters immediate world and relationship to it. So that usually includes everything from chapter books, to middle grade, to young adult novels. For more information on word counts for childrens book, check out this post. Nonfiction picture book 3,000 words max, but closer to 1,000 to 2,000 words.
The author selling the most copies was a scholastic author published only in softcover hello, scholastic school market. Ya is often read by middle grade aged tweens and early teens. How to write middle grade fiction mary kole editorial. Obviously, the examples under each category are above and below what is generally accepted. Scroll below now to see 25 middle grade book genre examples, or click here to see all book genres for kids. I know that this is considered long but i really cant cut anything, it is all integral to the story. The average mean word count was about 53,000 words. The word count range for middle grade is 20,000 to 60,000. We will learn which age groups to target, what narrative styles work best and why, and what kind of word count you need in order to craft a strong middle grade book. Jun 05, 2017 so childrens book manuscript chapter length is a big question that ive received many times about all sorts of childrens books that have chapters. Word count for famous novels, in ascending order by number of words. So childrens book manuscript chapter length is a big question that ive received many times about all sorts of childrens books that have chapters.
These books fall in very similar word count ranges to young adult books. That gives us a rough range of 61,00089,000 words, with about 3 out of 4 queried ya books falling into that range. Jun 26, 2018 i have found the website dogobooks to be the most useful place to check the word count of popular books for kids. Word count picture book, middle grade, ya lisa lewis tyre. To receive notifications when the rest of the series is posted as well as my other blog posts, submit your email address in the side bar. Make a list of 15 recently published comparative titles.
Writing a middlegrade masterpiece a childrens book editor. Maybe try to see if you can shave another 10,000 off. My middle grade novel is complete at 250,000 words, and have five sequels planned which will each be approximately the same length. Hours per day x average words per hour x days total word count. I have found the website dogobooks to be the most useful place to check the word count of popular books for kids. The word count range for each age level is only a guideline. Submission guidelines for unrepresented authors albert.
Five lessons i learned writing my first middle grade novel. Apr 23, 2018 there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to word counts, and different sources are going to tell you different things. If youre writing your first novel, the general rule of thumb for novel writing is a word count in the 80,000 to 100,000 range. Word count varied from 5,000 words to 40,000 words, with an average mean of 17,200 and a median word count of 8,500.
I think in middle grade there is an upper middle grade subcategory for the 5th to 8th graders who would be into the longer middle grade books like harry potter and the percy jackson series. Upper middle grade can hit in the 50k word count range possibly longer, if its something really special. With fun, lighthearted, simple middle grade youll want to stay around the 20k30k word count range. How long does it take to write a middle grade novel. When it comes to word count, middle grade fiction ranges anywhere from 20k to 5060k. May 15, 2019 are you ready to write a middle grade novel. My book is just over 98,000 words and is a ya paranormal romance. For example, atonement has a word count of 123,378 and my utility comes up with 110,765 words. Most of them wouldnt even pick up a fat book, so keep your word count between 30,000 and 60,000 words. Writing middle grade is a website dedicated to helping middle grade authors find literary agents and publishing deals, and to help them market their books.
Middle grade book genre complete list of book genres. Jennifer jensen says that ya novels generally run 40,00075,000 words, but youll find books on either side of that. Writing chapter books a look at the numbers hannah holt. In this article we will explore how to write middle grade fiction and why this childrens book format is flourishing today. For debut books in this field the average word count tends to be 35k and it has therefore become the marker many industry professionals look for in queries from new writers. With this in mind, i decided to take a quick survey of popular middle grade fiction and its page count. But then i did a lot of research to try and distinguish between the two juvenile categories. Up to 6070k is probably safe though there are even longer exceptions. While you might want to have that gritty character in your uppermg novel drop a few fourletter words, doing so will hurt book sales. Most land within the pretty massive range of 45,000 to 85,000. I had when i first started writing middle grade was about word count. I just finished my first middle grade novel and, for a good while, i thought it was a young adult work. When i started writing three years ago, the mg word count i kept hearing was no more than 30,000 words.
The word count at big five publishers had a slightly narrower range. Collecting comp titles will prove useful to you throughout your novels journeyespecially later, when trying to market your book. Heres a general guideline i sometimes use for fiction board books for babies and toddlers to picture books for upper elementary and middlegrade learners. Short bio mentioning previous publications or other background information relevant to your story. Anything longer can be difficult for a younger audience to consume and retain all of the information. Query letter in body of email should include the following. Others think that a book shouldnt exceed a particular page count or word count. The key differences between middle grade vs young adult. Middle grade is generally 912 years and since kids tend to read up, id say marketing your book as mg is the way to go. Still in doubt about a desirable word count for your novel. Chapter books will come in at the lower end of the spectrum, while middlegrade books meant for older readers may even slightly exceed 55,000 words.
