1) How many words do you write a day?
I'm currently trying to write 2000 words a day, the first three days was easy and now I struggle a little hitting between 1200 - 1500
2) Are word counts really important when it comes to writing novels, of it would have to be substantial but could it really get you rejected? I have the word count for young adult novels range from 50k - 90k words.
Hi Michelle.
I agree with Antoinette that 50000 is the bottom line for a novel, but many publishers baulk at 100000 words for a standard novel. If you are writing family sagas or a fantasy series, then word counts can go over 150000 easily. (Next time you're in a book shop compare the genres and the book thicknesses.)
Established authors are sometimes prone to longer novels though. Following is a list of genres against word counts, but you needn't take this as a legal requirement. Remember that when you edit, you usually reduce the word count when you tighten the text up.
Good luck,
PabloJ.
Picture Books -200-500 words
Early Readers - 500-2000 words
Chapter Books - 5,000-10,000 words
Middle Grade - 25,000-45,000 words, most averaging 35k.
Young adult - 55,000-90,000 words
- YA contemporary tends to be on the shorter side, 60-70k
- YA fantasy, sci-fi, and paranormal tends to fall on the longer side due to world building, 70-90k
Adult - 70,000-115,000 words
- Romance - 85,000-100,000 words
- Cozy Mysteries - 70,000-85,000 words
- Mysteries, Horror, Crime - 75,000-95,000 words, most averaging 90k
- Sci-fi and Fantasy - 80,000-120,000 words, most averaging 100k-115k
- Literary and Women's Fiction - 80,000-100,000 words
Michelle, there are days when the words flow and days when they don't. Setting up a word target, when you are still learning the craft, can be counter-productive, because if you can't make the numbers every day, you could find yourself getting stressed out, or even run into a block.
How many hours do you spend writing? Some people who have full time work or families can't manage more than 2 hours, so a lower target would be more attainable, and anything more is a bonus.
What you write to start with isn't the end product by any means: there's a huge amount of editing between here and there. It's important to write every day; but part of that writing includes making notes, and doing your research. Every word matters, and they all count.
You need to aim for 50k; how you break that up is up to you.
Best of luck - keep writing those precious words!
The lowest word count for a novel is 50,000 words. The number of chapter shouldn't matter since they can be as long or short as you like. As for words per page I doubt there is a rule to follow.
The recommended word count per day is 1667, but it's okay if you can't hit it everyday or if you go well over it.
The only way I see you getting rejected due to word count is if you say it's a novel but it only has like 15,000 words.
Good luck in your writing.