This is usually fine, because selling online eliminates the extra cost of wholesaling to a bookstore. POD also means that the page picture book is no longer mandatory!
For example, Createspace. Likewise, digital books can be any length you want. But if can make the case for it, it is possible. The page illustrated picture book made sense for years because the offset printing presses could accommodate huge sheets of paper that would hold 32 pages EXACTLY. The process made sense economically. The options are open. Offset printing: Much lower unit cost are possible if you stick to the page standard book.
The length is up to you. Page length is variable. But also, it leave me open to short-run offset printing for special orders where it makes sense to go for a smaller per unit cost.
The categories below middle grade are chapter book and early reader , and you can read about them in a different article. Middle Grade, even Early Middle Grade, beings at around 15, words minimum. But this does bring to light that there are all sorts of gray areas. Upper Middle Grade. Lower YA. How about this? And know that some agents do automatically reject manuscripts because of their length. Do you need help bringing your manuscript word count up or down into an acceptable range?
Great advice. I struggle with that as a reader. I mean, sure, they have to create an entirely different universe in some cases, that takes description, but, I do struggle with reading really long books, and usually end up skimming some of the descriptive narrative parts. Mary, you rock for answering this question with so much detail. You are full of wisdom. Lynn — Thanks for your kind words!
It really is a slog sometimes with the longer, more dense projects. I mean, fantasy and sci-fi and paranormal readers read to get lost in a fleshed-out world, but there has to be attention paid to pacing. ChristaCarol — Good for you!
I have to admit I was guilty of the long word count on my first and second draft. I heart word count limits for that very reason. Thanks for the list, Mary. As a prospective author, whenever the urge to get carried away with my manuscript hits, I have to remember my audience.
Would it be boring if read aloud? My left brain is so thrilled that you quantified this. Mary, This is SO helpful. We were actually just discussing this in my critique group last week. I think we writers sometimes obssess about how many words we should have vs how many should actually be there.
Great job pointing that out. And while I do know that there are exceptions to every rule, it is nice to at least have some suggested guidelines. Makes me feel good about my 31k MG. This is definitely informative. I had to email a friend in my critique group about it. I know that when it comes to YA no matter how much you love the book-if you find yourself skimming descriptions the book could probably do without them.
Most teenagers I know find a shorter book wayyyy more attractive than a longer book. Hi Mary! Thanks for this great post! Do you mind if I re-print a portion of this in my blog next week?
Thanks so much! Very helpful post Mary. I like how you went into the details but then broke it down to general word counts per genre. I thought it was interesting how you had some genres had different lengths even within the age ranges.
Great post. How would you define the genre of chapterbook? I totally get your point about revising and editing a longer piece…. Awesome post. Thank you. Shelley — Yes, those are great examples of chapterbooks.
Anything where the text is long enough to be broken up into chapters. Anita — 50, words is a pretty standard number for the average YA novel. Sci-fi does tend to run longer but there are no hard and fast rules. Thanks for your very helpful and timely post. I was hoping to get down to 84, What a great post, Mary. Thanks for the great post.
It is all great information and gives me more of an idea of around what one should shoot for in word counts in different genres. Very useful! Contrary to what you may have heard, not all picture books are or should be geared toward the youngest listeners. In fact, some of my STEM books—such as One Plastic Bag or Nine Months: Before a Baby is Born —continuously draw letters from grandparents and retired teachers who remark that they bought or pre-ordered a copy for themselves or as a gift for another adult in their lives.
My picture books have ranged from words to 1, words. Above all, picture books provide a visual format that is less intimidating than other formats, they appeal to visual learners or English Language Learners, and picture books offer higher success rates in terms of the number of students in a class who will be able to complete and engage with that book as opposed to longer novels.
When it comes to word counts and target ages for picture books especially nonfiction , I caution writers not to subscribe to hard and fast limitations. Word counts for chapter books and middle grade can range from 1,, or more.
Writing a picture book?
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