The word middle is particularly apt in some publishers interpretations of the middle grade book. No profanity, graphic violence or sexuality romance, if any, is limited to a crush or a first kiss. Nov, 2009 nonfiction picture book 3,000 words max, but closer to 1,000 to 2,000 words. Oct 28, 2015 word count picture book, middle grade, ya when i finished my first middlegrade novel, last in a long line of rebels, it sat on my desk at 68,000 words. Word count for famous novels organized by hawthorn mineart, under books, writing. Young adult fiction allows for a lot of flexibility in word count. For average word counts based on genre, see this handy reference.
This is part one in my middle grade fiction series. How to write a middle grade novel childrens book editor. This is because children have shorter attention spans than adults, and if they see that a book is very big they might not even want to read it. Oct 03, 2017 word count varied from 5,000 words to 40,000 words, with an average mean of 17,200 and a median word count of 8,500. Literary agent paula munier says a 90,000 word count is the sweet spot for debut fiction.
An introduction to middle grade and young adult fiction. There are also some subgenres that have slightly different conventions. Writing middle grade a look at the numbers hannah holt. When completed, your middlegrade masterpiece needs to be somewhere between 20,000 and 60,000 words.
Hatchet with 41,672 words and holes with 46,554 words are ideal. Future installments will include information and statistics on word count, point of view, tense, and debut vs. Fiction queries and sample pages for middlegrade novels for children up to age 12. Based on this list compiled by nicole humphrey cook. Sure, some days youll write more words per hour than others. The authors had sold between 10 copies and 2 million copies of their chapter books. Most middle grade novels are between 40,000 and 69,000 words long. The highest word count was 115,000, the lowest was 47,000, and the average was 75,000. Middlegrade novels are generally 20,000 to 55,000 words. Dec, 2014 that means book length is between 80 pages for lower middle grade and 220 pages for upper middle grade fiction. With upper middle grade, you can aim for 40,000 55,000 words. How not to write middle grade fiction by jackie minniti anaiah.
While anything over 40,000 words can fall into the novel category, 50,000 is considered the minimum novel length. Jun 27, 2019 how many words should a middle grade novel be. Writing a middlegrade masterpiece a childrens book. Its so off that an agent will see the word count and stop reading your query. Picture book word count, and other rules that are meant to. Fiction queries and sample pages for middle grade novels for children up to age 12. That means book length is between 80 pages for lower middle grade and 220 pages for upper middle grade fiction. When completed, your middle grade masterpiece needs to be somewhere between 20,000 and 60,000 words. Books in the middle grade genre are often 2040,000 words in length. Middle grade fiction will generally be shorter than ya fiction, but again, there are exceptions. Themes may be a bit more complex, or pg or pg rated.
Neither too long nor too short, this book length signals a novelists competency and knowledge of the publishing market to prospective agents and editors. Yes, i know jo rowlings upped the ante with her succession of harry potter books, and if your plot and characters have the same appeal as harry, you too might get away with a larger word count. Review this list of popular examples to help you get a better understanding of the middle grade book genre. At a writers conference i recently attended, publishing veteran jane friedman said 80,000 words is good for most fiction, below 60,000 isnt novel length territory, and above 120,000 is likely too much.
Sep 18, 2017 the highest word count was 115,000, the lowest was 47,000, and the average was 75,000. Chapter books will come in at the lower end of the spectrum, while middle grade books meant for older readers may even slightly exceed 55,000 words. Word count for famous novels organized commonplace book. But overall, heres my own rough stab at word counts by genre. Should i try to reach a certain number before i submit my novel. Upper middle grade novels can have a higher word count, and will be read by children aged 10 to years old. Everything you need to know about novel word counts nathan.
Longer word counts allowed for fantasy, scifi, historical. Middle grade word count is typically 20,000 to 55,000. Middlegrade books are best if kept between 20,000 and 55,000 words in order to maintain the attention of readers this age. We, as readers, feel most comfortable reading books within the range were used tothe length of time it takes to read 80,000100,000 words. Im not sure if im pushing the word count over, been trying cut back the word count. Realize it over the maximum word count for erotic, science fictionfantasy genre.