How long should a nonfiction ebook be

Ive also seen some that are quite longas long as a fulllength book. A 1020 page ebook is a good length if your purpose is to use it as a bonus to web visitors when they optin and subscribe to your site or ezine. Within those 1015 pages, you must convince an agent, editor and publishing team that you and your book deserve a place on the shelf based on several key factors. However, the drop in the overall average length of bestsellers over the last 7 years points to a marked.

When writing a longer book that is aimed at 12yearolds and could maybe be considered tween, using the term upper middle grade is advisable. Interview on nonfiction book indexing with virginia c. To find out how long should a chapter be, we examined books from a wide variety of genres and eras. The graph shows the average length of the top 100 bestsellers in each of the 30 main amazon kindle categories, measured in terms of the number of pages. How to format an ebook for kindle in this free detailed guide, im going to show you how to format a book for kindle for fiction and nonfiction yes, there is a difference when it comes to formatting fiction and nonfiction, so you need to make sure you follow the right process for your genre. Im thinking of aiming for older children, i told her. What if, 30 days from now, you had a finished, wellcrafted ebook sitting on. I got a lot of questions about how long ebooks should be. Jun 07, 2017 in my opinion, if your nonfiction book is fewer than about 30,000 words 120 pages, it does not feel substantial enough to be real book. If youre giving your ebook away as an incentive for joining your email list, then.

This isnt to say that long books are no longer succeeding. Do you want to publish a wide format bookwith inspiring quotes down the side margins. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading how to write a nonfiction ebook in 21 days that readers love. In 2017, the downward trend has continued, with an average book length of 273 pages. Here are seven writing secrets ive learned over the past 10 years as ive written over a dozen books and ebooks. The average nonfiction book, if such a thing exists, runs about 50,000 words. Start writing days 525 this is where the bulk of your time will be spent. Im just saying that some things are more important than word counts. A good ebook introduction might go a bit like this, for example. Thats the level where publishers may suggest dividing a story into multiple volumes. If youre aiming for a 20,000 word ebook around 80100 pages, assuming youre including a few images then that breaks down to writing 1,000 words a day. However, there is also a famous saying that time is money, and the last thing i want to do when ive written my lovely new nonfiction ebook is to spend weeks trying to figure out how best to format it. That means your manuscript must be at least 3540,000 words long.

Ebook word count should also be accounted for when setting the price of an ebook. It was certainly one of the first to pass my lips when i met my editor to discuss my first childrens book. If the content is stepbystep and high quality, 15 pages is enough for a 99 cent kindle book or a freebie used for lead generation. A good example of overdelivering is money, master the game by tony robbins. How to make a living with your writing is my shortest nonfiction book at 27,000 words and looks fine in print. Book writing and publishing faq how long should my nonfiction book be. On the upper end, a novel over 110,000 words is considered an epic. How long should an intro be typically for a nonfiction book. In my opinion, these are 10 nonfiction books everyone should read. Have you ever considered writing a nonfiction book. In my free cheat sheet, i tell people not to worry about the length of their ebook when they are just starting. Thats reason for nonfiction writers to pausebut not for too long. Better to have solid, clear information than rambling to make a page count. When a tv show finishes act 1 which almost always happens just after something significant is revealed or an important question is raised, it goes to.

I was curious to the public reaction to shorter novels as they are not physically picking up a printed book in a bookstore and can assess the length of it before they part with cash. Yep, thats a sizeable commitment but, the tradeoff is. Mar 25, 2015 a good ebook introduction might go a bit like this, for example. If youre positioning your ebook as a premium product e. Nevertheless, you would be wise to come close to these suggested manuscript lengths. A good author must be part psychologist, part poet, part conversationalist, a powerful observer, and a talented weaver of wordsall rolled into one person. Its no easy task to decide to write a decentlength nonfiction ebook, much less glue your butt to a chair and act on your decision. If you choose to selfpublish, you have a choice to go long or short. And publishers are looking for more nonfiction authors to write ebook singles, which run anywhere from 20 to 100 pages in length. Generally, 50,000 would be considered the minimum word count, and ideally a novel should be over 70,000 words. Nonfiction books tend to follow that same word count expectation at least in print and traditional.

A nonfiction book attractive to publishers of bestsellers starts at around 75,000 words. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. I dont know what i can say to add to what has already been said. Book writing and publishing faq how long should my. An ebook, could be quite short3,000 wordsor as short as you can get away with. How to write a nonfiction ebook in 21 days that readers love. Minimum realistic word count of nonfiction book writing. This ebook will show you how to escape x and achieve y.

How to format your book for amazon kindle using microsoft. Length for print books mattered a lot, but what about ebooks. Titles of historical narrative nonfiction works are evocative but less personal than those of memoirs. Thanks morriss003, thats the kind of information i needed to know. Its for x type of person, working in x type of organisation, with aspirations to achieve y andor avoid being x.

In my opinion, if your nonfiction book is fewer than about 30,000 words 120 pages, it does not feel substantial enough to be real book. In fact, many printed books are turned into ebooks. On my blog, i encourage people to ask me all of their questions about ebooks. In 2011, the lists average length peaked at 467 pages. Oct 18, 2017 to find out how long should a chapter be, we examined books from a wide variety of genres and eras. In the past, amazon removed all books that were less than 2,500 words from the platform except for childrens books. If so, these books need to be the 7 x 9 trim size, and the slightly larger pages can hold 400 to 450 words per page.

