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Last updated on Feb 07, 2023

How Long is a Short Story or Novella? (Updated for 2024)

In book publishing, the average length of a novel will be influenced by its genre (sci-fi epics are much longer than romance novels, for example). Those averages are a reflection of publishing norms rather than any hard-and-fast rule. But with novellas, novelettes, short stories, word counts are crucial as they’re the only defining features of these formats. 

In this post, we’ll show you how long a novella , novelette, and short story are — and reveal the word counts for popular examples of all three. But if all you're after is a quick answer, here they are:

  • Novella : 17,500 – 40,000 words
  • Novelette : 7,700 – 17,500 words
  • Short Story: Less than 7,500 words

Why is word count so important?

‘Too long’ and ‘too short’ are rarely criticisms of a story's length but a comment on how well-written the piece is. There are 150,000-word epics that readers will effortlessly breeze through, and we’ve certainly read our fair share of short stories that seemingly drag on forever. 

In writing a story, recommended word counts only really come into play when you’re weighing up your publishing options. For example, literary magazines typically have strict limits to the length of short stories they will print. After all, they have a limited number of pages for each issue (and their editors only have so many hours in the week to edit manuscripts).

Publishers can be fussy about word count

Novellas are usually sold at a lower price point than novels. This (combined with the fact that a 30,000-word book and an 80,000-word one cost roughly the same to edit, design, and market) means that editors at major presses are generally reluctant to take on novellas — and even less likely to seek out novelettes. The exception, of course, would be those written by established writers with an existing readership. For this reason, authors with traditional publishing aspirations are often discouraged from putting all their eggs in the novella basket.

In the world of indie publishing , where readers overwhelmingly buy ebooks, the distinction between a novel and novella , for example, is less crucial. As prospective readers can’t see how thick the spine of your book is, you don’t really have to label it as a novel, novella, or novelette.

In the next few sections, we’ll dash through the generally-accepted word counts for novellas, novelettes, and short stories.

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How long is a novella?

A novella is a work of fiction with a word count between 17,500 words and 40,000 words. This range is commonly cited by literary organizations such as the Hugo and Nebula awards — both of which celebrate novellas in the science fiction genre (as well as fantasy, in the case of the Nebulas.

How long is a novelette?

A novelette is a work of fiction with a word count between 7,500 and 17,500 words. This range is also cited by the Hugo and Nebula awards criteria.

Many prominent works into this category were initially published in magazines of the late 19th and early 20th century. Perhaps considered short stories at the time, the most popular examples have since been reclassified and re-published as standalone books.

How long is a short story?

A short story is a work of fiction with fewer than 10,000 words. This word-count ceiling is somewhat fuzzy, however, with many major writing prize s and magazines requesting submissions of no more than 7,500 words.

In addition, there are subsets of short stories with even more restrictive word counts. For example, works under 1,500 words are commonly considered flash fiction .

Pro-tip: Interested in writing short stories? We recommend taking this free 10-day course taught by professional editor Laura Mae Isaacman. 

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How to Craft a Killer Short Story

From pacing to character development, master the elements of short fiction.

Examples: How many words are in popular short stories, novelettes, and novellas?

Word count is merely a number. Many shorter works of fiction have made a cultural impact that far exceeds their modest length. In the sections below, we’ll reveal the number of words that make up some of the most popular books of all time. 

Note: the listed word counts are approximate. In addition, there is also some debate around which category a few of the books belong to. As you’ll find out when you do your own research, what constitutes a short story, novelette or novella is not always cut-and-dry.

🏚️ The Fall of the House of Ushe r by Edgar Allan Poe (11,000 words)

👹 The Call Of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft (12,000 words)

🌕 The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (17,000 words)

🗡️ The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (17,000 words)

🪲 The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (21,000 words)

💍 Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote (26,000 words)

👻 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (28,000 words)

🐁 Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (29,000 words)

🐖 Animal Farm by George Orwell (30,000 words)

🚣‍♂️ Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (38,000 words)

Short stories

🐘  “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway (1,500 words)

🎟️  “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson (3,000 words)

🐑  “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl (4,000 words)

🗣️  “Woman Hollering Creek” by Sandra Cisneros (4,500 words)

💧  “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston (4,700 words)

🏊  “The Swimmer” by John Cheever (5,000 words)

🌼  “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (6,000 words)

👱🏼  “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor (6,500 words)

📍 “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates (7,000 words)

🐈  “Cat Person” by Kristen Roupenian (7,000 words)

🌎  “The Third and Final Continent” by Jhumpa Lahiri (7,700 words)

👒  “The Husband Stitch” by Carmen Maria Machado (8,000 words)

And there you have it — the long and short of how long and short these three types of story should be!

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Word Counts: Short Stories, Novellas and Novelettes Length

Short story length | novella word count | word counts, last updated on: may 31, 2022, why does word count matter, what is microfiction, what is a short story, what are the characteristics of a short story, what are some famous short stories, what is a novelette, what are the characteristics of a novelette, what are examples of famous novelettes, what is a novella, what are the characteristics of a novella, what are examples of famous novellas.

Book publishing follows hard-and-fast rules when it comes to word count. Thrillers often range from 70,000 to 90,000 words while science fiction and fantasy can range from 90,000 to 120,000 words. But what happens when the story you are writing isn’t quite long enough to fill a novel? Never fear! Short fiction has a place in the literary world as well. The four most common forms of short fiction are microfiction, short stories, novelettes, and novellas.

This article will discuss what categorizes all four forms of fiction, but at a quick glance these can be divided by word count.

Microfiction: 5–300 words

Short story: 1,000–7,500 words

Novelette: 7,500–19,000 words

Novella: 17,500–40,000 words

It seems silly to be stuck within a certain word count. After all, isn’t the content of the book what matters? Yes, to an extent. But word count matters, too. After all, a novel that’s too short may be lacking in appropriate description, while one that’s too long may be guilty of going off on too many tangents. But there are other reasons word count matters, too.

Shorter novels are more marketable

Have you ever picked up a book and thought, “800 pages? No way!” Readers have to want to read a book, and they have to feel like they can get through a book. A book that’s too long may be too daunting for a reader to pick up. Book publishers and literary agents know this and will be hesitant to pick up manuscripts that are too long.

Longer novels are more expensive to print

At the end of the day, book publishing is a business designed to make money. The longer a book, the more expensive it is to print. Book publishers know how many pages they can afford to print, and will likely turn down books that go far over this length unless they feel confident that the book will be a blockbuster.

Short novels sell for less money

Just as publishers don’t want to pay too much to print a book, they also know that shorter books carry a lower price point. Novellas and full-length novels cost roughly the same to produce, which means that novellas require the same amount of money to be spent to earn less. Publishers know this and want to maximize profit. This is why publishers rarely take on novelettes or short stories. Instead, these fall to the world of indie publishing, where such stories are typically published as eBooks, which has less price disparity.

Literary magazines have length limits

Most short stories do not get published as stand-alone books unless they are part of a collection. Instead, they get published in literary magazines, which have strict limits on the length stories can run. Remember that magazines don’t have an unlimited number of pages. They must fit stories within the pages and columns allotted for a given story.

Audiences expect a certain word count

Most readers have preferred book genres, and within those genres they know what to expect. This is true of novellas, novelettes, and short stories as well. Subverting audience expectations can sometimes be a surefire way to turn readers off.

Microfiction is a form of storytelling that employs an incredibly limited word count—often between 50 and 300 words, though even that is sometimes too many words. They key to microfiction is ensuring that every single word counts. With such limited space, there is no room for extraneous details. Take a look, for example, at the story below by Joyce Carol Oates entitled Widow’s First Year .

I kept myself alive.

That’s it. The entirely of the story fits in four words. And by themselves, they don’t offer much. But taken in the context of the story’s title, those four words encompass a world of emotion and tell us all we need to know.

Of course, microfiction isn’t typically this short and there is often a bit more plot involved. But at the end of the day, good microfiction strives to accomplish the same as the story by Joyce Carol Oates: it strives to give us plot, emotion, and a satisfying conclusion . . . in under 300 words.

A short story is a piece of prose fiction measuring between 1,000 and 7,500 hundred words. Short stories are meant to be read in one sitting, often taking between 15 minutes and an hour to read.

Simple setting

Short stories are typically limited to a single setting. Character do not move from place to place, but rather stay put for the entirely of the story.

Minimal characters

Short stories typically contain one two main characters, neither of whom has a rich backstory. Although not flat, the reader never learns much about these characters other than that which his relevant to the moment at hand.

Single plot

Short stories do not have time to meander or introduce subplots. They stay firmly focused on one plotline, seeing it through from beginning to end.

Ambiguous endings

Short stories are moment in time. They are piece of a larger story. As such, it is not uncommon for them to end on an ambiguous note, leaving the reader to wonder what will happen next. These types of unresolved endings leave readers thinking about a short story long after they are done reading it.

The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe contains a mere 2,093 words.

The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry contains approximately 2,200 words.

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson contains 3,775 words.

A novelette is piece of prose fiction typically falling between 7,500 and 19,000 words. These books contain full stories, featuring a solid beginning, middle, and end. Though shorter than full novels, novelettes are fully capable of standing on their own in terms of depth and complexity of storytelling. 

Sentimental themes

Novelettes tend to focus on character development and world building, with a focus on whimsical or sentimental themes. It is not uncommon for novelettes to have an element of romance.

Rather than including many characters, novelettes tend to focus on a single character and offer richer character development against that one protagonist.

One central plotline

Rarely do novelettes include side stories. Instead, their minimal word count requires a strict focus on the main plotline to tell the full tale.

The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe, a classic in the world of gothic horror, measures a mere 11,165 words.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, a classic story in its own right, comes in at 16,534 words.

A novella is typically considered to be a short novel, often falling between 17,500 and 40,000 words. 

Novellas are meant to be read in a single sitting. In order to facilitate this and encourage readers to keep reading, novellas are rarely broken into chapters, but rather feature white space as section breaks where chapter breaks would typically go. 

Pro Tip: Just because novellas don’t usually use chapter breaks doesn’t mean that they can’t. Some novellas, such as George Orwell’s Animal Farm are in fact broken into chapters.

Novellas can cover any variety of genres, and are characterized less by their content than by their word count.

Single conflict

Novellas tell full, complex stories, but often involve less conflict than would be found in a full novel. Instead, they focus on a single central plotline. In order to maintain the straightforward momentum of the story, novellas rarely include subplots or multiple points of view.

Heavy focus on one character

While novellas may include secondary characters, the primary focus of a novella will always be on the main character. Novellas do not have time to focus on the character development of side characters or dig into the backstories of any characters other than the protagonist. As a result, the protagonist ends up feeling elevated while all other characters fall to the background.

While novels may meander and go off in a million different directions, novellas do not have time to do so. A novella’s singular focus on a single conflict often results in a fast-paced story that moves quickly through the action. The exclusion of subplots leads to an increased feeling of urgency across the entire novella.

Plot twists

Novellas don’t have time to dig too deeply into a character’s backstory or truly develop sympathetic characters that readers can root for, but they still need to keep a reader’s attention in some way. The most common way novellas do this is with the infusion of plot twists intended to keep a reader guessing from start to finish. These high-impact moments keep a reader turning the pages until they reach the end.

Because novellas can extend up to 40,000 words, readers often consider them the same as novels, which is why it may come as a surprise to find that some of the following works of literature are actually novellas:

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad clocks in at 38,000 words.

Arguably one of the most famous examples of gothic horror, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson clocks in at 25,497 words.

A political satire, Animal Farm by George Orwell measures a mere 29,966 words. 

Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King contains approximately 38,000 words.

Often considered one his most recognizable works, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens actually contains only 28,500 words. As a point of comparison, his full-length novel A Tale of Two Cities contains 146,000 words while Great Expectations contains 183,000 words. It is interesting to note that Great Expectations was initially released in installments of roughly 18,500 words apiece—novellas unto themselves, although incomplete.

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How Long Is A Short Story? The Perfect Length For Short Stories

  • March 28, 2022

One thing that authors need to keep in mind when writing a story is word count. While you can technically write your story to be any length, keeping the pace of a story includes some planning.

Short stories have word counts with a fairly large range and are great when packed together in a collection or as stand-alone publications to help get your foot in the door when you begin writing.

Short story writing is not just for new authors. Some of the best-known, best-selling authors are known for their short stories. Jackson, London, King, Poe, and many others successfully mastered the art of the short story.

Short stories are also fun to read. You can get all of the essential elements and excitement that you would get from a novel in a bite-size story that you can usually read in one sitting. But how long is a short story? Are there hard and fast rules concerning short story word counts?

These questions and more will be answered in this article.

All the Stories

There are many classifications of stories based upon word count. While there aren’t exactly iron-clad rules regarding word count to qualify as a short story, there are general guidelines that every writer should know and keep in mind as they begin the writing process.

Word count in micro fiction

Micro fiction stories are stories that are less than 100 words. While this may sound impossible, there are some examples of this craft. Commonly credited to  Hemingway , there is a six-word story that simply goes, “For Sale: Baby shoes. Never worn.”

This simple story invokes an emotional reaction for most readers because we can only guess why the shoes are for sale and why they have never been worn, but the common perception of the point of this story is quite the melancholy one.

The story attached to its creation is that Hemingway placed a bet that he could write a six word story, and “Baby Shoes” was the product of that bet. Another that many people have heard goes like this, “The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door.”

A short story can pack a big punch and usually leave the reader more unsettled than stories with higher word counts because an incredibly short story packs a punch in very few words. With no real explanation, they end, leaving the reader curious.

how long is a short story, short story lengths, short story writers

Word count in flash fiction

Flash fiction is classified as a short work of fiction with a word count of under 1000 words. Another Hemingway, “A Very Short Story,” is told in under 700 words and, much like his famous six-word story, provides us with an example of being able to evoke an emotional response with very few words.

For example, In this flash fiction story, two characters, a soldier and a nurse fall in love when the soldier is injured. They vow to get married, and he goes home to the States to get a job and be able to make a life for the woman he loves.

She stays behind to wait for him to have resources for marriage. She has an affair in that time apart, and she is duped into thinking that the man she cheated with is in love with her and will marry her. The story ends with both the nurse and the soldier incredibly unhappy and apart.

With the right flash fiction prompts to inspire you, flash fiction may be a great start to write a short story.

How Many Words is a Short Story?

So, that brings us again to the question: How long is a short story?

The general rule for a word count on short stories is anything over 1000 words and under 10,000 words. While there is a lot of cushion here, many short stories range somewhere in the middle of these parameters in terms of their word count.

A short story tends to have more description than its micro fiction and flash fiction counterpart. If you write a short story, you want to give enough information and background to your reader so that they invest in the characters and the situation without dragging the plot out. 

A short story tends to get to the point fairly quickly after a bit of background has been established, and they move at a much faster pace than a novel does.

Writing short stories can be challenging because you can have a great idea but have just a limited amount of space in which to tell the story behind that idea. 

You have to address the subject matter fairly quickly into the story and can’t dawdle on the setup, introduction of the main character, character development , or the interactions of multiple characters. 10,000 words may seem like a lot, but it’s really not when you’re tasked with writing an entire story so that it will engage an audience.

How Long Is a Short Story in Pages ?

