Some of the most common questions people ask me are: “How long should my book be?”, “How many pages is a ‘proper’ book?” and “How thick should my book be?”
You’d think I’d get questions about how long it takes to write a book, but that’s not the usual question.
It can be really confusing to think about your wordcount when there are SO many different opinions on what a ‘proper’ book should be out there. Knowing what word count you’re aiming for can help you feel like you’re making progress, and also bolster you up on days when the writing seems endless. Books are big, long projects! Thousands of words take a long time to write.
And along the way, if you don’t have a wordcount to aim for, it can feel a little like being lost in a sea of words without a signpost to tell you you’re on the right track.
Let’s take a look at how many words are in a non-fiction book then.
I always get a little excited when people ask me this question. If you’ve been on a call with me you’ll know what I mean! And I usually need a stack of books to show you to explain these things, too. I like to wave them about, open them and point out their features, but I’ll do my best in words, and pop some pics below (and will make a video on exactly this next time I’m doing vids!):
The quick answer is: anything between 25,000 words and 80,000 words will make you a decent, ‘proper’, non-fiction book.
Any less than 25,000 and you’re starting to head into “long brochure” territory, and any longer than 80,000 and it’s too long to hold attention/be saleable.
Take a look at the pic below, of 3 books I’ve edited in the last 12 years. I always use these ones for this exercise, because they’re all so different.
The green book is 30,000 words, the blue one is 60,000 words, and the black one is 75,000 words. They’re all wildly different lengths, yet the green and blue are almost the same thickness and the black one is much thicker than both the others.
It’s also WILD how different word counts don’t automatically mean that the book is thinner or thicker. Layout can really affect how a book presents.
Things to think about that can have a HUGE impact on your book’s thickness:
- Font size and style
- White space (Eg: leaving half a page blank at the start of chapters, with the words starting halfway down the page)
- Graphic elements such as illustrations, symbols, or small glyphs to give interest, and
- Text boxes to highlight information so it’s easy for your reader to find
All of these can make your book take up more space, or less, depending on what you want them to do.
Here’s the inside of the 30,000 word book. Notice how it’s got a lot of white space, and the font is large and spaced out:
Here’s the inside of the 60,000 word book. The font is smaller, and the page margins are too, allowing more words per page:
And here’s the inside of the 75,000 word book. It’s got a lot of white space, and some pages where just a quote is laid out, for emphasis. That’s why this book is much thicker than the others:
As you can see, layout makes a MASSIVE difference to how your book looks and feels when you hold it in your hand.
So if you’re worrying about your word count, then never fear! Odds are that if you’ve got between 25,000 and 80,000 words, you’re in the ballpark to have a “proper book” when you finally hold it in your hand.
x Tamara
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