How many words does a 200-page book contain? Here is an important question for readers and authors. It’s also crucial for authors to know that books with quality writing and interesting stories perform much better in book stores.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a 200-page book or more. If readers enjoy your book, they won’t care about how cumbersome it is. J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter is an example.
Despite having seven books, which sums up to over a million pages, millions of people have read the entire book.
Alright, let’s focus on the main question.
How many words are in a 200-page book?
A 200-page novel should have between 50,000 to 60,000 words. That’s the total word count. This means if you’re someone that can read 300 words in a minute, then you’ll be done with a 200-page novel in 166 to 200 minutes.
Continue reading for more ideas on this topic!
Table of Contents
How Many Pages And Words Is Ideal For My Book?
The number of pages your book should have maybe or may not be an essential question depending on your point of view.
Most authors may even squash their book writing projects simply because they think that their book pages count or word count may be too small.
At the same time, some authors have less concern about word count. It does not matter if you extend the number of words and pages. Some genres of literature may demand you have a specific reach on the number of words. Take, for instance, a Novel.
Your book generally needs to count to the mark of 40,000 words before it can be considered a novel. However, this figure completely varies within the book publishing industry.
There are arguments that the perfect word count for a novel should be 80,000 to 90,000. But if you manage to reach 40,000 to 70,000, there’s nothing wrong with that.
For a book to be a novel, the word count should be 40.000 and above. Your book’s ideal number of pages and words is dependent on the genres of literature you chose. If your book is a novel, the ideal number of pages should be from 200. The number of words should be from 40.000.
Each publisher follows a standard when estimating page length. Some follow strict pages standard while others go by words.
However, the rule of thumb in book publishing is getting 60 percent of a manuscript page into one typeset page. Take, for instance, a manuscript being in 12-point type, double-spaced, preferably Times New Roman, with one-inch margins on an 8.5 × 11-inch document.
Another rule of thumb is that you can get 250 to 300 words on a typeset page. The estimation of the words will depend mainly on some factors. These include the typeface, the point size, the page’s trim size, and its physical size.
Ideally, a reference to a trade paperback is a 6×9-inch trim. A 55,000-word manuscript should be about 220 typeset pages, and a 100,000-word manuscript should be about 400 typeset pages.
Should Authors Care About Word Counts?
To some extent, minding the rules about word count might prevent some authors from expressing themselves when writing. But keep in mind that following the appropriate word count is just as important as the content itself.
However, following editorial guidelines, which often involves word count, may have a role to play in your book’s acceptance by the publishing house and its success on the market.
You need to adhere to rules and guidelines set by your proposed publishing house. Otherwise, your book might not get accepted. You can also use the help of a good editor to help trim your work to size without taking off the crucial points.
Another reason word count should matter to every author is their targeted audience. These include your readers, people that will buy your book and decide your next paycheck.
So, start considering your readers’ perspectives when writing. Readers searching for books at the bookstore do check whether a particular book’s length serves its needs.
For instance, readers looking for a self-help book don’t want to read a 600-page book. Some may prefer the shorter ones since they’re more direct to the point.
Reading a cumbersome book takes so much time. And by the way, many things are competing for the little time we have.
Students need to read and engage in other extracurricular activities. Parents, on the other hand, have to manage the home and make money. So, you can see that your proposed readers may not have as much time as you want them to.
Another thing that should make authors start paying attention to word count is the publishing cost of books. It would be better to make your book as concise and less-cumbersome as possible if you just started.
George R.R. Martin, J.R.R Tolkien, and even J.K Rowling have all made a name for themselves. They could sell their books at a premium and still make a profit.
Publishing house won’t also mind breaking the bank for these established authors. Their books bring in good returns, and they have evidence to prove that.
What Should A Novel’s Word Count Be?
We have discussed this subject in this post. But let’s make it very clear.
Many of the bestselling novels in book publishing history didn’t even hit 40,000 words. Examples of these bestselling books are Animal Farm by George Orwell, Charlie by Roald Dahl, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.
So, even though the industry claims that a book has to be 40,000 words, don’t fall for it. Your novel’s success is not based on its word count. Other factors play a crucial role.
A poorly written or boring 60,000-word novel would not record any sales. The book has to be interesting and meet the reader’s demand in terms of quality and uniqueness.
Book Word Count According To Its Genre
The following are the average book word counts in the top four genres in the book publishing industry. And it is, however, in no particular order.
Literary fiction or general fiction has 80,000 words:
Some traditionally published books can run from 80,000 words to 110,000 words or more. Anything more than that may be considered too long by book publishers.
In this case, you may need to take off some of the words in the content. But if you find it tiring, you can hire an editor to help get your book to the desired word count.
Check out some popular books in this genre.
- Jane Austin’ Sense and sensibility has 119,394 words
- Milan Kundera’s Unbearable Lightness of Being is 85,199 words
- Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon has 97,364 words.
- Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club has 91,419 words.
Science fiction and fantasy books have 110,000 words:
Books in this genre are generally longer than in other genres. And there are a lot of reasons for this general belief. But one major factor is the market demand.
Fantasy novels tend to run longer than 130,000 words.
Check out these two reasons:
- Fantasy novels come in series, and readers prefer a more extended narration of what will happen next in the story.
- Writing a decent fantasy or sci-fi book requires the presence of many explanations and longer words to be coherent enough for an average reader.
Young Adult books have 60,000 words:
Young Adult novels are, on average, expected to run from around 55,000 to 70,000 words. It’s important to note that it might be a little hard to pitch your manuscript to editors as a first-time author if your word count exceeds that number.
You could go as far as 100,000 words, but most of the time, only a few books that are more than 100,000 words get considered. It all boils down to the brilliance of the material and content.
Memoir Books Has 80,000 words:
The rule for a memoir book is that it should not exceed more than 80,000 words.
The 40,000 to 80,000-word memoir should be around 150-265 pages, a standard book-length for the genre.
Conclusion
The number of words in a 200-page book may differ depending on the book’s genres, typeset, sizes, and font used.
However, you should keep in mind the number of words in a book does not determine the book’s success. So, don’t limit yourself by word count when writing a book.