A short story has an estimated length of 3 to 30 pages. This range varies depending on the word count, font size and style, margins, line spacing, and insertion of visual elements like pictures, illustrations, tables, graphs, and the like.

As mentioned above, the average word count of a short story is 1,000 to 10,000 words. Short story length matters in certain circumstances. Having 3 to 30 pages for the mentioned word count range is advisable, especially if you want to publish your work in a literary magazine.

It would be best to talk to your publisher about their conventions on how many pages you need to deliver when publishing a short story since different publishers may have their own sets of standards and rules.

Do Short Stories Have Chapters?

A short story does not have chapters because it is so short. It may contain scene transitions and breaks to signify a new setting, show a different scene, or indicate that time has passed.

These transitions depend on where they make sense in a short story. A scene transition may appear before the climax or whatever part the author feels that shifting or pausing is possible when writing short stories.

Chapters are however, used to divide parts of novellas and novels as they are longer and the pause allows the reader to stop at each chapter’s end to rest and process what has taken place in the story so far. Often, a reader can finish reading a short story within one sitting, so they don’t require chapter breaks, where as this is not always possible with novels.

Bite-Sized Classics

Many of our favorite classic stories are actually short stories.

Many established writers are also masters of writing a short story. While many of them included their most famous short stories in short story collections, there is very little debate that a great short story can be read in one sitting and is just as enjoyable as longer works of fiction. 

The following are some examples of some short stories that have lived on in the hearts and minds of the reader and nearly everyone has heard of. While some of these are longer short stories than others, and most of them were included in collections, they are each also a great short story as a stand-alone.

  • Edgar Allen Poe: A Tell-Tale Heart (2100 words)
  • Stephen King: Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption
  • Katherine Mansfield: The Garden Party (5555 words)
  • Shirley Jackson: The Lottery (3775 words)
  • Jack London: To Build a Fire (7175 words)

The novella fits snugly between the short story and the novel. The length of a novella can have a word count that is typically anywhere between 10,000 and 40,000 words. Anything above 40,000 words is considered a novel.

Joyce Carol Oates is a well-known suspense author who wrote the novella “Beasts.” In this story, a female student becomes inappropriately obsessed with her English professor, throws caution to the wind, and engages in illicit and strange behavior with both the professor and his wife.

A tale of suspense, this is just one example of a great novella that pulls the readers in and gives them a lot of chaos and suspense in fewer words and space than a full-length novel. Oates has also written novella collections .

Word counts matter less with novels than they do with short stories and other short fiction pieces. Word counts can be a little elastic when it comes to novels, although the standard rule of thumb is that a novel is ideally between 50,000 and 100,000 words.

There are, however, standard practices that work best as far as word count and book genres go.

Romance novels are usually fun and quick reads without a lot of depth to them. In other words, when you read a romance, you’re not there for a lot of interesting backstory.

You’re there for the rush you feel when the main character falls in love and for the thrill of the story in general.

You fall in love with the story because it’s like the whirlwind romance: fun, quick, and largely superficial. Most romance novels are right at the minimum 50,000 word count.

how long is a short story

Thriller/Suspense

These are typically longer written novels. Usually coming in at around 70,000 words, thrillers, mysteries , and suspense stories typically take a little longer to build up, and writers often like to take their time with such genres.

Shirley Jackson, an author who is considered a master storyteller, wrote what is considered by many to be her masterpiece, the mystery novel ‘ We Have Always Lived in the Castle ,’ in under 50,000 words. It came in at the minimum end of what is considered to be the range for a novel, but it is so excellently written that it doesn’t matter to most readers or book critics.

Shirley Jackson was a master of the novel, novella, and short story and remains the inspiration for some of today’s best writers.

Science Fiction

The science fiction novel is often on the upper end of the scale when it comes to the number of words. Because there are often whole worlds being introduced to the reader in a sci-fi novel, the author needs more space in which to set and build the scene and explain things like technology, weapons, society, etc.

A sci-fi novel usually stretches from between 90,000 and 120,000 words. Again, this is not a hard set rule, as most of Kurt Vonnegut’s books, most of which had heavy sci-fi themes, were much shorter.

“ Cat’s Cradle ,” one of Vonnegut’s better-known novels, is satiric sci-fi and is barely over 50,000 words.

Short Story Collections

While a good short story can stand alone, they are often included in collections so that a writer can publish several of them at once. Many short story writers have the first draft of their stories published in magazines, such as Edgar Allen Poe and Stephen King.

After they have enough short stories to include in a collection, a selection is made, and a book of short stories is produced.

King has released several collections and has claimed that he plans to write short stories for the rest of his career, although he is known as the master of the horror novel. Something about the short story challenges him, and he enjoys it immensely.

He has found so much success in his shorter works that many of them have been made into films.

Sometimes after a writer dies, their short stories are gathered and published as a collection. This is true of both Poe and Shirley Jackson. Vonnegut is another whose unpublished work were collected and published in one book after his death.

Do Word Counts Really Matter?

There are certainly circumstances in which word counts don’t matter. Word counts for non-fiction are often dependent upon the subject matter. The average short story can have words that vary by a margin of over 60,000 words.

Counting words shouldn’t get in the way of your writing short stories. But you should remain cognizant of them when you write a short story to know what sort of finished product you’re going to have.

You may start low and slow with flash fiction as you work your way up to bigger writing projects. Don’t get pressured with how many pages or words you need to churn out.

Short stories tend to be a bit of a challenge when you want to incorporate so much in your work. Press on and just keep writing and let your creativity take over. Soon, you will have a literary masterpiece in your hands.

2 thoughts on “How Long Is A Short Story? The Perfect Length For Short Stories”

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Your comment on SS’s is spot on thank you it provided the guidence I needed thank you. Good job.

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Thanks for making this information available to the public. This has really helped to answer the very questions that has been bothering me for some time. Thanks ever so much.

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How Long Should A Short Story Be?

How long can a story be before it’s no longer a short story ?

Or what’s the maximum short story length for flash fiction?

If you’re a fiction writer, you’re already familiar with the distinction between short stories, novellas, and novels.

But now that short stories themselves have sub-species of different lengths, how do you know which is which?

Do those stories you see in your Twitter feed from fellow writers qualify as short stories?

In other words, if there’s a maximum length for a short story , is there also a minimum one?

What is a short story?

How long is a novel, how long is a novella, how long is a novelette, how long can a short story be, how long is a flash fiction story, how to write dialogue in your novel or story, how is marketing different for short stories, how many pages are a short story, is 2000 words enough for a short story, what qualifies as a short story, is 500 words enough for a short story, ready to write your short story.

What makes a story a short story — as opposed to a random thought (at the short end of the spectrum) or a novelette?

The length of a short story isn’t its only defining characteristic, but it’s a decisive one. Most short stories stop at around 7,500 words, though there’s some wiggle room.

As for minimum length, stay tuned.

Let’s start with the longest and work our way down. Depending on the genre, novels start at 50,000 words and go up from there. Fantasy and science fiction novels tend to be the longest at around 100K and up to 120K.

On the other hand, Cozy mysteries tend to be on the shorter end of the spectrum — closer to 50K.  

Besides the obvious difference in word count, what sets short stories apart from novels? 

  • Fewer characters
  • Less character development
  • Less world-building
  • Fewer scenes (often just one)
  • Fewer subplots (if any)
  • Different marketing

Novella length runs from 20,000 words up to 40,000, though some can get up 50,000 words. At this point, it’s up for debate whether it’s a novella or a novel . 

Some genres, like romance and cozy mysteries, sell better at those shorter lengths. 

Here are some examples of novellas: 

  • The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (21,000 words)
  • A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (28,000)
  • Animal Farm by George Orwell (30,000)
  • Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (38,000)

A novelette’s word count runs from 7,500 to 17,500 — or 19,500, depending on whom you ask.  Novelette’s are in that tricky spot between a short story and a novella. 

As such, they’re often too long to submit to a literary journal but too short to market as a print book, given the thinness of the spine (even in smaller trim sizes). 

This story length would probably do best in ebook form. If it could be part of a series, you’ll likely sell more copies if you publish the entire series in one book (ebook or print). 

Here are some examples of novelettes: 

  • The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe (11,000 words)
  • The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft (12,000)
  • The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (17,000)
  • The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (17,000)

There’s some room for haggling, but the previously mentioned 7,500 words are generally as long as short stories get.

Some can go as high as 10,000, but they’re the outliers in the short fiction world. 

Here are some examples of short stories: 

  • “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway (1,500 words)
  • “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe (2100)
  • “The Gift of the Magi” by O Henry (2165)
  • “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson (3775)
  •  “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston (4,700)
  • “The Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield (5555)
  • “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving (6950)

Short stories also come in short-shorts, which are divided into flash fiction and micro-flash or micro-fiction.

  • Flash fiction: up to 1,500 words but mainly under 1,000
  • Micro-flash or micro-fiction: up to 500 words

Even micro-fiction is divided into different types. For example, “55 Fiction” is exactly what it sounds like: a work of fiction exactly 55 words long.

“Drabble” fiction is 100 words long, and I’m sure you can guess the word count for “69er” fiction. And Twitter fiction can’t be more than 280 characters long.

If shooting for a specific word count makes you feel blocked, though, go for something that gives you as much room as you need. Writing a good story is challenging enough.

But don’t be afraid to try something new, either.

If you connect with other writers on Twitter, you’ve probably had a fair sampling of micro-fiction, and maybe you’ve written and shared some of your own. If so, good on you.

Here are some examples of flash fiction: 

  • “A Haunted House” by Virginia Woolf (750 words)
  • “If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love” by Rachel Swirsky (965 words)
  • “If We Live to be Giants” by Alison Mulder (980 words)
  • “Women’s Work” by Amelia Aldred (985 words)
  • “The Witch in the Tower” by Mari Ness (990 words)
  • “One of These Days” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1000 words)

Examples of micro-fiction, starting at just six words long:: 

  • “Baby Shoes” by Ernest Hemingway (6 words)
  • “Dandelions, Actually” by R. Gatwood (11 words)
  • “Collaboration With Fly” by Lydia Davis (12 words)
  • “Why I Don’t Keep A Daily Planner” by Stacie Budzko (15 words)
  • “Love Is Forever” by Merrilee Faber (21 words)
  • “Tomorrow” by Shruti Parthasarathy (25 words)
  • “Oh, I Felt Like Dust” by Chris Red Martiny (28 words)
  • “The Little Sea Maid” by Annika Barranti Klein (235 words)
  • “Janice” by Shirley Jackson (265 words)
  • “Wendy, Darling” by A. C. Wise (350 words)
  • “Doctor Chevalier’s Lie” by Kate Chopin (385 words)

Rules for dialogue don’t change much when you’re writing a short story instead of a novel. The main difference between them is that the shorter the story, the more important it is for every word of dialogue to earn its place. 

Compare, for example, an exchange of witty banter between two love interests in a light-hearted romance novel with the combination of concentrated dialogue and brief, symbolic description in a short story like Ernest Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants. 

Nothing is there that doesn’t help communicate the story’s message. 

It’s not that longer stories are better than short ones. In fact, as you learn more about the latter, some short stories stay with you longer than most of the popular novels out there. 

Short doesn’t mean shallow — or low-impact. In fact, because you have fewer words to work with, it’s even more important to make every one of them count.

That said, your best shot at getting eyes on your story is by getting published in a literary magazine. Here are a few paying markets to consider:

  • The New Yorker
  • Apex Magazine
  • Three Penny Review
  • The First Line
  • Asimov’s Science Fiction

Aside from the pay, getting your story published in a literary journal gives you an edge when it comes to pursuing traditional publishing for your work. 

Even if that’s not the goal, though, getting your story published in a respected journal gives you serious bragging rights. 

Keep in mind, though, that literary journals have strict word count limits. Respect those limits, and you’ll get at least one new set of eyes on your work. 

FAQs About Short Story Length 

Abundant as short stories are, this genre still raises many questions for writers and readers alike. Here are a few that keep coming up. 

Story length is all about word count — not pages. Page size can vary quite a bit, and so can margins and text formatting, both of which affect how many words will fit on a page.

The same goes for the question, “How many pages is a novella — or a novelette — or a novel?” When measuring the length of your work, word count is the industry standard. 

Given the average preferred length of 250 words per page, though, the standard length for a short story is anywhere from 1 to 30 pages (using 7,500 words as the maximum).  

As mentioned above, short stories can be as long as 7,000 (give or take), so yes, 2,000 words is plenty long enough. The real question is whether those 2,000 words are all necessary to your story — or whether some added content would make it even better. 

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If what you’ve written is a real story — with at least one character, a beginning, a middle, and an end — and the word count falls at 7,000 words or fewer, it qualifies as a short story. 

Aside from that, something has to happen with the main character, internally or externally, that the reader is likely to find interesting. 

You’ll see some great examples in the list below, but short stories can be much shorter than 500 words and still qualify as short stories. 

Many are even short enough to fit in a tweet or — in the palm of your hand. 

Now that you know the ballpark numbers for different types of short fiction, which ones have you written more of up until now?

And what new story lengths would you like to try?

Maybe you’ll be inspired to write and share your first bit of Twitter fiction today.

Or maybe you’ll cut a neglected novel of yours down to flash fiction length. Maybe that’s just what it needs.

Whatever you do as you play with your stories, let the words flow just as they come into your head. Enjoy the process, and use as many words as you need.

And may your creativity and sense of adventure influence everything you do today.

You are writing a piece of short fiction, but don't have an idea about the correct short story length? Find out about different types of short fiction and how long each of them should be.

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How Long Is a Short Story? [Short Story Length Comprehensive Guide 2024]

  • January 24, 2024

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A short story is an entirely developed theme, but significantly more concise and less detailed than novels. Usually, people can’t read books in one sitting with no break. But one can easily read a short story in one sitting. Short stories are those tales that parents often tell their children before they sleep. This blog post will discuss how long is a short story. We’ll also learn how to compose a typical short story in 2023 .

Page Contents

There are three types of short stories

 I) Micro Fiction (5 to 350-word count)

 II) Flash Fiction (500 to 1000-word count)

 III) Traditional Fiction (1500 to 5000-word count)

 In this article, we’ll discuss the Traditional Fiction type.

Why is Word Count Important?

When you are new, readers will aggressively judge you for your work. If they read your story and find the word count overwhelming, they’d bounce back and won’t come back to reread your stories. They might consider you a layperson who does not know how to differentiate between a novel and a short story word count. That is why you need to take care of the word count in your short stories.

Determine the word count of a short story  

Brian A. Klems , the editor and author of a known magazine suggests that ‘ When you’re writing, though, don’t impose a words limit on yourself. Let the story flow without interruption. Wait until you finish the first draft to go back and tighten it to a reasonable short story length.’ For example, a short story by Frank Arthur , a British novelist, ‘Twenty Minutes with Mrs. Oakentubb,’ has almost a word count of 4000 .

Pages in a short story  

There is no parameter to know how long is a short story in pages. It depends on the word count of your story. You can write stories up to 10,000 words , but we don’t recommend this length for your short story. It’s better to keep the word count to the maximum of 7500 words . However, if you think your short story requires more word count and increasing it won’t bore the readers, you can write 10000 words . A story with a word count of 5000 has 10-12 pages . For example, a famous short story by Flannery O’Connor , an American novelist, ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find’, covers 13 pages with a word count of 6500 .

