Middle grade book word count

While anything over 40,000 words can fall into the novel category, 50,000 is considered the minimum novel length. Up to 6070k is probably safe though there are even longer exceptions. Fiction queries and sample pages for middlegrade novels for children up to age 12. Middle grade fiction will generally be shorter than ya fiction, but again, there are exceptions. Submission guidelines for unrepresented authors albert. Chapter books would be on the lower end, while upper middle grade would be fine in the. Short bio mentioning previous publications or other background information relevant to your story. Middle grade word count is typically 20,000 to 55,000. I have found the website dogobooks to be the most useful place to check the word count of popular books for kids.

This is part one in my middle grade fiction series. 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 middlegrade books meant for older readers may even slightly exceed 55,000 words. Hatchet with 41,672 words and holes with 46,554 words are ideal. When completed, your middlegrade masterpiece needs to be somewhere between 20,000 and 60,000 words. I know that this is considered long but i really cant cut anything, it is all integral to the story. So childrens book manuscript chapter length is a big question that ive received many times about all sorts of childrens books that have chapters. 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. 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. I just finished my first middle grade novel and, for a good while, i thought it was a young adult work. 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. For most publishers, a book is novellength when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words. Future installments will include information and statistics on word count, point of view, tense, and debut vs.

Five lessons i learned writing my first middle grade novel. For example, atonement has a word count of 123,378 and my utility comes up with 110,765 words. Writing middle grade a look at the numbers hannah holt. 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. Sep 18, 2017 the highest word count was 115,000, the lowest was 47,000, and the average was 75,000. Chapter book this varies widely, depending on grade and reader level, usually starting at 4,000 words and 15,000 words max. For more information on word counts for childrens book, check out this post. 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 by hawthorn mineart, under books, writing.

The author selling the most copies was a scholastic author published only in softcover hello, scholastic school market. The key differences between middle grade vs young adult. 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. Most land within the pretty massive range of 45,000 to 85,000.

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. When completed, your middle grade masterpiece needs to be somewhere between 20,000 and 60,000 words. I had when i first started writing middle grade was about word count. Chapter books would be on the lower end, while upper middle grade would be fine in the upper range.

Still in doubt about a desirable word count for your novel. Realize it over the maximum word count for erotic, science fictionfantasy genre. Nov, 2009 nonfiction picture book 3,000 words max, but closer to 1,000 to 2,000 words. Obviously, the examples under each category are above and below what is generally accepted.

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. The word count range for middle grade is 20,000 to 60,000. Review this list of popular examples to help you get a better understanding of the middle grade book genre. Word count picture book, middle grade, ya lisa lewis tyre. Middlegrade novels are generally 20,000 to 55,000 words. Sharp objects has a word count of 80,565 and my utility calculates it at 80,7. 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. Rather than sticking too rigidly to word count, its best to strive for a manuscript in which the function and the format work together.

Middle grade fiction is generally 30,00050,000 words though fantasy can run longer to allow for adequate worldbuilding. Should i try to reach a certain number before i submit my novel. Word count for famous novels, in ascending order by number of words. Typically age 10 for a younger mg novel, and up to age for older, more complex books. Others think that a book shouldnt exceed a particular page count or word count.

Aug 05, 2019 for most publishers, a book is novellength when its between 50,000 and 110,000 words. Sure, some days youll write more words per hour than others. So that usually includes everything from chapter books, to middle grade, to young adult novels. 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. Books in the middle grade genre are often 2040,000 words in length. Nonfiction picture book 3,000 words max, but closer to 1,000 to 2,000 words. Childrens chapter books word count age 69 word count. There are also some subgenres that have slightly different conventions. Anything longer can be difficult for a younger audience to consume and retain all of the information. For average word counts based on genre, see this handy reference. Maybe try to see if you can shave another 10,000 off. Middle grade book genre complete list of book genres. No profanity, graphic violence or sexuality romance, if any, is limited to a crush or a first kiss. Young adult fiction allows for a lot of flexibility in word count.

Writing a middlegrade masterpiece a childrens book editor. Picture book word count, and other rules that are meant to. Writing chapter books a look at the numbers hannah holt. The actual word count for the hunger games is 99,750 and my utility calculates 94,743 words. Based on this list compiled by nicole humphrey cook. Make a list of 15 recently published comparative titles. 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. How to write a middle grade novel childrens book editor. Literary agent paula munier says a 90,000 word count is the sweet spot for debut fiction. But then i did a lot of research to try and distinguish between the two juvenile categories.

