how long does my book need to be?

How long does my book need to be?

How long is a piece of string? I’ve worked on books with 100k+ words and on books with barely 20k words. When I write nonfiction books for, say, middle-school kids, I have to tell the whole story in 4k or 5k words (although images help).

So there’s no set length for a book, so switch off your word count. It’s irrelevant.

Only two things should dictate the length of your book: how much you have to say, and how much effort the reader will make to get the information they need. Even an audiobook gets wearing if it’s the same length as War & Peace (61 hours, 6 minutes).

A lot of people aim for around 50k words as a “good” length. The average length of business books currently seems to be a little lower, around 38k words.

The best rule of thumb is to say what you’ve got to say and then stop. Don’t pad your text to inflate the word count. Don’t leave out important points to keep your book thinner.

Write what you have to say as concisely as possible, but without sacrificing your distinctive voice, add whatever supporting evidence you need, and see where you’re at.

If you come in at much over 65k or 70k words, perhaps you’re being too ambitious. That’s getting a bit unwieldy. No problem. Split them, and think about writing two shorter books instead.  

That’ll make it easier for your reader – and ultimately for you.