Below we’ll talk about how you can write a short story.

8 Important Things in Story Writing

 1. ideas to write short stories  .

It all starts with an idea. You write about what you often imagine, or you imagine it in a horror condition, or when you are happy. Pick any of such instances and write on it. Choose the emotion that you feel with more passion. People often relate moments when they were joyful, and in their childhood when they were sitting alone getting scared in the dark, or if they had experienced a natural disaster, or if the group of dogs in childhood surrounded them. Pick any of these ideas and then write on it.

2. Captivating start of the story

It doesn’t matter if your first sentence or starting paragraph isn’t interesting enough. It is necessary, but composing it when you write is not essential. After writing some text, you can develop a fantastic opening line or paragraph in the middle or end. Giving two or three ideas, any writer would give you enough information to start by.

3. Different ways to start a story  

You can start the story in any format you like. You can begin by first describing the history of characters and continuing it, or start with an intense action that grabs the readers’ interest. Whatever way you start your story, it should be captivating enough to get the reader’s attention; otherwise, many people will not read further. Think like this: Have you ever watched a movie that has a bland start? People probably switch to watching something else without watching it.

4. Sit down to write  

Many writers never start writing anything and worry that they aren’t getting any good ideas to get started. Often when you sit down, pick up the pen or open the WordPad on your computer to write, you get ideas at that moment. Do this and brainstorm, and there are high chances that you would get something, to begin with.

5. Separate it from the Novel  

You don’t need to describe each detail about characters in the story or describe the location as we read in novels. You need to give an overview and focus on the story more. Try reading more short stories and analyze how they differ from books. Focus on providing fewer details than novels but perfectly describing the plot and scene. Read a lot of short stories for this purpose.

6. Title of your Short Story  

Choose a title that is not very long but conveys the outline of your story perfectly and precisely. When a person reads your short story, he should relate the story title with what he has read in the book.

7. Learn New Things  

Never be hesitant about learning new things. It means that if you have time to improve your writing or learn about types of writing, go for it. However, don’t lose the uniqueness you have in your writing style , but don’t take it as a plunge to avoid learning new writing styles of writing. It’s up to you if you agree with anything taught to you. It’s not mandatory to follow all the techniques they have taught you. Use your knowledge too. Don’t think you can’t be a better writer than a writer born years ago and had an established name in the market. You don’t need to compare. Respect them, but know that they are also humans. They had their knowledge. You can benefit from it. Also, recognize your understanding of writing.

There are courses that famous authors are teaching online, for example, Jerry Jenkins .

8. Read after you write

After you complete your short story, read it from the perspective of an unknown person who is reading it for the first time. Keep in mind that you are reading a short story and see if you can quickly finish it like most short stories. See if it resembles the levels you had read in your childhood or seems longer than them. 

Avoid these Things

1. copying a famous author.

Don’t copy your favorite author . People love him and love his work. Don’t think that imitating his style could get you the same riches and respect as your famous writer has. People like originality and uniqueness. People won’t respect a person who imitates another person hoping to get the same output.

Moreover, every writer has a unique artist who separates his writing style from others. You need to write in your style. Even if you have recently begun your writing career, you don’t need to emulate any famous writer. But you can do it only if your writing style naturally relates to him otherwise.

2. Elaborating the scenes and Characters

Another difference between novels and short stories is that novels describe the life stories of almost every character. In contrast, short stories focus on describing the details of the main character or protagonist. However, tell the history of your main character. For example, what happened to him, who he was, what he has become, and relatable things.

Beginning of Writing Career

Short stories often become the starting point of a writer to become a writer. They apparently write a story out of nowhere, but they observe it around them, take inspiration from movies, and then compose a novel. That’s where the spark ignites, and they write more. It is not necessary, and it’s not the case that every person who writes a short story must have an interest in writing or have some favorite writers. Even if he’s passionate about a sport and writes a story, his story could get clicked in readers’ minds.

Tips for Fiction Writers

1. unfinished stories.

You can write incomplete stories. It may seem absurd, but it creates a lifetime curiosity in readers’ minds to discover what would happen next. Some people often imagine their own story after reading the incomplete story. It only occurs when the story is fascinating; otherwise, it would not work well. You can write another part after months or years. You can also not write it at all. If you have something to tell and it’s exciting, then you must publish another part of your short story.

There are some stories, people automatically demand for their second part. The storyline, the plot, or the character attract them so much that they need to hear another part of it. We are not talking about novel writing in this blog post, but here is an example of the famous novel Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope . The villain of this novel, Rupert of Hentzau, was so charismatic that Anthony Hope wrote another book on his name Rupert of Hentzau, in 1898, four years after he wrote Prisoner of Zenda in 1898 .

2. Edit After You Write

This is very common advice you hear in both fiction and non-fiction . Write without caring for grammar, sentence structure, or such mistakes. Write in your flow. If you care about these things while you write, it will disturb the flow and fluency in your writing. You would have dedicated time to edit your text after you had completed your manuscript. Don’t worry about correcting mistakes while you are writing.  

How to Publish Short Stories?

Publication of your story is crucial if you want to start a career in stories. Just like books, you can publish your short stories on platforms like Amazon Kindle , and you can also publish them traditionally. You can adopt the following ways to publish your short story.

  • Submit your short story to a famous magazine .
  • Take part in the short stories contest, and if you win, you will get the cash prize, and your short story will be published.
  • To self-publish your story, you can also submit your short story on Amazon Kindle in the category of short reads.

We don’t recommend selling your short story to someone paying you good money, but not letting your name appear on your short story, especially if you plan to start your career as a novelist or short story writer.

We have learned what short stories are and how they differ from novels. The primary difference is that short stories don’t elaborate on details compared to novels. A novel is like a film that shows each and everything, for example, the way a person walks, the way someone picked up a water glass and threw it at the wall with frustration expressed on his face, and then he starts to take long breaths. You can imagine a short story be like a short time. Instead, a short story would tell that Max picked up a glass of water and threw it at the wall. We have also learned how many pages is a short story.

Short stories have an average length of 9 to 13 pages , with a word count that ranges from 1500 words to 7000 . You can sell your short books on Amazon kindle and to popular magazines. If you have written a short story, you can contact our Mczell Book Writing team, and we’ll edit it and make the perfect book word count that a story has, at very affordable rates.

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How Long Is a Short Story? And Other FAQs

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Annika Barranti Klein

Annika Barranti Klein likes books, obviously.   Twitter: @noirbettie

View All posts by Annika Barranti Klein

Stories come in all shapes and sizes. Some fit on the back of a postcard while others span multiple books. Where are the lines drawn? How long is a short story?

short stories novels length

What is a short story?

A short story is any fiction story that’s told in few(er) words. Short stories tend to focus on a single plot line, though there are many that successfully weave together more than one. Short stories tend to focus on fewer characters and follow them on a shorter arc than a novel might, while others are about multiple characters with complicated arcs. In other words…Short stories tend to follow the rules of short stories, except when they don’t.

What are some examples of famous short stories? And how long are they?

Here are several famous short stories, with their word counts estimated. (Some word counts in this post come from commonplacebook.com ; others I estimated myself. All counts are rounded to the nearest 5 words, except the first below.)

“Baby Shoes” by Ernest Hemingway (6 words)

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“Janice” by Shirley Jackson (265 words)

“A Haunted House” by Virginia Woolf (750 words)

“One of These Days” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1000 words)

“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin (1005 words)

“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe (2100 words)

“The Gift of the Magi” by O Henry (2165 words)

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson (3775 words)

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce (3800 words)

“The Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield (5555 words)

“Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving (6950 words)

“To Build A Fire” by Jack London (7175 words)

“The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allen Poe (7225 words)

So, how long is a short story?

Precise word count definitions will vary, but as a general rule of thumb, a short story is anything up to about 7500 words (sometimes 10,000), with higher word counts typically called novelettes, and short novels called novellas. Within short stories, there is a further breakdown to define super-short stories as flash and micro-flash.

How long is flash fiction?

Flash fiction is under 1000 words (occasionally the upper word count is as high as 1200 or even 1500, and sometimes it is as low as 750).

Some examples of flash fiction you can read online:

If You Were A Dinosaur, My Love by Rachel Swirsky (965 words)

The Hulder’s Husband Says Don’t by Kate Lechler (970 words)

If We Live to be Giants by Alison Mulder (980 words)

Women’s Work by Amelia Aldred (985 words)

The Witch in the Tower by Mari Ness (990 words)

Micro-fiction or micro-flash is under 500 words.

Some examples of micro flash you can read online:

The Little Sea Maid by Annika Barranti Klein (me!) (235 words)

Wendy, Darling by A.C. Wise (350 words)

Doctor Chevalier’s Lie by Kate Chopin (385 words)

How long is a short story?

Short stories range from lower word counts of 1000 or 1500 words up to around 7,500 words or occasionally as high as 10,000. The majority of short stories fall under this general definition, and may or may not include flash and even micro-flash.

Some examples of short stories you can read online:

The Joy of Baking by Holly Lyn Walrath (2425 words)

A Nest of Ghosts, A House of Birds by Kat Howard (4500 words)

Bear Language by Martin Cahill (5000 words)

Crow’s Eye by Sarah Hollowell (5015 words)

How long is a novel?

Novelettes are longer short stories, generally between 7,500 words and 17,500 to 20,000 words, or up to about 100 pages. These stories sometimes read more like a short story and sometimes more like a novel.

Some examples of novelettes:

The House of Aunts by Zen Cho (15,000 words)

The Night Train: A Novelette by Evelyn Archer (19,000 words)

Novellas are short novels, from 17,500 or 20,000 words usually up to about 40,000 words, or about 100–200 pages.

Some examples of novellas:

The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle ( 27,405  words)

Passing by Nella Larsen ( 30,015  words)

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells (33,000 words)

River of Teeth / Taste of Marrow  by Sarah Gailey ( 34,945  words/ 36,975  words)

The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente (41,000 words)

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin ( 53,680  words)

The Black Tides of Heaven / The Red Threads of Fortune  by JY Yang ( 73,200  words/ 68,320  words)

Note: I have included several short novels that are often considered novellas. Word counts from Reading Length .

A novel is anything over about 40,000 words, though some definitions stretch novella up as high as 60,000 words or so.

I won’t link to example novels, as you can find those in just about every other Book Riot post!

What are some good collections of short stories?

I’m so glad you asked!

Ghost Summer by Tananarive Due

Ayiti by Roxane Gay

Lovers’ Choice by Becky Birtha

Hit List: The Best of Latino Mystery edited by Sarah Cortez

In the Country by Mia Alvar

Just An Ordinary Day by Shirley Jackson

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu

Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat

Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer

Need more short stories? Check these posts out.

Short Stories

Short Mystery Stories

Short Horror Stories

100 Must-Read SFF Short Story Collections

Science Fiction Short Story Collections by Authors of Color

6 Creepy Stories by WOC You Can Read Right Now

10 More Speculative Fiction Stories for When You Only Have 10 Minutes

100 Top-Notch Short Story Collections

short stories novels length

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How Long is a Short Story?

Everything you need to know about reading, writing, and editing short fiction.

Cat Webling

Here’s a riddle that isn’t a riddle: when you want to read fiction but don’t have the time or energy for a novel, what can you pick up? The answer - short stories! Short stories are works of fiction significantly shorter in length than a novel that still depict a complete scene or story. 

What you might not know is that there are lots of different kinds of short fiction! From the shortest sad story ever written to not-quite novels, short fiction is a compressed storytelling format that can help an author hone their plotting skills and sharpen their editorial knife.

But what qualifies as short fiction? How long is a short story, and what is the ideal short story length? Why does the distinction of word counts even matter? 

Here are the answers to some of your most pressing short fiction questions and a few tips on how to start writing it for yourself.

Word count definitions

What makes a short story a short story?

Well, usually, it’s the fact that a complete narrative is told in the space of a small number of pages rather than an entire book. Short stories are standalone pieces that resolve their plot in less than the space of a novella but more than the space of a piece of flash fiction.

Those are some new terms! They help to contextualize what a short story really is, but to do that, you have to know what those words mean. So, the most straightforward answer I can give you is the average range of word counts for short stories and their similar (but different) friends, from smallest to largest:

  • Microfiction is less than 100 words long. This is stuff like Ernest Hemingway’s famous “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” It’s telling a story in the space of less than a Tweet.
  • Flash Fiction is between 100 and 1000 words long. This is short, quickly written fiction usually found in contests, warm-ups, and social media writing (Instagram captions have a limit that makes flash fiction about the most you can do). Stories on the longer end of this spectrum may also be referred to as “short shorts.”
  • Short Stories are between 1000 and 15,000 words long. The average length runs under 7,500 words. More on these in a minute!
  • Novelettes sit awkwardly between short stories and novellas, and the word count to qualify for this will vary by publisher. They could be considered “long short stories,” or “short novellas.” Depending on who you ask, a 15,000 word story could be a short story, novelette, or novella.
  • Novellas are between 15,000 and 50,000 words long. They’re full stories that couldn’t be told in a smaller space, and often appear in anthologies. Examples include The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (approx. 25,500 words), Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (29,000 words), and A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (approx. 29,000 words).
  • Novels are more than 50,000 words long. These are…well, they’re exactly what you think they are. They’re fully fleshed-out stories that take up a pretty solid amount of space. A rule of thumb for authors seeking traditional publishing for their first novel is that most traditional publishers prefer manuscripts of no more than 80,000 to 100,000 words from first time authors.

Technically there’s a larger class called the “long novel” or the “Russian novel,” which covers books longer than 200,000 words, but there aren’t very many of those (outside of classic Russian literature, obviously), so we don’t really need to worry about it. 

Why word count matters

How long should a short story be? Well… there’s really no hard and fast rules. The counts I’ve provided above are ballpark ranges, not strict limits; I’ve seen people label 600 word pieces as short stories and 1500 word pieces as flash fiction. I’ve seen people call 25,000 words a novel and insist that novel word counts don’t matter (they do, though, more on that below). In fact, I’ve seen people use words I haven’t included here, like “drabbles,” to describe a certain length of work.

What really matters is the individual assignment you’re working toward, and what the person you’re writing the story considers the word count goal to be. If you’re writing for yourself, feel free to call your short fiction whatever you like! If you’re working for someone else, that’s when things get somewhat tricky.

Word counts and business

From a business standpoint, it’s important to be able to classify your work. Most publishing houses, specific agents, and publications will require a word count to be listed in your query, and will ask you to describe your work in terms of which category it falls into. This is so that they know how to market it and where. 

For instance, literary agents and publishing houses are generally looking for full-length novels or novellas, while publications like literary magazines generally want short stories (though they do sometimes take serial fiction, but that’s another story). This is because agents and publishing houses need something that they can print and put in bookstores, while magazines and the like need pieces that can pack a punch in a much smaller page count. Either way, a publisher of any kind needs to know concrete word counts to estimate production costs for services like editing, formatting, printing, binding, shipping, and distribution.