The word count at big five publishers had a slightly narrower range. Lets start with middle grade since thats what i write. With fun, lighthearted, simple middle grade youll want to stay around the 20k30k word count range. Search for word count totals in books word counters. Its so off that an agent will see the word count and stop reading your query. Query letter in body of email should include the following. While you might want to have that gritty character in your uppermg novel drop a few fourletter words, doing so will hurt book sales. Collecting comp titles will prove useful to you throughout your novels journeyespecially later, when trying to market your book. Im not sure if im pushing the word count over, been trying cut back the word count. My book is just over 98,000 words and is a ya paranormal romance. Everything you need to know about novel word counts nathan.

An introduction to middle grade and young adult fiction. When it comes to word count, middle grade fiction ranges anywhere from 20k to 5060k. 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. A book like harry potter and the sorcerers stone, with 78,792 words, is higher than recommended, but with any genre, there are exceptions. The average mean word count was about 53,000 words. The word count range for each age level is only a guideline. Whether your book is considered chapter book or upper middle grade will depend on the age of your characters, and the subject matter. Upper middle grade can hit in the 50k word count range possibly longer, if its something really special. Anything over 110,000 words is considered too long for a fiction novel. 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. But overall, heres my own rough stab at word counts by genre. Middlegrade books are best if kept between 20,000 and 55,000 words in order to maintain the attention of readers this age.

Neither too long nor too short, this book length signals a novelists competency and knowledge of the publishing market to prospective agents and editors. Upper middle grade novels can have a higher word count, and will be read by children aged 10 to years old. How to write middle grade fiction mary kole editorial. Focus on friends, family and the characters immediate world and relationship to it. How not to write middle grade fiction by jackie minniti anaiah. May 15, 2019 are you ready to write a middle grade novel. In this article we will explore how to write middle grade fiction and why this childrens book format is flourishing today.

Middle grade is the space between chapter books and teen fare, says liz szabla. There will likely be a subplot or two that help to carry the story in a substantial way. So should i stay with this word count, or try to bring the word count down. These are books that resemble young adult in matter and storytelling, but still. Longer word counts allowed for fantasy, scifi, historical. With this in mind, i decided to take a quick survey of popular middle grade fiction and its page count. Most of them wouldnt even pick up a fat book, so keep your word count between 30,000 and 60,000 words. 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. Jun 27, 2019 how many words should a middle grade novel be. Most middle grade novels are between 40,000 and 69,000 words long. 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. Themes may be a bit more complex, or pg or pg rated. That gives us a rough range of 61,00089,000 words, with about 3 out of 4 queried ya books falling into that range. Fiction queries and sample pages for middle grade novels for children up to age 12.

With upper middle grade, you can aim for 40,000 55,000 words. Middle grade is for middle school ages, 10, young adult is high school, 1418, and adult is everything after, 19 and up. Middle grade novels are generally 20,000 to 55,000 words. These books fall in very similar word count ranges to young adult books. Neither of those book series held anywhere close to the word count youre talking about for ya.

Word count for famous novels organized commonplace book. 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. My middle grade novel is complete at 250,000 words, and have five sequels planned which will each be approximately the same length. 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. 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. When i started writing three years ago, the mg word count i kept hearing was no more than 30,000 words. Dec, 2014 that means book length is between 80 pages for lower middle grade and 220 pages for upper middle grade fiction. Ya is often read by middle grade aged tweens and early teens. Jennifer jensen says that ya novels generally run 40,00075,000 words, but youll find books on either side of that. How long does it take to write a middle grade novel.

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. Board books are those tough little things you give to the smallest of readers. Heres a general guideline i sometimes use for fiction board books for babies and toddlers to picture books for upper elementary and middlegrade learners. The word middle is particularly apt in some publishers interpretations of the middle grade book. That means book length is between 80 pages for lower middle grade and 220 pages for upper middle grade fiction. The authors had sold between 10 copies and 2 million copies of their chapter books. Hours per day x average words per hour x days total word count. My middle grade novel is hovering around 70,000 words or 270 pages. To get a book, kids first go through a parent, a teacher or a librarian. Many, yes, but there are exceptions due to the layout and font size of a particular book.