But, most nonfiction publishers want to be sold the concept, and therefore be able to discuss the direction of the project, before you write the book. Chapter book this varies widely, depending on grade and reader level, usually starting at 4,000 words and 15,000 words max. The average nonfiction book is about 50,000 to 75,000 words, which is about 153 to 230 ebook pages. Your situation is like x today, and because of that, youre not achieving y. Nov, 2009 nonfiction picture book 3,000 words max, but closer to 1,000 to 2,000 words. Since 2011, the average length of a bestseller has dropped steadily from year to year. Nonfiction ebook pricing in the kindle store by joel friedlander on april 25, 2011 61 comments pricing of ebooks is a constant source of discussion online, and weve seen the rebellions in the kindle store when publishers were allowed to start setting their own prices last year. A minimum count for a nonfiction ebook is about 10,000 words, as long as. The average nonfiction book, if such a thing exists, runs about 50,000 to. Thats because they must educate the reader about the books subject matterwhich often is a littleknown eventand why the subject itself matters and why the approach is relevant. Sep 29, 2014 and publishers are looking for more nonfiction authors to write e book singles, which run anywhere from 20 to 100 pages in length. Sep 03, 2015 if you want to know how long your ebook should be, this video is for you. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading how to write a nonfiction ebook in 21 days. How to write an ebook for a b2b audience complete guide.

Author and writing coach debbie reber answers most frequently asked questions on nonfiction book writing. Chapters should be just long enough to serve a purpose and, once that purpose is served, cut off so a new chapter or ministory can begin. Long book length at the other end of the spectrum a book of 80,000 to 100,000 words has significant heft, 320400 pages. Then up pops lis sowerbutts book, the kindle nonfiction formatting guide. Thus, 100 pages 40,000 to 45,000 words and 200 pages yields 80,000 to 90,000 words for the main body of the text this excludes the. Nonfiction requires more thinking time from your reader, so you need to consider the role of your book. How long does an ebook need to be to be considered a real book. If a page is 500 words on an ipad, and 250 words on a kindle, it might be only 120 words on a phone. What is the ideal length for a nonfiction book proposal. Mar 03, 2015 chapters should be just long enough to serve a purpose and, once that purpose is served, cut off so a new chapter or ministory can begin. October 7, 2010 by david 4 comments a very common question among aspiring writers is related to how much they actually need to write before their nonfiction manuscript can be considered complete. I didnt know that ebooks were better off at a shorter length. Truth about dalits, caste system and untouchability. A minimum count for a nonfiction ebook is about 10,000 words, as long as the content is solid.

Middle grade is from 20,000 55,000, depending on the subject matter and age range, and the word count of these books has been trending up in recent years. When breath becomes air by paul kalanithi print ebook audiobook. Whether your goal is simply to be a published author in a certain niche or you want to publish a book to promote your overall freelance writing business, your book might need an index. If you want to know how long your ebook should be, this video is for you. The average nonfiction book, if such a thing exists, runs about 50,000 to 75,000 words, but this can vary depending upon category.

I was curious to the public reaction to shorter novels as they are not physically picking up a printed book in a bookstore and can. I dont know if the question is meant as a mentalstatistical exorcise. You can try to publish fiction or nonfiction on kindle thats less than 2,500 words, but its possible it may not be accepted. Here is what 187 words looks like in microsoft word. From these numbers, we can establish some guidelines. I dont think there are any hard and fast rules, but keep in mind that a digital book only gets about 10% put up in the sample, so you dont want. Apr 26, 20 author and writing coach debbie reber answers most frequently asked questions on nonfiction book writing. But depending on the ereading device and the font size setting, it varies significantly between a phone, a tablet, or a kindle.

Your guide to book word counts fiction and nonfiction. Book length varies according to genre, but a print nonfiction book length averages 50,000 words and commercial fiction. Know your content, know your mainline pitch and some. Secrets to developing the best title for your nonfiction book. Not counting your two to three sample chapters, your nonfiction book proposal should be no longer than 1015 pages. How to write a nonfiction ebook in 21 days that readers. In this free detailed guide, im going to show you how to format a book for kindle for fiction and nonfiction yes, there is a difference when it comes to formatting fiction and nonfiction, so you need to make sure you follow the right process for your genre. Apr 02, 2012 what is the ideal length for a nonfiction book proposal. By most peoples standards, 40,000 words would be pretty short for a novel. Amazon ebook page length by genre kindle page length. Less than 100 pages and it becomes difficult for a printer to print the title of the book on the spine. How to write a highquality ebook in 30 days copyblogger. Obviously, my point is not that you should submit a first book of anywhere near 200,000 words.

Here is what kristen eckstein from the book ninja had to say about how long your kindle book should be. Personally, i recommend at least 10,000 words for nonfiction, unless you can do it justice in. It used to be that a real book especially a business book had some very definite characteristics that made it real. Amazon estimates a page count in an ebook to be around 187 words. A common question i get is how long should my book be. If you stick to these when youre writing your nonfiction book, youll be fine.

If your ebook is short, best practice is to indicate the word count or page. It should contain at least 200 pages, start with a story, contain at least 12 chapters, and have at least one third party story per chapter. Missing words surprisingly common, and often hard to spot when youre. You definitely dont need to write the equivalent of the 300,000 word novel that you might pick up when youre going on holiday. In 2016s list, ron chernows 816page alexander hamilton managed to crack the top spot. Nonfiction picture book 3,000 words max, but closer to 1,000 to 2,000 words. The average nonfiction book, if such a thing exists, runs about. The length of the book isnt necessarily as relevant as the content. These are the pillar books that have helped shape my thinking and approach to life.