W ord counts and writers

It’s also important for professional writers, who often get paid to create a certain amount of content. That’s my job as a copywriter; I’m given specific word counts for various projects because of clients’ specific needs, and I have to stick to them as a part of my contract. If I write a flash-fiction piece for a client who commissioned a short story, they’re going to feel ripped off. If I write a novella for that same client, I would feel ripped off.

From a writing standpoint, while many authors write without a specific word count in mind, you may find it helpful to have a set goal to work toward. Take as an example the National Novel Writing Month challenge, more popularly known as NaNoWriMo. During the month of November, writers around the world are challenged to write a full-length novel with a final goal of 50,000 words. The purpose of the challenge is to help authors get ideas out of their heads and onto paper in a structured and competitive atmosphere full of community support. The NaNoWriMo site lets you track daily word counts and even gives you a helpful chart that shows your progress. It can be a great way to stay motivated.

When writing short stories, you might find that having a specific word count in mind helps you tell the story in a more concise way. It can show you where you have issues with pacing; maybe you reach the end way too fast and only have 500 words, or maybe you’re on word 782 and your ending is nowhere in sight. Having a set word count means that, whether you’re a planner or a pantser, you’ve got to have a plan of attack as you write, helping you learn to structure your stories.

How to write short fiction stories well

Writing short fiction is very different from writing a novel. For starters, you don’t have any room - every word you write has to be plot-relevant and engaging. There’s no space for extended backstories or character development - if the audience doesn’t absolutely need to know it, it won’t fit in the story.

It can, however, use some of the same muscle memory that novel writing does. You still need to know what your story is before you tell it, and you need to know what beats to hit and when, with what information. Consider using a similar planning process to your novel writing, but on a shorter timeline.

Short fiction does have its benefits. You can still use fun literary tricks and tropes, and in some cases, you can even focus in on and highlight a trope that wouldn’t fill a full-length novel of story. You can set challenges for yourself or follow writing prompts to stretch your creativity to its limit. Best of all, you can write multiple short stories in a short amount of time!

With that in mind, here are some steps to help you write a short story that people will really want to read.

  • Have a plan of attack . It’s incredibly basic advice, but it’s well worth it. Like I said, every word counts here, so you should have some sort of plan for those words. If nothing else, have a plan for your main characters, overarching plot, story themes, driving conflict, and setting.
  • Do your research. Writing a story set on a ship? Know what a ship’s parts are called. Writing about the 1950s United States? It’s a good idea to know the major events and customs of the decade. Get to know your story’s setting and characters before you get to know the plot so that you writing can be well informed.
  • Set a word count goal . Have a number in mind, in the range of the kind of short fiction you’re writing (or, for contest pieces, the word count limit) then set it aside for now.
  • Write ! Write your short story until you hit the end of it. Don’t worry about word counts or grammar at this point - all you need to do is get a full draft onto the page. You can’t edit if there’s nothing to edit, after all.
  • Edit for space, then style. Now you can look at your first draft’s word count and compare it to your goal. Clip your writing until it’s as precise and direct as possible to bring long stories down to size, though of course, you’re allowed to keep your stylistic flair. For example:
  • “Clarissa’s home was a sprawling, four-story dream of a mansion in the sunswept Hollywood hills. It was a scandalous site, the home to many debauched and dangerous tales of star-crossed lovers turned meteoric foes.” This description is awesome! It’s also long and takes up 34 precious words.
  • “Clarissa lived in a sunswept Hollywood mansion full of scandals from star-crossed lovers turned meteoric foes.” There! Much cleaner, only 16 words, and you get to keep the really cool metaphor at the end.

       6. Proofread! Always, always, always proofread your stories as the very final step in writing. Nothing distracts a reader more than a misused word or weird grammatical typo, so make sure that what you’ve written makes sense. Also, now’s the time to check for spelling mistakes!

Common short fiction pitfalls

Now that we’ve talked about what it takes to make your short fiction great, it’s about time we talked about what makes it poor. I said writing short stories was different from writing novels; I never said it was easier.

As with any other form of writing, short fiction craft has its easy-to-fall-into problems. Some of them are stylistic choices while others are simple mechanical errors. Either way, they need to be addressed and actively combated to create a short story that doesn’t feel unfinished, rushed, or even boring.

Here are some common pitfalls to avoid when you’re writing short fiction, and how to navigate around them.

Making your story too big

It’s very easy as writers for us to get wrapped up in our big, elaborate fictional worlds with tons of fully-fleshed-out, brilliant characters of all kinds. We love knowing every minute detail about our fiction, from family lineages and political histories to geographical detailing and indigeonous flora and fauna.

Those worlds are fun! But they don’t often fit in short stories because, let’s face it, it’s difficult to build an entire world on the head of a pin (unless, of course, you’re Dr. Seuss). If you’re spending 700 words describing the castle and all of its inhabitants, you won’t have enough room to describe the dragon attack they fend off. This is a particularly easy trap to fall into when writing short sci-fi or fantasy stories.

While it may be challenging, this is where “killing your darlings” comes into play. Keep your details to the minimum and your cast small enough to work with in a few thousand words. I personally like writing short stories with no more than about 4 characters, and usually only one or two. Though, this limit will change with every writer.

If you do find that your story is too big to fit into the word limit you have, try telling only one part of it. Tell the story of a single character in the plot, and save the rest of the storyline for a full-length novel. It’s extremely common for short stories to inspire bigger works, so see it as a source of inspiration and the ability to give a teaser rather than as being confined to a single, short work.

Here’s a neat bonus tip: if you do have to cut out any descriptions or characters you’re particularly proud of, don’t delete them! Put them in their own “Miscellaneous” file and, when you do finally have the room for them, let them tell their story in their own, longer piece.

Making your story too small

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum is the issue of there being no story to your short story. 

Readers are looking for action, intrigue, conflict, and motivation. They’re looking for changes in tension and action and resolution. They came here for the plot, and will be sorely disappointed if they don’t find any plot to speak of. If the only thing that happens is a character walks through a scene, then you aren’t really giving the audience a reason to read. 

So, as silly as it sounds, remember that you need to include a plot and approach it like you would with a longer work. Ask yourself some framing questions. Why is he walking? Where is he going? What was happening before he came in? Why does it all matter? Answer that last one, and you’ve got yourself a plot germ to work with.

This is another reason that outlining is important; you’ve got to know what your plot is and how to get through it effectively if you’re going to write it up in 15,000 words or less. 

Telling too many stories at once

So you have a protagonist going one way, an antagonist going the other way, your leading lady lamenting something over here, your comic relief cracking up over there, and somehow a battle is going on, too? In a short story, trying to work with multiple full story arcs and through lines is usually going to end up feeling rushed and unsatisfying, and may lead to frustrating narrative loose ends. 

Keep your plot simple and focused for the best possible impact. Have just one major arc we follow, with one set of characters, in one set timeline (unless, of course, timeline shenanigans are a part of your story). If you’re going to have a B-plot, make sure that it’s closely tied to the A-plot and able to resolve quickly; ideally, you’ll want to spend the most time with your A-plot. That way, you don’t have to manage a million details to get your point across.

Speaking of which…

Inconsistent storytelling

It’s annoying, but true: the shorter your piece of fiction is, the larger any plot holes and continuity errors will look. Your readers may forgive you for forgetting your protagonist’s eye color in a long 200-page novel, but in a 2-page short story, they’re going to be a bit less forgiving. Inconsistencies can be jarring, and while sometimes you can use that to your advantage to create a dramatic twist, if it’s not intentional, it can leave your writing feeling unpolished. 

If you have lots of little details to keep track of, try including them in your outline! Make small character profiles and setting synopses to remind you of important in-world facts. It also helps to have a beta reader looking specifically for inconsistencies if you can. 

Famous examples of short stories, from renowned short story writers

If you’d like to see some classic examples of powerful story writing in a limited number of words, take a look at the collection of short stories presented here.

‍ Gift of the Magi , by O. Henry - A classic tale of love and self-sacrifice.

The Fall of the House of Usher , by Edgar Allan Poe - A tale of madness, family, isolation, and decay

The Lottery , by Shirley Jackson - An examination of the harm that can be done by blindly following tradition.

A Good Man is Hard to Find , by Flannary O’Connor - Things go very wrong on a family trip.

Short stories are great fun to write - I’ve written tons of them and I hope I write tons more. They’re a great way to boost your creativity, get projects done quickly for that faster hit of self publishing excitement, and challenge yourself to try something new and work around limits. New writers may find it worth their time to practice their craft  in this medium before attempting full novels. Some writers will use them solely as warm ups, while others will make entire careers out of them.

However you choose to use short fiction, I hope you can take this advice and make your stories brief, but impactful.

Want to read more about indie publishing?

Aaron Mullins

BESTSELLING BOOKS – AUTHOR RESOURCES

Average Length of Fiction Writing: 6 Forms with Typical word counts

Posted on December 8, 2020 by aaronmullins

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Novel Book Average Word Count Short Story Word Length Novella Novelette Epic Flash Fiction

Average word counts for books can be confusing. How many words are in a short story? What is the ideal length for a fiction novel? How long should my book be? Find the answer to these writing questions here.

There are six main types of fiction writing forms . These six categories are flash fiction, short story, novelette, novella, novel and epic. The length of your writing determines which fiction format your story falls into. The average word count , or typical length , for each fiction writing category is listed in the image and table below.

short stories novels length

For fiction average word counts , when it’s time to finally start writing and shaping your ideas into an actual story, you must choose what form your fiction writing will take. If you have already completed a short story, or are part-way through a novel, then you must still check that your chosen fiction form matches with your writing goals.

“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.” – Terry Pratchett

Typical Word Counts for Fiction

To determine the best book word count for you, look back over your writing, or think back over your daydreams, have they been of a short story, or flash fiction? Or do you have enough of a story arc and plot in your notes to fill the average word count of a full length novel ?

Understanding the main fiction forms is important because the depth of your ideas helps you choose the length your writing goal. When writing prose fiction, authors generally choose their goal from one of six formats: flash fiction, short story, novelette, novella, novel and epic.

Types of Novel Book Average Word Count Short Story Word Length Novella Novelette Epic Flash Fiction

What is the word count for flash fiction?

Flash fiction is a very short body of work, with a word count sometimes as low as a few hundred words. The average length of flash fiction in the world of writing competitions is around 500 words.

It’s very rare for a book of flash fiction to be published. However, there are many online magazines and article sites dedicated to this form of writing.

Flash fiction is writing in the form of a snapshot of a single intriguing event, with very few characters, usually taking place within one setting. Flash fiction must still retain the beginning, middle and end elements of a full length story, including plot and character development, within a strict word count.

Ray Bradbury’s The Pedestrian and Virginia Woolf’s A Haunted House are both great examples of flash fiction.

“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” – Toni Morrison

What is the typical short story length?

Short stories are one of the most popular forms of writing and I have enjoyed publishing a number of short story collections. Short story competitions vary in length, but the average short story length is between 2,000 and 3,000 words.

A short story is a writing form that retains much of the same structure as full length novels, but in a condensed format. The reader needs to be dropped straight into the action and every sentence needs to drive the story forwards. Short stories still have plot and character development, within a self-contained theme.

When thinking about the typical length of a short story , it’s sometimes helpful to think of a short story as a single self-contained episode within a full length novel series. Think of a TV series that you enjoyed, and a particular episode you loved? Normally our favourite episodes drop us straight into the action and keep us gripped throughout, and a short story should do the same.

Short story collections are extremely popular on Amazon, but are less sought after by traditional publishers, who prefer full length novels.

There are numerous short story contests and you can find a huge list of the best ones on this very site:

Writing Competitions List

As well as my top tips for winning writing competitions:

How to Win Writing Competitions

Types of Novel Book Average Word Count Short Story Word Length Novella Novelette Epic Flash Fiction

What is a novelette?

The average length of a novelette is generally considered to be a manuscript between 7,500 and 19,000 words. There isn’t a huge market for the novelette story form , so it’s incredibly rare for traditional publishers to seek out this length of work.

However, two very famous awards, the Hugo Awards and the Nebula Awards, provide opportunities to writers of novelette length science-fiction stories.

A novelette is a short writing form. Sometimes known as long short stories, or short novellas, novelettes follow the same story structure as full length novels, but with a much shorter word count. Containing plot and character development, novelettes tend to deal with light-hearted or whimsical story themes.

The average length of novelettes present short story writers with the option to tell a longer, stand alone story. And for novel writers, novelettes offer the chance to practice focusing their work on the details that really matter, within a much shorter framework.

The Call Of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft is a great example of a successful novelette.

How long is a novella?

The average length of a novella is considered to be writing between 19,000 and 50,000 words. Similar to a novelette it will contain fewer fleshed out or elaborated elements than a full length novel, but still retains a similar structure in terms of plot and character development.

The typical length of a novella is a concentrated form of writing, originally designed to be read in a single extended sitting. They focus the story and plot events of a full length novel into a shorter format, and allow a short story to be expanded into richer detail.

The majority of novellas explore a single conflict, rather than pursue sub-plots. Character development is also normally reserved for the main protagonist. This creates a quicker pace for the story arc. Animal Farm by George Orwell, A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde all began life as a novella. This shows the impact that a well-written novella can have.

With the rise of ebooks, particularly on Amazon, novellas have a thriving readership. Like novelettes, there are Hugo and Nebula awards for novellas, as well as a number of other established awards and competitions.

Types of Novel Book Average Word Count Short Story Word Length Novella Novelette Epic Flash Fiction

What is the average length of a novel?

The novel is the most popular form of writing and the most sought after by readers, agents and publishers. While anything over 50,000 words can be considered a novel, you should probably aim for an average length of novel between 75,000 and 90,000 words for your first novel, if you are looking to attract an agent or publisher.

There is an established worldwide market for typical length novels in all genres and an extensive number of competitions to match. There are a number of elements that go into creating an amazing novel, many of which rely upon the skill of the author. The Aaron Mullins website and blog explore all of the most important aspects in depth, to help you become the best writer you can be.

Start with my Free Resources for Authors page.

How long is an epic novel?

Epics are very long stories, with the average length of an epic novel usually around 200,000 words, often within the fantasy or historical genres. Typical length epic novels bring great depth to world-building, with many detailed setting and locations described throughout the story. There are also numerous characters, all of whom undergo individual and group development.

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien and Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin are two examples of epic fantasy.

How long should my book be?

These six core categories are the main writing formats within which we usually define our author goals. But which one is fits best to your story ideas and ambitions as a writer?

Does one of the above fiction writing formats and average word counts immediately call out to you? Or have you already completed enough of a word count to fit within one of these categories?

The reason typical word lengths for fiction books is important is because it defines how much ‘story’ you can fit into your goal. Your target word count will affect how many characters you introduce, how much back story is required and many other aspects of your writing.

Therefore, when starting out, it helps to choose a goal that matches your writing ambitions from the start. You may even have a writing competition or literary magazine in mind, many of which have fixed word lengths for their submissions.

“A word after a word after a word is power.” – Margaret Atwood

Types of Novel Book Average Word Count Short Story Word Length Novella Novelette Epic Flash Fiction

Typical word counts for fiction books are designed to help structure your writing. You’ll have just the right amount of each element present within your chosen length to create a fantastic story.

Writing to a typical word count also helps to focus the mind with a clear goal in mind, which improves motivation and increases our enjoyment of writing as we see clear progress towards our final product.

