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A very common question I get relates to the
lengths of various fiction works. "I'm writing a novel--how long does it
need to be?" "How long is a short story?" It
is important to keep in mind that the lengths of various works are very
flexible, and vary with the publisher you are working with. Lengths will
also vary from genre to genre--in general a fantasy novel can get away with many
more pages than a romance.
With that in mind, though, there are certain benchmarks
for various works that seem to be fairly industry-standard. Here are the
generally accepted word counts for fiction works, from shortest to longest:
| Micro fiction |
under 100 |
| Flash fiction |
under 1000 |
| Short story |
1000 to 7500 |
| Novella, novellette |
7000 to 50,000 |
| Novel |
50,000 to approximately
150,000 |
| Epic |
over 150,000 |
Don't let this table be an absolute for
you--don't write based on this table. Write first, let your creativity be
your guide, then consult a word-count table to see exactly what it is you have
produced. Knowing what to call the piece you have written is the first
step in finding viable markets for it.
In general, you can assume roughly 250 words
per page, if you use a font like Courier at 12-point, double-spaced, with one
inch margins all around. Even in the electronic age, this is how most
publisher prefer to receive their manuscripts, so it is good practice. My
personal favorite font is Hewlett Packard's Dark Courier. Courier New
always prints like an old typewriter whose ribbon is half-empty. Dark
Courier is much darker and nicer to read. It is available for download
here.
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