As ghosts parade the midnight streets, numbers haunt your brain. It’s midnight and you’ve decided to take the plunge and join #NaNoWriMo2019.
First off, take a deep breath. You’ve accomplished the hardest step: overcoming your fear of starting something new. Congratulations!
Word Count For Your Book
During NaNoWriMo, writers challenges themselves to produce 50 000 words over the month of November. How many words you write a day is up to you.
One saying about the word count of a novel is: a story is as long as a piece of string.
You might think, “Well that’s great, but how long is my piece of string?”
Whether you’re a plotter or a pantser, or a mix of both (a plantser), knowing typical chapter and book lengths provides writers a guide during their writing process.
Word Count By Type of Book
Want general word counts by type of book publication? Keep in mind that individual publishers’ requirements vary. It’s best to stay within the publisher’s guidelines.
- Epic novel: 100 000 words and up
- Novel: 40 000 – 100 000 (ideally 80 000 – 90 000 for adult fiction)
- Novella: 10 000 – 60 000 (ideally 60 000 for young adult fiction)
- Novelette: 7500 – 17 000
- Short story: 1000 – 4000 (may be as long as 7500)
Daunted By Writing 50 000 Words?
50 000 words in one month works as an ideal target goal across many genres and book types. However, sitting down at a blank screen may feel more like flying to Mars than starting an exciting and achievable adventure.
You don’t have to do it alone. All month, you’ll find writing strategies and coaching points for NaNoWriMo to get you across that word count finish line both on the Your Author Strategy blog and on our Facebook Page.
Frequently interact with the posts by liking and commenting on the Facebook Page, and you’ll be invited into the private YAS Power Core group where Lesley provides even more tools for success.
Buddy With An Author
Looking to make connections into the #writingcommunity during NaNoWriMo? Here’s Lesley Donaldson’s profile page. She accepts Buddy requests from earnest writers who don’t write hateful, racist, or discriminatory material.