From an external perspective, readers and agents also tend to look for specific writing forms when choosing what to read, or who to represent. So writing to the average word count one of these six recognised writing forms allows you to be classified and recognised within that particular format.

However, once you embark on a writing goal, remember that they are not set in stone. When writing flash fiction, you may generate new ideas that mean your goal changes to a short story. This is fine and is a natural part of the creative writing process.

Note : I recognise that there are more writing forms, such as Microfiction (stories under 250 words) and even Six-Word Stories, such as Ernest Hemingway’s “For sale: Baby shoes, never worn.” All of which are fun to write.

Good luck, whichever goal you choose!

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Aaron Mullins ( @DrAaronMullins ) is an award winning, internationally published psychologist and bestselling author. Aaron has over 15 years experience in the publishing industry, with expertise in business strategy for authors and publishers. He started Birdtree Books Publishing where he worked as Editor-in-Chief, partnered with World Reader Charity and taught Academic Writing at Coventry University. Aaron’s book How to Write Fiction: A Creative Writing Guide for Authors has become a staple reference book for writers and those interested in a publishing career. Find out more .

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The Art of Brevity: How Short Stories Differ from Novels and Novellas

by Danny Ballan | Apr 21, 2023 | Short Stories for Everyone

Short Stories and Novels

Introduction

Approach to storytelling, benefits of short story writing, crossword puzzle in context.

Short stories are a literary form that has been around for centuries, and is known for its brevity and ability to convey powerful emotions and messages in a concise format. They are different from longer writing forms like novels and novellas in several ways, including their length, structure, and the way in which they approach storytelling.

One of the most obvious differences between short stories and longer writing forms like novels and novellas is their length. Short stories typically range from 1,000 to 7,500 words, while novels can range from 50,000 to 100,000 words or more. Novellas fall somewhere in between, with a word count ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 words.

The shorter length of short stories allows for a tighter focus on a specific moment or event in a character’s life, without the need for lengthy exposition or backstory. This brevity also means that short stories can be read in a single sitting, making them a perfect choice for those with limited time or attention spans.

Another key difference between short stories and longer writing forms is their structure. Novels and novellas often have a complex plot with multiple storylines and subplots, while short stories typically have a single plotline and focus on a single character or event.

Short stories also tend to have a more compressed narrative arc than novels, with a clear beginning, middle, and end. This means that the action of the story often takes place over a relatively short period of time, and the story concludes with a sense of resolution or closure.

Because of their shorter length, short stories often rely on concise and evocative language to convey their message. They must be crafted carefully to ensure that every word counts, and that the story is compelling and engaging from beginning to end.

Short stories and longer writing forms also differ in the way they approach storytelling. Novels and novellas often have a more leisurely pace, with time for exposition, character development, and detailed descriptions of the setting. Short stories, on the other hand, require a more immediate and immersive approach to storytelling.

Because short stories have limited space to develop characters and settings, they often rely on powerful imagery and symbolism to create a vivid and engaging world. They may also use unconventional narrative techniques, such as unreliable narrators or nonlinear storytelling, to convey their message in a unique and compelling way.

In many ways, short stories are like snapshots of a moment in time. They capture a particular emotion or experience in a way that is immediate and visceral, drawing the reader into the world of the story and immersing them in its themes and ideas.

Despite their differences from longer writing forms, short stories offer many benefits to both writers and readers. For writers, short stories provide a valuable opportunity to practice their craft and experiment with different narrative techniques and styles. Because short stories are relatively quick to write and revise, they allow writers to hone their skills and develop their voice in a way that is both efficient and effective.

Short stories can also serve as a valuable stepping stone to longer writing forms like novels and novellas. Many successful writers, including Alice Munro and Raymond Carver, got their start writing short stories before moving on to longer works.

For readers, short stories offer a unique and immersive reading experience that can be both emotionally powerful and intellectually stimulating. Because short stories are often focused on a single moment or event, they have the ability to capture a particular emotion or feeling in a way that is both immediate and lasting.

Short stories also offer a wide range of styles and genres, from horror and science fiction to romance and historical fiction. This diversity of form and content makes short stories an ideal choice for readers who are looking for a quick and engaging read, as well as for those who are looking to explore new genres and writing styles.

Furthermore, short stories often challenge readers to think deeply about the themes and ideas presented in the story. Because the narrative arc is compressed and the focus is narrow, short stories often require readers to fill in the gaps and interpret the meaning behind the events that unfold. This can lead to a deeper and more meaningful engagement with the story, as readers are forced to grapple with complex emotions and ideas.

Another benefit of short stories is their ability to capture a sense of time and place in a way that is both immediate and evocative. Because short stories often focus on a single moment or event, they can create a vivid and immersive sense of the world in which the story takes place. This can be particularly powerful in historical fiction or stories set in unfamiliar or exotic locations, as short stories have the ability to transport readers to a different time and place in a way that is both immediate and visceral.

In conclusion, short stories are a unique and powerful literary form that offers many benefits to both writers and readers. Their brevity and focused narrative structure allow for a powerful and immediate emotional impact, while their diversity of styles and genres offers something for every reader. Whether you are a writer looking to hone your craft or a reader looking for a quick and engaging read, short stories offer a wealth of possibilities and a rich and rewarding reading experience.

All the words you need to solve this crossword puzzle are in the article above. Learn & Enjoy!

  • Short stories : A form of fiction that is typically shorter in length than a novella or novel.
  • Novels : A longer work of fiction that typically has a complex plot and multiple storylines.
  • Novellas : A work of fiction that is longer than a short story but shorter than a novel.
  • Brevity : The quality of being brief or concise.
  • Narrative arc : The overall structure or shape of a story, including the beginning, middle, and end.
  • Exposition : Information about the background, setting, or characters in a story that is necessary for the reader to understand the plot.
  • Backstory : The events and experiences that occurred before the beginning of a story and that provide context for the plot and characters.
  • Plotline : The sequence of events that make up the plot of a story.
  • Character development : The process by which a character in a story changes or grows over the course of the plot.
  • Symbolism : The use of symbols or images to represent abstract ideas or concepts in a story.
  • Imagery : Vivid descriptions or figurative language used to create a sensory experience for the reader.
  • Unreliable narrator : A narrator in a story whose credibility is questionable or who has a biased perspective.
  • Nonlinear storytelling : A narrative technique in which the events of a story are not presented in chronological order.
  • Emotional power : The ability of a story to evoke strong emotions in the reader.
  • Intellectual stimulation : The ability of a story to challenge the reader’s thinking and provoke intellectual engagement.
  • Genre : A category of literature characterized by a particular style, form, or content.
  • Historical fiction : A genre of fiction that is set in the past and typically features real historical events or people.
  • Horror : A genre of fiction that is intended to scare or frighten the reader.
  • Science fiction : A genre of fiction that is based on imagined scientific or technological advances.
  • Romance : A genre of fiction that focuses on romantic relationships and often has a happy ending.

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Home / Book Writing / How Many Words Are in a Novel? Word Count by Genre & More

How Many Words Are in a Novel? Word Count by Genre & More

How many words are in a novel? Any work with 40,000 words or more can be considered a fully developed novel . But this differs by genre — the average word count ranges from 58,000 words in erotica to 109,000 for fantasy works.

However, some authors have more questions or even doubts about these numbers. When writing a work of fiction, considering the word count can feel like limiting the creative process. No one wants to feel like their compelling story is constrained by a number.

What first-time authors may not know is that the right word count can:

  • Improve your chances at a publishing deal
  • Make your work more attractive to readers
  • Inform your book’s price point

For these reasons and more, it's wise to have some context for how long most novels in your genre tend to be. Finding the word count sweet spot for your genre can propel your book to publishing.

  • The best book length for your novel, based on 15 fiction best-sellers
  • Practical tips on how to increase or decrease your book’s word count without sacrificing quality
  • How to plan the word count for your next book

Links in this article may earn me a small commission if you use them to purchase a product. This is at no cost to you! It helps me continue to write these handy articles that anyone can read for free!

Table of contents

  • Why is word count important?
  • Word Count: Novel vs. Novella
  • Word Count: Adult vs. Young Adult
  • What are the key takeaways?
  • How many words are in a fantasy novel?
  • How many words are in a historical fiction novel?
  • How many words are in a horror novel?
  • How many words are in a genre fiction novel?
  • How many words are in a literary fiction novel?
  • How many words are in a science fiction novel?
  • How many words are in an action and adventure novel?
  • How many words are in a contemporary fiction novel?
  • How many words are in a women’s fiction novel?
  • How many words are in a suspense, thriller, or mystery novel?
  • How many words are in a romance novel?
  • How many words are in a crime fiction novel?
  • How many words are in a religious fiction novel?
  • How many words are in an erotica novel?
  • How many words are in a short story?
  • How do I increase my word count?
  • How do I decrease my word count?
  • How many words per page are in a novel?
  • How Many Words Should My Novel Be?

Word counts are helpful guidelines that can improve your book’s chances of being read. Here are the top 3 reasons that your novel word count is important:

  • A novel’s word count can make or break book deals. If you are an author seeking a traditional publishing route, you know that literary agents see copious amounts of manuscripts, and competition is fierce. Just one misstep can put you out of the running. Even a high-quality manuscript will be passed over if it’s twice the expected word count. Though there are no hard and fast rules, traditional publishers usually won’t take on the first novel with over 100,000 words from a new author.
  • Word count can affect readers’ impressions. Readers tend to be experts in the genres they love. They’ve read dozens of their favorite types of novels, and they have expectations when they look up your title. If your book doesn’t fit their expectations for length, whether too long or too short, they might pass it over.
  • The number of words often determines how much your book costs. Novellas, which typically contain under 40,000 words, are usually sold at a lower price point than a full-fledged novel.

Your word count affects the opinion of both publishing houses and readers, not to mention establishing your price point.

However, the broad category of novels is full of sub-genres, so it’s essential to know exactly what word count is best for your book.

Speaking of manuscripts, I’m a big fan of Scrivener after reviewing it myself, and I even have a discount for you if you want to use it for writing your novel.

One commonly asked question: Are 40,000 words enough for a novel? 40,000 words are usually not enough for a novel. The average book needs to be around 50,000 words to be considered marketable. This may be disheartening for authors of shorter works.

However, there are other genres available for books with a lower word count range. Let’s take a look at categories of books that contain fewer than 40,000 words.

  • Novel: 40,000+ words (though you’re better off above 50,000 words)
  • Novella: 17,500-40,000 words
  • Novelette: 7,500-20,000 words
  • Short story: 1,000-10,000 words
  • Flash fiction: 1-1,000 words

There’s a market for shorter books, but you can help your pitch by using the proper term for your manuscript’s length.

The reader’s age is a pivotal factor to consider when determining the best word count for your novel. Conventionally, the younger the audience, the shorter the recommended length.

Here are the best word counts for a YA novel to children’s books:

  • Adult fiction: 50,000+ words
  • Young adult: 45,000+ words, but ideally not over 80,000 words
  • Middle grade: 22,000+ words, usually not more than 60,000 words
  • First chapter book: from 5,000+ words up to about 20,000 words
  • Early reader: 1,000+ words
  • Picture book: 250–750 words
  • Board book: 25–200 words

It’s important to meet your reader where they are developmentally and in terms of attention span with your novel word count and content. Remember your audience.

No matter the age you’re writing for, you can benefit from some of our favorite book writing tools here at Kindlepreneur.

How long are novels by genre?

As we’ve seen, the genre of a novel can determine its length. Sci-fi novels top out at 377,000 words, while short stories live up to their name, averaging 30,000 words.

How many words is a typical novel? A typical novel is around 90,000 words. For reference, the average non-fiction book is only 50,000-75,000.

Though some authors far exceed this estimate, like J.K. Rowling or George R. R. Martin, their colossal fanbases predated their lengthiest works.

For a first book, it’s best to stay around the ideal word count for specific genres.

The books in the following graphic came from both publishing houses and self-published authors on Amazon. The data were averaged based on Amazon's Top 100 Best-selling books in each genre.

To keep the average novel word counts accurate, outlier books, box sets, anthologies, and omnibuses were removed. Blue segments represent 25% of the genre, and the orange section signifies 50% of the books in each category.

The number of words in novels from the top 15 Amazon Kindle categories, according to our extensive in-house research, were:

  • Fantasy: 109,000 words on average (range 27,000-318,000)
  • Historical fiction: 102,000 words on average (range 6,000 to 223,000)
  • Horror: 102,000 words on average (range 19,000-377,000)
  • Genre fiction: 99,000 words on average (range 6,000-221,000)
  • Literary fiction: 98,000 words on average (range 58,000-163,000)
  • Science fiction: 98,000 words on average (range 11,000-377,000)
  • Action/adventure: 96,000 words on average (range 16,000-299,000)
  • Contemporary fiction: 96,000 words on average (range 33,000-196,000)
  • Women’s fiction: 94,000 words on average (range 6,000-163,000)
  • Mystery/thriller/suspense: 91,000 words on average (range 14,000-196,000)
  • Romance: 91,000 words on average (range 19,000-194,000)
  • Crime fiction: 89,000 words on average (range 24,000-180,000)
  • Religious fiction: 75,000 words on average (range 13,000-161,000)
  • Erotica: 58,000 words on average (range 5,000-157,000)
  • Short stories: 30,000 words on average (range 4,000-101,000)

Here are the key takeaways of what this data can mean for your novel length:

  • While a book only needs 40,000 words to make the threshold for a novel, Best-selling authors are writing closer to 90,000 words on average. Readers might expect yours to fit that mold as well.
  • Fantasy , historical fiction, and horror novels are about 15% longer than other genres.
  • In one case, a fantasy book was in the top 25 best sellers with approximately 42,000 words (less than half of the average length for this category). Word count matters, but rules can still be broken!

To answer the commonly asked question: Are 70,000 words enough for a novel? 70,000 words would be enough for a standard religious fiction or erotica novel. However, most authors today are averaging 90,000 words in a novel, so you may want to increase the length.

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The average best-selling fantasy novel on Amazon contains around 109,000 words.

Remember, this is a rule of thumb. There is quite a range in the word counts needed for world-building, and creating an alternate reality can take up extra words.

In the top 10 best-sellers, there were 2 books of 50,000 words or fewer. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there were also 13 books longer than 150,000 words and one over 300,000!

The average best-selling historical fiction novel on Amazon is around 102,000 words, just over the 100,000 words we recommend as the max for a first-time author.

There were only a handful of historical fiction novels under 60,000 words, and the top 10 books in this genre averaged over 110,000 words. It’s a safe bet that you should have a solid word count if you write historical fiction.

The average best-selling horror novel is around 102,000 words. To reiterate, first-time authors should not exceed 100,000 words in their first book unless it is fantasy or sci-fi.

One novel stood far and away in the title for the longest horror story and, for that matter, all standalone stories. Can you guess which one?

The correct answer is The Stand by Stephen King, one of the masters of the genre, weighing in at 500,000 words.

The average best-selling fiction novel is around 99,000 words.

As you can imagine, the top 100 genre fiction books had a smattering of every subject. Nevertheless, I was a bit surprised to see a lengthy 200,000-word book on the Roman Empire make the list. It serves as a reminder to write about your passions, even if they seem niche.

