WORD COUNT GUIDE FOR WRITERS

You did your research. You know the Genre for your story; planned the very important “opening sentence”; know your characters flaws and talents, and plotted the entire story by outlining each segment, as suggested by professional authors.  One of the decisions to make is the word count usually required for your Genre. There is a guide for each genre, and it is listed below:  

QUESTION:   What is average word count of the following?

            Mystery- 60,000 to 80,000 words

            Thriller- 90,000 to 120,000 words

            Young adult novel- 25,000 to 60,000 words

            Business/How to- 50,000 to 70,000 words

            Novella- 25,000 to 40,000 words

            Sci-fi novel- 80,000 to 120,000 words

            Memoir- 50,000 to 90,000 words

            Middle Grade- 20,000 to 50,000

            Picture book for children  500 to 600 words

QUESTION:   What is standard for a typewritten page?

            250 words per page, double spaced.

QUESTION: What is average word count for a high school or College Essay?

            400 to 700 words. This is about five paragraphs

This information came from one of the issues of Writer’s Digest. .If you have not discovered this wonderful magazine, give it a try.  Good Luck!

Paula