Word Count on publishing.co.uk — Professional KDP Book Formattinghttps://publishing.co.uk/tags/word-count/Recent content in Word Count on publishing.co.uk — Professional KDP Book FormattingHugoen-gbWed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000How Many Words in a Novel? Word Counts by Genre, and What Length Costs to Printhttps://publishing.co.uk/guides/how-many-words-in-a-novel/Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://publishing.co.uk/guides/how-many-words-in-a-novel/<p><strong>Short answer:</strong> most adult novels are <strong>70,000 to 120,000 words</strong>, and around <strong>90,000</strong> is a typical average, according to Jericho Writers&rsquo; guidance. Genre moves the range a lot, from 50,000 for category romance to 180,000 and beyond for epic fantasy. Formally, anything of <strong>40,000 words or more</strong> is a novel under the Nebula Awards rules.</p>