The average best-selling literary fiction novel is around 98,000 words.

Of the many genres, this one is relatively consistent in what works for readers. The top 100 for this category had the most negligible difference between the shortest book and the longest book. Aim for 98,000, and you’ll be golden.

The average best-selling science fiction novel is around 98,000 words.

Combing through the numbers, I made an interesting discovery. While science fiction stories tend to be pretty long, when compiling this list, the #1 seller in sci-fi was only 30,000 words (which decreased the average).

The average best-selling action and adventure novel is around 96,000 words.

Fun fact here: All 7 of the Harry Potter books are still in the top 20 of this genre over 13 years after Harry Potter, and the Deathly Hallows was released. Now that’s the staying power of a good story.

The average best-selling contemporary fiction novel is around 95,000 words.

Over 55% of books came in around 80,000 to 105,000 words, making this a consistent genre for the length needed to sell well.

The average best-selling women’s fiction novel is around 93,000 words.

These bestsellers ranged in a similar word count to contemporary fiction: roughly 50% of the novels contained 87,000 to 105,000 words.

The average best-selling mystery, thriller, or suspense novel is a slightly shorter 91,000 words.

While almost all of the novels in this category topped the 70,000-word mark, all 6 books from the Nameless series by Dean Koontz made the list. Each of the books in the series is under 20,000 words.

The average best-selling romance novel is around 90,000 words.

The romance category actually had the “youngest” collection of books in the top 100. At the time of this writing, no book on the list was published before 2013.

When it comes to love, it seems like the fresher the publication is, the better.

The average best-selling crime fiction novel is around 89,000 words.

However, the top 10 in the bestseller list all ran slightly longer than this, coming in at just under 100,000 words on average.

The average best-selling religious fiction novel is around 75,000 words.

About 20% of the books in this genre were under 50,000 words, so there is a definite opportunity for some shorter works here.

The average best-selling erotica novel is around 57,000 words.

I found Erotica to be a unique category for 2 reasons. First, this genre had, by far, the most extensive range in word count among the top 100 books, fluctuating all the way from 5,000 to 150,000.

Secondly, erotica had the most boxed collections in the top 100 of any genre — almost 20 collections made the list.

The average best-selling short story is around 30,000 words.

Despite being called “short stories,” over 15 novels in this genre ended up being 50,000 words or longer, with one book pushing 100,000 words. Most of these longer works were collections instead of standalone stories.

The shortest story in this category? Only 4,200 words. That’s like… twice the length of this post.

If, after seeing all of this data, you are looking for actionable ways to increase your word count, here are some of the most effective tips:

  • Send your mental editor on a short vacation. Write your whole first draft out and edit later. Not only will this increase your word count, but it will also keep you in the creative headspace instead of stopping mid-sentence from fixing a minor detail. Your book will be longer before you know it!
  • Bring in a fresh face. Are there any new characters with opposing goals to your main characters that you could add to your story? What other obstacles could your hero overcome?
  • Write adventures, not explanations. Are there any summaries or detailed descriptions that you “told” that you could “show” instead? Allow the reader to infer your point for themselves through action instead of spelling it out for them in a few sentences. You can learn more about outlining a story here .

As you increase your word count, let your imagination flow like this.

You can always go back and remove superfluous sections later.

If you suddenly realize your book is twice the length you need, here are some questions and suggestions to consider:

  • Look for non-essential scenes, characters, or subplots that can be removed from your story. A great guiding question: Does this add something essential to my novel?
  • Are there characters or scenes that accomplish the same goal? Most readers don’t need you to spell things out twice.
  • Cut to the chase. Do you start your book scenes in the middle of the action, or are there long descriptions leading up to it? If you feel the need to explain every scene, try removing it and catching the character in the thick of things.
  • Cut unnecessary adverbs or adjectives, and don’t be afraid of contractions. If you find your writing is full of adverbs and adjectives, you may want to find more striking word choices. Instead of a “very graceful and pretty,” could your character be “enchanting?” Did your character “move quickly,” or did they lunge? You don’t need more words to be descriptive, just clear ones.
  • Learn your habits. Do you always preface dialogue with a lengthy description of the surrounding countryside? Do you start all your chapters with the inner monologue of each character? Noticing your natural tendencies can help you to edit yourself.

Though editing down your longer novel can feel tedious or even painful, remember the old Oscar Wilde quote, “Brevity is the soul of wit.” Your book will be better for this process.

If you’re looking for tools to help you edit, we’ve tested and reviewed dozens of editing, outlining, and formatting tools, so you don’t have to.

Now that you know how many words should be in your book, you’re likely wondering how many words per page are in a novel?

The formatting and page count of a book varies, but it’s common to fit 250-300 words per page in a novel . The exact number per page is determined by the dialogue, spacing, and typeface you’ve chosen.

How many words does a 300-page book have? A 300-page book contains about 100,000 words when printed. The number of pages can also vary based on the size of the font.

Formatting your book can feel overwhelming, which is why Kindlepreneur users prefer Vellum . Who better to trust for design help than former Pixar employees?

Want even more ideas and details? Kindlepreneur has an in-depth video on the right number of words per page for your book. Check it out below.

Using the charts above, you should now be able to pinpoint a more precise range for the length of your novel. We’ve also gotten your creative juices flowing on how to add to, or edit down, your manuscript.

If you’re searching for more inspiration to write and edit your novel, check out one of these related articles, or take a look around the Kindlepreneur blog :

  • Grammarly Review [2021 Update]: Is Grammarly Worth It?
  • Best Writing Tools for Authors Pos
  • The Best Book Writing Software

It's worth noting that some books find success in multiple genres. I'd encourage you to write with your ideal readers in mind and simply enjoy any success your book happens to find in non-target genres.

With excellent writing, the right length, and an understanding of readers’ expectations, you’ll hopefully join one of these best-seller lists soon. Good luck, and happy writing!

Jordan Lyons

When I’m not sipping tea with princesses or lightsaber dueling with little Jedi, I’m a book marketing nut. Having consulted multiple publishing companies and NYT best-selling authors, I created Kindlepreneur to help authors sell more books. I’ve even been called “The Kindlepreneur” by Amazon publicly, and I’m here to help you with your author journey.

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How much do ghostwriters make common rates, how to read faster and retain more: speed reading 101, goal setting for writers: a 3-step process to achieve success, sell more books on amazon, how to title a book checklist.

Titling your book can be hard…really hard. As you go through choosing your book title, use this checklist as your guide and make sure you have a title that will sell!

3 thoughts on “ How Many Words Are in a Novel? Word Count by Genre & More ”

Interesting Article. I write Romance in several sub-genres and find it differs in these areas considerably. Conversation among small publishers is to target 75K for a full novel but the emphasis is not so much word count as content. No surprises there. The story ends where it ends. Indies I am working with are all over the place with their interpretation of the “correct” length. Anywhere from 40K, the reasoning here is it is the minimum word count to maximum return on price point, less work, same income. But for those of us who love the story and are in the middle, we don’t look at the word count as much as the storyline. I find I do the rough draft without any other consideration but getting the story told. Then, when I go back, I focus on hitting 50K knowing edits and re-writes will flesh the book out, often finishing at mid 60’s to mid 70’s and I have had no complaints. I have written longer and told it is too long. My readers want to feel it was a satisfying story they can finish in a couple of 2-3 hour sittings. Bottomline, know your audience. Great insight/information. Thanks.

Interesting and insightful article, thanks for posting. I’ve written five books, a series fitting in the Religious (Christian) Fiction genre. Interestingly, with my first book, I set a target of 275 pages, not a word count. The word count ended up being 70,000, which is not far off your calculation of 75,000 for this genre. However, what also caught my attention in your article was the paring down of word counts.

After writing the fifth book earlier this year (still to be published), I felt that it was necessary to revise the first four books. The reason for doing this was because I felt that they needed to flow better, and follow the way I had written the fifth book, not the first one! When I started the revisions, I actually adopted the opposite attitude to when I first wrote them. With the first editions, I purposely included fill-in in the chapters. With the revisions, I purposely went about removing what I felt was truly unnecessary fill-in, or slowed the movement of the stories. Although I also included a whole new section in the first book, the end results for the first three books (fourth is still to be revised) was interesting:

1. First = 70,000. Second = 82,000 (3000 words removed). 2. First = 85,000. Second = 80,000 (5000 words removed; two chapters merged). 3. First = 90,000. Second = 83,000 (7000 words removed; twice two chapters merged).

Book One, Law & Grace: Journey to Calvary, was published a couple of days ago (available free), with Book Two, Law & Grace: Divine Intervention, to follow in about a week’s time. Thereafter I’ll tackle the revision of Book Four, while Book Three is being reviewed. With the word count for Book Four currently at 83,000, it should be interesting to see the outcome, but my objective will not be to match a word count, just to improve the flow of the story!

Thanks again for the insightful article.

Oh wow…excellent work and thanks – glad you liked it.

Comments are closed.

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50 Great Classic Novels Under 200 Pages

Getting you through february.

We are now past the mid-way point in February, which is technically the shortest month, but is also the one that—for me, anyway—feels the longest. Especially this year, for all of the reasons that you already know. At this point, if you keep monthly reading goals, even vague ones, you may be looking for few a good, short novels to knock out in an afternoon or two. Last year, I wrote about the best contemporary novels under 200 pages , so now I must turn my attention to my favorite short classics—which represent the quickest and cheapest way, I can tell you in my salesman voice, to become “well-read.”

A few notes: Because the “contemporary” list surveyed novels published since 1970 (inclusive), this list will define “classic” as being originally published before 1970. Yes, these distinctions are somewhat arbitrary, but one has to draw the line somewhere (though I let myself fudge on translation dates). I did not differentiate between novels and novellas (as Steven Millhauser would tell you , the novella is not a form at all, but merely a length), but let’s be honest with ourselves: “The Dead” is a short story, and so is “The Metamorphosis.” Sorry! I limited myself to one book by each author, valiantly, I should say, because I was tempted to cheat (looking at you Jean Rhys).

Most importantly for our purposes here: lengths vary with editions, sometimes wildly. I did not include a book below unless I could find that it had been published at least once in fewer than 200 pages—which means that some excellent novels, despite coming tantalizingly close to the magic number, had to be left off for want of proof (see Mrs. Dalloway ,  Black No More , Slaughterhouse-Five , etc. etc. etc.). However, your personal edition might not exactly match the number I have listed here. Don’t worry: it’ll still be short.

Finally, as always: “best” lists are subjective, no ranking is definitive, and I’ve certainly forgotten, or never read, or run out of space for plenty of books and writers here. And admittedly, the annoying constraints of this list make it more heavily populated by white and male writers than I would have liked. Therefore, please add on at will in the comments. After all, these days, I’m always looking for something old to read .

short stories novels length

Adolfo Bioy Casares, tr. Ruth L.C. Simms, The Invention of Morel (1940) : 103 pages

Both Jorge Luis Borges and Octavio Paz described this novel as perfect, and I admit I can’t find much fault with it either. It is technically about a fugitive whose stay on a mysterious island is disturbed by a gang of tourists, but actually it’s about the nature of reality and our relationship to it, told in the most hypnotizing, surrealist style. A good anti-beach read, if you plan that far ahead.

steinbeck of mice and men

John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men (1937) : 107 pages

Everybody’s gateway Steinbeck is surprisingly moving, even when you revisit it as an adult. Plus, if nothing else, it has given my household the extremely useful verb “to Lenny.”

George Orwell, Animal Farm

George Orwell, Animal Farm (1945) : 112 pages

If we didn’t keep putting it on lists, how would future little children of America learn what an allegory is? This is a public service, you see.

short stories novels length

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) : 112 pages

A people-pleaser, in more ways than one: Sherlock Holmes, after all, had been dead for years when his creator finally bent to public demand (and more importantly, the demand of his wallet) and brought him back, in this satisfying and much-beloved tale of curses and hellbeasts and, of course, deductions.

James M. Cain, The Postman Always Rings Twice

James M. Cain, The Postman Always Rings Twice (1933) : 112 pages

A 20th century classic, and still one of the best, most important, and most interesting crime novels in the canon. Fun fact: Cain had originally wanted to call it Bar-B-Q .

nella larsen passing

Nella Larsen, Passing (1929) : 122 pages

One of the landmarks of the Harlem Renaissance, about not only race but also gender and class—not to mention self-invention, perception, capitalism, motherhood and friendship—made indelible by what Darryl Pinckney called “a deep fatalism at the core.”

short stories novels length

Albert Camus, tr. Matthew Ward, The Stranger (1942) : 123 pages

I had a small obsession with this book as a moody teen, and I still think of it with extreme fondness. Is it the thinking person’s Catcher in the Rye ? Who can say. But Camus himself put it this way, writing in 1955: “I summarized The Stranger a long time ago, with a remark I admit was highly paradoxical: “In our society any man who does not weep at his mother’s funeral runs the risk of being sentenced to death.” I only meant that the hero of my book is condemned because he does not play the game.”

short stories novels length

Juan Rulfo, tr. Margaret Sayers Peden, Pedro Páramo (1955) : 128 pages

The strange, fragmented ghost story that famously paved the way for One Hundred Years of Solitude (according to Gabriel García Márquez himself), but is an enigmatic masterpiece in its own right.

the cloven viscount

Italo Calvino, tr. Archibald Colquhoun, The Cloven Viscount (1959) : 128 pages 

This isn’t my favorite Calvino, but you know what they say: all Calvino is good Calvino (also, I forgot him on the contemporary list, so I’m making up for it slightly here). The companion volume to The Nonexistent Knight and The Baron in the Trees concerns a Viscount who is clocked by a cannonball and split into two halves: his good side and his bad side. They end up in a duel over their wife, of course—just like in that episode of Buffy . But turns out that double the Viscounts doesn’t translate to double the pages.

short stories novels length

Kate Chopin, The Awakening (1899) : 128 pages

I know, I know, but honestly, this book, which is frequently taught in American schools as an example of early feminist literature, is still kind of edgy—more than 120 years later, and it’s still taboo for a woman to put herself and her own desires above her children. Whom among us has not wanted to smash a symbolic glass vase into the hearth?

The Death of Ivan Ilyich

Leo Tolstoy, tr. Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, The Death of Ivan Ilyich (1886) : 128 pages

Another classic—Tolstoy can do it all, long and short—particularly beloved by the famously difficult-to-impress Nabokov, who described it as “Tolstoy’s most artistic, most perfect, and most sophisticated achievement,” and explained the thrust of it this way: “The Tolstoyan formula is: Ivan lived a bad life and since the bad life is nothing but the death of the soul, then Ivan lived a living death; and since beyond death is God’s living light, then Ivan died into a new life—Life with a capital L.”

Richard Brautigan, In Watermelon Sugar

Richard Brautigan, In Watermelon Sugar (1968) : 138 pages

Brautigan’s wacky post-apocalyptic novel concerns a bunch of people living in a commune called iDEATH. (Which, um, relatable.) The landscape is groovy and the tigers do math, and the titular watermelon sugar seems to be the raw material for everything from homes to clothes. “Wherever you are, we must do the best we can. It is so far to travel, and we have nothing here to travel, except watermelon sugar. I hope this works out.” It’s all nonsense, of course, but it feels so good.

