How Many Pages Make a Novel (again)?

I had no idea, when I first posted on this topic back in 2004, that it would turn out to be one of the most popular posts on the blog...judging from the number of people who arrive here after asking Google that question, and from the number of comments.

Here's the latest comment:
I have written a young adult science\fantasy novel that is 60,782 words. I have no clue if I need more.

Sixty thousand words is a reasonable length for a short novel. I don't keep up much with the young-adult market, but my impression is that a YA novel can run anywhere from 20,000 words to 60,000. So in that sense your story's the right length.

To make sure, visit the websites of some YA publishers and find their notes for submissions. They'll probably tell you what their length requirements are. (If they don't, find a book from the publishing house you're interested in, count the number of words on a page, and multiply by the number of pages.)

More importantly, ask yourself if you've written the right 60,000 words. Maybe the manuscript needs cutting, or you've left some loose ends that need another 5,000 words to tie up.

The first thing you owe yourself, as an apprentice writer, is to tell your stories as well as you can, at whatever length the stories want to be. Only then should you worry about what publishers want.

Comments

[Beth Fehlbaum]

My debut novel, which is being marketed to both general fiction and YA fiction audiences, is just over 100,000 words. So I guess we'll see if the higher word count affects the YA readership....didn't seem to hurt Harry Potter.
I like your site! What a goldmine of information!
Beth Fehlbaum, author
Courage in Patience, a story of hope for those who have endured abuse
http://courageinpatience.blogspot.com
Chapter One is online!

[Shelli]

I've gotten the impression that YA can be shorter than adult fiction - around 60,000 words. It's been a while since I did this research, but my impression for adult literature was that agents wanted at least 75,000 words, if not more.