James Weldon Johnson, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man

James Weldon Johnson, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man (1912) : 140 pages

Another early novel on the subject of passing—originally published in 1912, then again under Johnson’s name in 1927—this one presented as an “autobiography” written by a Black man living as white, but uneasily, considering himself a failure, feeling until the end the grief of giving up his heritage and all the pain and joy that came with it.

short stories novels length

Thomas Mann, tr. Michael Henry Heim, Death in Venice (1912) : 142 pages

What it says on the tin—a story as doomed as Venice itself, but also a queer and philosophical mini-masterpiece. The year before the book’s publication, Mann wrote to a friend: “I am in the midst of work: a really strange thing I brought with me from Venice, a novella, serious and pure in tone, concerning a case of pederasty in an aging artist. You say, ‘Hum, hum!’ but it is quite respectable.” Indeed.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle_Shirley Jackson

Shirley Jackson, We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962) : 146 pages

If you’re reading this space, you probably already know how much we love this book at Literary Hub. After that excellent opening paragraph , it only gets better.

a single man isherwood

Christopher Isherwood, A Single Man (1964) : 152 pages

Isherwood’s miniature, jewel-like masterpiece takes place over a single day in the life of a middle-aged English expat (who shares a few qualities with Isherwood himself), a professor living uneasily in California after the unexpected death of his partner. An utterly absorbing and deeply pleasurable novel.

short stories novels length

Fyodor Dostoevsky, tr. Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, Notes from Underground (1864) : 154 pages

Probably the best rant ever passed off as literature. Doestoevsky’s first masterpiece has been wildly influential in the development of existential and dystopian storytelling of all kinds, not to mention in the development of my own high school misanthropy. Maybe yours, too? “It was all from ENNUI, gentlemen, all from ENNUI; inertia overcame me . . .” Actually, now I’m thinking that it might be a good book to re-read in pandemic isolation.

Anna Kavan, Ice

Anna Kavan, Ice (1967) : 158 pages

The narrator of this strange and terrifying novel obsessively pursues a young woman through an icy apocalypse. You might call it a fever dream if it didn’t feel so . . . cold. Reading it, wrote Jon Michaud on its 50th anniversary, is “a disorienting and at times emotionally draining experience, not least because, these days, one might become convinced that Kavan had seen the future.” Help.

Cane, Jean Toomer

Jean Toomer,  Cane   (1923) : 158 pages

Toomer’s experimental, multi-disciplinary novel, now a modernist classic, is presented as a series of vignettes, poems, and swaths of dialogue—but to be honest, all of it reads like poetry. Though its initial reception was uncertain, it has become one of the most iconic and influential works of 1920s American literature.

short stories novels length

J.G. Ballard, The Drowned World (1962) : 158 pages

Only in a Ballard novel can climate change make you actually become insane—and only a Ballard novel could still feel so sticky and hot in my brain, years after I read it in a single afternoon.

knut hamsun hunger

Knut Hamsun, tr. Sverre Lyngstad, Hunger (1890) : 158 pages

The Nobel Prize winner’s first novel is, as Hamsun himself put it, “an attempt to describe the strange, peculiar life of the mind, the mysteries of the nerves in a starving body.” An modernist psychological horror novel that is notoriously difficult, despite its length, but also notoriously worth it.

giovanni's room

James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room (1956) : 159 pages

Still my favorite Baldwin, and one of the most convincing love stories of any kind ever written, about which there is too much to say: it is a must-read among must-reads.

Willa Cather O Pioneers

Willa Cather, O Pioneers! (1913) : 159 pages

A mythic, proto-feminist frontier novel about a young Swedish immigrant making a home for herself in Nebraska, with an unbearably cool and modern title (in my opinion).

Françoise Sagan, tr. Irene Ash, Bonjour Tristesse

Françoise Sagan, tr. Irene Ash, Bonjour Tristesse (1955) : 160 pages

Sagan’s famously scandalous novel of youthful hedonism, published (also famously) when Sagan was just 19 herself, is much more psychologically nuanced than widely credited. As Rachel Cusk wrote , it is not just a sexy French novel, but also “a masterly portrait that can be read as a critique of family life, the treatment of children and the psychic consequences of different forms of upbringing.” It is a novel concerned not only with morals or their lack, but with the very nature of morality itself.

short stories novels length

Herman Melville, Billy Budd, Sailor (1924) : 160 pages

Bartleby may be more iconic (and more fun), but Billy Budd is operating on a grander scale, unfinished as it may be.

Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49

Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49 (1966) : 160 pages

Everyone’s gateway to Pynchon, and also everyone’s gateway to slapstick postmodernism. Either you love it or you hate it!

short stories novels length

Franz Kafka, tr. Willa and Edwin Muir, The Trial (1925) : 160 pages

Required reading for anyone who uses the term “Kafkaesque”—but don’t forget that Kafka himself would burst out laughing when he read bits of the novel out loud to his friends. Do with that what you will.

Kenzaburo Oe, tr. John Nathan, A Personal Matter

Kenzaburo Oe, tr. John Nathan, A Personal Matter (1968) : 165 pages

Whew. This book is a lot: absolutely gorgeous and supremely painful, and probably the Nobel Prize winner’s most important.

nightwood book cover

Djuna Barnes, Nightwood (1936) : 170 pages

In his preface to the first edition, T.S. Eliot praised “the great achievement of a style, the beauty of phrasing, the brilliance of wit and characterisation, and a quality of horror and doom very nearly related to that of Elizabethan tragedy.” It is also a glittering modernist masterpiece, and one of the first novels of the 20th century to explicitly portray a lesbian relationship.

Yasunari Kawabata, tr. Edward G. Seidensticker, Snow Country

Yasunari Kawabata, tr. Edward G. Seidensticker, Snow Country (1937) : 175 pages

A story of doomed love spun out in a series of indelible, frozen images—both beautiful and essentially suspicious of beauty—by a Nobel Prize winner.

short stories novels length

Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) : 176 pages

This novel, Rhys’s famous riposte to one of the worst love interests in literary history, tells the story of Mr. Rochester from the point of view of the “madwoman in the attic.” See also: Good Morning, Midnight (1939), which is claustrophobic, miserable, pointless, and damn fine reading.

George Eliot, Silas Marner

George Eliot, Silas Marner (1861) : 176 pages

Like Middlemarch , Silas Marner is exquisitely written and ecstatically boring. Unlike Middlemarch , it is quite short.

short stories novels length

Muriel Spark, The Girls of Slender Means (1963) : 176 pages

The girls of Spark’s novel live in the May of Teck Club, disturbed but not destroyed by WWII—both the Club, that is, and the girls. “Their slenderness lies not so much in their means,” Carol Shields wrote in an appreciation of the book, “as in their half-perceived notions about what their lives will become and their overestimation of their power in the world. They are fearless and frightened at the same time, as only the very young can be, and they are as heartless in spirit as they are merry in mode.” Can’t go wrong with Muriel Spark.

Robert Walser, tr. Christopher Middleton, Jakob von Gunten

Robert Walser, tr. Christopher Middleton, Jakob von Gunten (1969) : 176 pages

Walser is a writer’s writer, a painfully underrated genius; this novel, in which a privileged youth runs off to enroll at a surrealist school for servants, may be his best.

truman capote breakfast at tiffany's

Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1958) : 179 pages

Read for proof that Holly Golightly was meant to be a Marilyn.

Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (1958) : 181 pages

A powerful, clear-eyed, and haunting novel, which at the time of its publication was transgressive in its centering of African characters in all their humanity and complexity, and which paved the way for thousands of writers all over the world in the years to follow.

fat city

Leonard Gardner, Fat City (1969) : 183 pages

Universally acknowledged as the best boxing novel ever written, but so much more than that: at its core, it’s a masterpiece about that secret likelihood of life, if not of literature: never achieving your dreams.

N. Scott Momaday, House Made of Dawn

N. Scott Momaday, House Made of Dawn (1968) : 185 pages

House Made of Dawn , Momaday’s first novel, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and is often credited with ushering in the Native American Renaissance. Intricate, romantic, and lush, it is at its core about the creaking dissonance of two incompatible worlds existing in the same place (both literally and metaphysically) at the same time.

If he Hollers Chester himes

Chester Himes,  If He Hollers Let Him Go   (1945) : 186 pages

Himes’ first novel spans four days in the life of a Californian named Bob Jones, whose every step is dogged by racism. Walter Mosely called Himes, who is also renowned for his detective fiction, a “quirky American genius,” and also “one of the most important American writers of the 20th century.”  If He Hollers Let Him Go , while not technically a detective story, is “firmly located in the same Los Angeles noir tradition as The Big Sleep and Devil in a Blue Dress ,” Nathan Jefferson has written . “Himes takes the familiar mechanics of these novels—drinking, driving from one end of Los Angeles to another in search of answers, a life under constant threats of danger—and filters them through the lens of a black man lacking any agency and control over his own life, producing something darker and more oppressive than the traditional pulp detective’s story.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (1925) : 189 pages

All my life I have wanted to scoff at The Great Gatsby . Usually, things that are universally adored are bad, or at least mediocre. But every time I reread it, I remember: impossibly, annoyingly, it is as good as they say.

Vladimir Nabokov, Pnin

Vladimir Nabokov, Pnin (1957) : 190 pages

Still one of my favorite campus novels , and short enough to read in between classes.

short stories novels length

Charles Portis, Norwood (1966) : 190 pages

Portis has gotten a lot of (well-deserved) attention in recent years for True Grit , but his first novel, Norwood , is almost as good, a comic masterpiece about a young man traipsing across a surreal America to lay his hands on $70.

Ubik

Philip K. Dick, Ubik (1969) : 191 pages

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and A Scanner Darkly have more mainstream name recognition (thank you Hollywood) but Ubik is Dick’s masterpiece, filled to the brim with psychics and anti-psis, dead wives half-saved in cold-pac, and disruptions to time and reality that can be countered by an aerosol you get at the drugstore. Sometimes, anyway.

short stories novels length

Clarice Lispector, tr. Alison Entrekin, Near to the Wild Heart (1943) : 192 pages

Lispector’s debut novel, first published in Brazil when she was only 19, is still my favorite of hers: fearless, sharp-edged, and brilliant, a window into one of the most interesting narrators in literature.

short stories novels length

Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange (1962) : 192 pages

This novel is probably more famous these days for the Kubrick film, but despite the often gruesome content, the original text is worth a read for the language alone.

short stories novels length

Barbara Comyns, Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead (1954) : 193 pages

Comyns is a criminally under-read genius, though she’s been getting at least a small taste of the attention she deserves in recent years due to reissues by NYRB and Dorothy. This one is my favorite, permeated, as Brian Evenson puts it in the introduction of my copy, with marvelousness, “a kind of hybrid of the pastoral and the naturalistic, an idyllic text about what it’s like to grow up next to a river, a text that also just happens to contain some pretty shocking and sad disasters.” Which is putting it rather mildly indeed.

Their Eyes Were Watching God book cover

Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) : 194 pages

In 194 pages, Janie goes through more husbands than most literary heroines can manage in twice as many (and finds herself in equally short order).

short stories novels length

Edith Wharton, Ethan Frome (1911) : 195 pages

To be honest with you, though it has been variously hailed as a masterpiece, I find Ethan Frome to be lesser Wharton—but even lesser Wharton is better than a lot of people’s best.

joan lindsay picnic at hanging rock

Joan Lindsay, Picnic at Hanging Rock (1967) : 198 pages

The mood this novel—of disappeared teens and Australian landscape and uncertainty—lingers much longer than the actual reading time.

Angela Carter, The Magic Toyshop

Angela Carter, The Magic Toyshop (1967) : 200 pages

“The summer she was fifteen,” Carter’s second novel begins, “Melanie discovered she was made of flesh and blood.” It is that year that she is uprooted from her home in London to the wilds of America, and it is that year she comes to term with herself. “It is often the magical, fabular aspects of Carter’s stories that people focus on, but in The Magic Toyshop I responded to the way she blended this with a clear-eyed realism about what it was to live in a female body,” Evie Wyld wrote in her ode to this novel. “In a novel so brilliantly conjured from splayed toothbrush heads, mustard-and-cress sandwiches and prawn shells, bread loaves and cutlery, brickwork and yellow household soap, the female body is both one more familiar object and at the same time something strange and troubling.”

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Emily Temple

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How Many Pages in a Novel, Novella, Novelette and Short Story?  

short stories novels length

When you first had the idea for your book, you probably weren’t focusing on how long it would (or should ) be. Often, it’s hard to tell how many pages you’ll write until you’ve finished. Even so, ensuring your novel is the right length is important—especially for first-time writers.

Writing a book that’s too short or too long could lead to bad reviews or discourage readers from buying it in the first place. Too few words could affect how much your audience trusts you; too many might hamper your future growth.

How Many Pages in a Novel?

On average, novels are around 90,000 words long. One book page generally contains 250-300 words, so a 90,000-word book amounts to 320 pages. But the length of your novel depends largely on its genre.

So, what’s the correct number of pages for your novel? Unfortunately, there isn’t a quick, solid answer to this question. In some genres, you can get away with less, while in others, you might have to sweat and grind a little more on your manuscript to increase the word count.

This article will address beginner writers’ most frequently asked questions regarding page and word counts and help you find the answer for your specific book and genre.

Can a Novel Be 100 Pages?

No. A 100-page book is too short to be considered a novel, regardless of the genre. Here’s why: stories are classified according to their word counts. We’ll dive deeper into that a little later, but for now, remember that if it’s 100 pages long, or fewer than around 40,000 words, it’s not a novel. At this length, it’s called a novella .

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short stories novels length

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What's the Difference Between a Novella and a Novel?

A manuscript with fewer than 100 pages is considered a novella. Nothing is stopping you from publishing a 100-page novella; they can be highly successful. For example, Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome   is 30,191 words, George Orwell’s Animal Farm is 29,966 words, and Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis   is only 22,009 words.

If you’ve written a novella, the key is to ensure you market it as such. Readers might be disappointed if they expect to read a lengthy book but find out 100 pages later that this wasn’t the case.

So, make it clear that it’s a novella. Do this on the cover if you can, and put it on any digital book-selling platform under the category for novellas.

Some authors write novellas just to hand them out for free. They do that in order to expose and more readers to their writing and will give them a short story or novella in exchange for their email addresses. These novellas or short stories are then called reader magnets. 

The use of reader magnets could help new authors expose their talents to new readers before even launching their first book. Be sure to check out our article on  reader magnets to learn more about this useful marketing tool.   

Is 200 Pages Too Short for a Novel?

Different types of stories are grouped based on word count. The distinctions are somewhat arbitrary and might vary depending on who you ask, but there are general guidelines you can follow.

Let’s look at these different forms of fiction grouped according to how many words they each contain:

How many words in a novel (novel wordcount)

  • Flash Fiction: 300 to 1500 words
  • Short Story: 1500 to 10,000 words
  • Novelette: 7,500 to 20,000 words
  • Novella: 30,000 to 50,000 words
  • Novel: 50,000 to 110,000 words

Some argue that anything over 40,000 words can be considered a novel. The general consensus, however, is that a novel should be at least 50,000 words long, is approximately 200 pages.

This means that 200 pages is a sufficient length for a novel. But, we also have to consider the genre. A 200-page YA (young adult) novel might be long enough but would be way below the average page count for a fantasy novel, for instance.

How Many Pages Are in a Novel by Genre?

Data from Amazon’s top 100 sellers in each genre reveals the following average word counts for novels. Based on the benchmark of 250 words per page, here are the word counts and number of pages of some of the most popular genres for our writers:

How many pages in a novel

  • Romance                                           90,000 words or 360 pages
  • Mystery, Thriller, Suspense           91,000 words or 364 pages
  • Action, Adventure                            96,000 words or 384 pages
  • Science Fiction                                  98,000 words or 392 pages
  • Horror                                                102,000 words or 408 pages
  • Fantasy                                              109,000 words or 436 pages
  • Historical Fiction                              102,000 words or 408 pages
  • Contemporary Fiction                     96,000 words or 384 pages

This table can give you an indication of what to aim for, but you don’t need to treat it as gospel regarding word or page count. The most important thing is that you focus on writing until you feel the story is complete.

Rushing a story to match a word count or stretching it to reach the minimum limit are warning signs that you may need to revise your manuscript.

The length of your novel also depends on how long you’ve been in the game and the size of your fan base. Popular authors with large followings are forgiven for writing enormous novels. You might want to reconsider your strategy if your first book is heavy enough to kill an elephant with one smack of a book.

How Many Pages in a Chapter of a Novel?

Chapter length is a tricky topic, and there’s no straightforward way to determine the ideal word count for each of your chapters. To support this statement, the shortest chapter in a published book has zero words.

That’s right, Lawrence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy contains a chapter with no words. And there are plenty of examples of novels with one-word chapters.

On the other end of the spectrum, The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle is known for having one of the longest chapters of any published book: over 23,000 words.

If we consider averages again, the general rule is that a chapter should contain between 2,000 and 5,000 words. As a first-time writer trying to build your reader base, it’s highly recommended that you stick to these averages, as we explain in the section below.

short stories novels length

How Long Should My First Novel Be?

Now that you have a better indication of what’s expected in your specific genre, you should also consider your popularity and fanbase. For first-time self-publishing authors, we strongly advise that you stick closely to the average word counts from the previous section.

Examples of wordcounts for first novels

J. K. Rowling is the wealthiest author in the world. Before writing the world-famous Harry Potter book series, she was struggling to pay the bills, but she now has a net worth of over $1 billion.

Her first book in the Harry Potter series, The Philosopher’s Stone , has a word count of 76,944. When we refer to our table, this is actually below the average word count for both the fantasy and adventure genres.

The Philosopher’s Stone was a hit, and readers were dying for more. The sequel, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets , was 85,141 words long, and the next one, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , had 107,253 words.

The final book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows , contained 198,277 words. So, as you can see, the word count increased more than twofold from the first to the last Harry Potter book.

The same can be said of J. R. R. Tolkien . His first book, The Hobbit , had a word count of 95,356, whereas the next one in the series, The Fellowship of the Ring , was 187,790 words.

Readers' sentiment on wordcounts/amount of pages in a novel

It boils down to return on investment. As a first-time author, you need to go through the learning curve and improve your skills, and this takes time. The odds of your first book being the best of your career as an author are infinitely small.

Readers browsing for a novel are less likely to spend their hard-earned money on a mammoth book from an unknown author. For them, it’s also about ROI—regarding both time and money. It’s a gamble to invest either in a first-time writer.

Giving them a taste of what you have to offer is more attractive than forcing a funnel down their throats and suffocating them with 150,000 words of what’s possibly not the best work of your career.

Once you’ve established trust and your brand is becoming attractive, then you can start thickening your novels beyond the average limit.

How Much Should I Charge for My First Novel?

There are multiple factors at play when determining the asking price of your novel: commission brackets, brand building, genre, and many more factors that are too elaborate to explain here. The word count also plays a role—for example, novellas are usually less expensive than lengthy novels.

Watch out for future articles exploring online publishing platforms and pricing strategies in-depth.

Struggling to find the time to write your novel?

Check out our writing coaching program to discover how busy people finish their books.

Oh, and by the way, if you still need a little more time to hone your skills as a writer, read our article about how to get paid to write while becoming a better writer.

short stories novels length

About the author 

Mairead Beeson

Mairead is an award-winning editor whose passion for writing started at a young age. And it was cemented when she received a personal response letter from her favorite author Darren Shan after writing to him. Although her passions have now multiplied to include various “very British” leisure pursuits (football, awful 80s slasher movies, Indian food, cycling, comedy, etc.), she still can’t resist making time for a good book…or three.

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This season’s new crop of novels and short stories includes five superstars: breathtaking exhibitions of the power of fiction to leap centuries and continents and even the bounds of reality. For mud-season haters, these books will make bad weather and sappy holidays a distant dream.

Leaving , by Roxana Robinson

They were lovers long ago, in college, but when they run into each other at an opera house in Manhattan as a long-married architect and a divorced grandmother, they are shocked to realize their connection is even more powerful than it was back then. What they don’t realize at first, as their hearts and bodies come slowly back to life, as daily lives that once seemed perfectly acceptable become unbearably dreary, is that they are no longer free to easily change their circumstances. Somehow balancing operatic intensity with deeply intelligent emotional realism (particularly with regard to the role of adult children in their parents’ lives), Robinson’s novel reinvents our understanding of the possibilities, and limits, of midlife. Sorry, we're not going to talk about the ending.

The Bullet Swallower , by Elizabeth Gonzalez James

Quentin Tarantino meets One Hundred Years of Solitude in this technicolor fable of a Mexican family cursed by the greed of its ancestors and haunted by an ageless (but not heartless) spirit sent to claim their crooked souls. Part of the story unfolds in 1895, when Antonio Sonoro crosses the border into Texas to rob a train, runs afoul of local lawmen, and survives a gunshot wound to the face that earns him the nickname that titles the book. But even worse: He’s adopted by an unwelcome but un-losable sidekick, a dandy British sharpshooter. Another thread is set in the 1960s, when Mexican movie star and family man Jaime Sonoro uncovers the evil genealogy of his clan—and with it, what he imagines could be the role of his dreams. Remember to breathe as this gleefully gory melodrama thunders toward its fateful climax.

The Fox Wife , by Yangsze Choo

This utterly captivating novel revolves around the idea that there are foxes among us—magical shape-shifting creatures who appear as humans, only better-looking, cleverer, and much more agile. Choo’s bewitching heroine, Snow, is one of them, and when we first meet her, she’s on a mission to avenge the death of her baby daughter, which involves going undercover as a servant to a kind old lady and tracking a shady photographer across early-20th-century Manchuria and Japan. Snow—who candidly assures us, “I am not a good girl at all”—is on a collision course with private investigator Bao, hired to look into the death of a young woman in the pleasure district. Bao has a superhuman skill of his own: He can hear lies. And he doesn’t believe in foxes. Yet. So lively and sharp-edged, it unfolds almost like an animated cartoon in your head.

Neighbors and Other Stories , by Diane Oliver

You’ll want to put this collection of short stories, written by a preternaturally gifted 22-year-old Black woman who died in a motorcycle accident in 1966 one month before her graduation from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, on your shelf alongside Toni and Zora—yes, it’s that good. As a time capsule of the civil rights period, it reveals from the inside the heartbreaking experiment that was desegregation. The title story concerns a Black family agonizing over whether to send their child to be the first to cross the color line at school. Another shadows four teenagers as they take a table in a department store restaurant; a third follows a Black girl to a white women’s college. A story about a teenager on a European exchange program where she is a curiosity of zoo-like proportions is deepened by a poignant sense of the bright life that was cut short.

The Best That You Can Do , by Amina Gautier

Gautier's prizewinning short-story collection reflects the acrobatic range of a writer who has made the form her own, seamlessly integrating social commentary into her storytelling. The first of five sections, “Quarter Rican,” contains linked stories, many very brief, brimming with the life of a mixed-race family scattered over households and generations, the youngest of which think “Police la di da” is one of the lines of the Spanish Christmas song. The last section, “Caretaking,” examines the relationship between a Jamaican caretaker and her frail client, sprinkling in scenes from Mrs. McAllister’s long life in Brooklyn, some nostalgic and some stone-cold. Between these two near-novellas, many stories sparkle with sharp, of-the-moment details—at a club with the password “Becky,” white girls’ tears are on tap; at a Juneteenth family reunion, the main event is a piñata called Karen.

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Book Reviews

Kelly link's debut novel 'the book of love' is magical, confusing, heartfelt, strange.

Gabino Iglesias

Cover of The Book of Love

For years, fans of Kelly Link, one of the finest purveyors of contemporary short fiction, have wondered what the author would be able to do with a full novel — and have eagerly waited for her to deliver one.

That wait ends now with the release of The Book of Love , Link's debut novel. And the author has embraced the freedom granted by a longer format, delivering a 600-page behemoth of a novel that shatters reality while pulling readers into the lives of several characters and obliterating any perceived dividing line between speculative fiction and literary fiction.

As an avid reader and book reviewer, I'm looking forward to seeing how other reviewers tackle a synopsis of this novel. The narrative starts late one night when Laura, Daniel, and Mo find themselves in a classroom with their music teacher and a strange entity. The youngsters are dead, but they're not. They disappeared a year ago from their hometown of Lovesend, Massachusetts. They were presumed dead, and they are, but now that they're back, their teacher, who possesses magical powers, alters reality. Instead of dead, they're all coming back from a long trip to study in Ireland. Their teacher knows what happened...maybe.

With their story in their heads and their new reality in place. the teenagers are sent back to their previous lives, where they must cope with everything that happened during their absence while simultaneously trying to figure out what will happen next. Also, there was a cryptic message for them on the blackboard of the room where they appeared: "2 RETURN/2 REMAIN." What does it mean? How does that math affect the outcome of their return? Their life as the undead is already complicated enough, but their bizarre revivification has brought something other than the teenagers from the other side; supernatural entities that have their own agendas. As Laura, Daniel, and Mo navigate their new situation and adapt to their new realities, they must also crack the mystery of their return, and more than their own resurrection hangs in the balance.

That's a lengthy synopsis, but it barely scratches the surface of The Book of Love , which also delves into the complications of love and friendship, family drama, grief, resilience, and the unlimited power of adaptability while delivering a tale of supernatural menace that also explores what it truly means to be alive. After years of award-winning short stories in some great venues and a few outstanding short story collections like Get in Trouble , which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and White Cat, Black Dog , this novel is proof that Link can be as strange, entertaining, and witty in novel form as she is when writing short stories.

The Book of Love is a narrative about love — and death and resurrection and kissing people and growing up and sibling rivalry and horror. This is a story about stories that even touches on writing. Mo's grandmother, Maryanne, who passed away while Mo was away, was a prolific writer who wrote 73 books in 42 years. Writing allowed her to build a good life and to take care of Mo after his mother passed away. She was also a Black woman. Little details like that open the door to new things, so while Link is telling us about Mo, she also gives us Maryanne's biography while also discussing publishing and the intricacies of a Black woman writing a very popular series about a white woman. Stories within stories, narratives that delve into memories, and expansive passages what go deep into the psychological and emotional inner worlds of the characters are common. In fact, this book will be too much for some readers. This is an entertaining novel, but it's also a barrage of ideas and minutiae, a veritable onslaught of language and narratives that deviate from the core of the story.

This is a long book that's simultaneously dazzling and dizzying. Some lines cut with their clarity and sincerity while some plot elements are puzzling. Link is a wizard writing spells that obey a dream logic only she fully understands. At once a book for adults that's full of elements that make it feel like a fantasy YA novel, a story about survival and danger that starts with a group of dead kids and only gets weirder from there, and a narrative that shows a mighty writer with a unique voice at the height of her powers, The Book of Love is, simply put, a magical, confusing, heartfelt, strange, wonderfully written novel that delivers everything fans of Link's short fiction expected while also packing a few surprises.

Gabino Iglesias is an author, book reviewer and professor living in Austin, Texas. Find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @Gabino_Iglesias .

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‘The 2024 Oscar Nominated Short Films’ Review: Small Running Times, Large Themes

Many of this year’s films take a darker turn, but there is some levity among the bunch.

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A man stands on a terrace in a city looking out and holding his neck. The sun shines down on him.

By Jeannette Catsoulis ,  Maya Phillips and Ben Kenigsberg

When you purchase a ticket for an independently reviewed film through our site, we earn an affiliate commission.

The Oscar-nominated short films are being presented in three programs : live action, animation and documentary. Each program is reviewed below by a separate critic.

Live Action

Whatever your takeaways from the live action section of this year’s Oscar-nominated short films, a good laugh is unlikely to be among them. Suicide, abortion, bereavement, discoloring corpses — they’re all here, in a deluge of downers that only the Danes (and, depending on your tolerance for extreme preciousness, Wes Anderson) can be trusted to alleviate.

Those Danes, though! In Lasse Lyskjer Noer’s magnificently morbid comedy, “Knight of Fortune,” two grieving widowers bond over toilet paper and the trauma of viewing a loved one whose flesh — as warned by a pair of ghoulish mortuary attendants — might be the color of a banana. Although, bathed in the sickly spill of the morgue’s fluorescents, no one’s complexion here is exactly glowing.

If “Knight of Fortune” is a gentle nudge to the ribs, Misan Harriman’s “The After” is a two-by-four to the gut — and not in a good way. Trafficking in the kind of forced sentiment that can break you out in hives, this handsomely shot movie, featuring a garment-rending David Oyelowo, follows a London ride-share driver in the wake of a shocking personal tragedy. A trite, bullying soundtrack herds us toward the histrionic climax of a film that doesn’t trust us to get there on our own.

6 Films Our Critics Are Talking About

book cover for Land of Bad

Land of Bad

R | Action, thriller

Fighters on the ground are assisted by drone pilots, including one played by Russell Crowe, half a world away.

Read our full review.

book cover for Upgraded

R | Comedy, romance

Camila Mendes plays a broke assistant posing as an art world bigwig in this slyly charming romantic comedy.

book cover for Monolith

R | Mystery, thriller

Lily Sullivan plays a podcaster investigating a supernatural mystery in this thriller.

book cover for The Space Race

The Space Race

Not rated | Documentary

The days of shooting for the stars are interpreted through the stories of people of color whose aspirations were thwarted.

book cover for God & Country

God & Country

PG-13 | Documentary

This film follows the rise of Christian nationalist voters and argues that they threaten pluralism and democracy.

book cover for Onlookers

This experimental nonfiction feature aims to reflect on travel and tourism in Laos.

More restrained, and infinitely more resonant, “Invincible” observes the final 48 hours in the life of a 14-year-old boy (Léokim Beaumier-Lépine) as he struggles to corral his emotions and earn release from a center for troubled youth. The acting is impressive and the direction (by Vincent René-Lortie, drawing from a painful real-life memory) is bold and intuitive. Subtly intimate photography by Alexandre Nour Desjardins does much to enhance a movie that understands when it comes to emotions, less is often more.

For Wes Anderson, less is rarely an option. As “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” flits through a forest of intricate sets, a flurry of famous faces (Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley) and multiple story lines, its 37 minutes of virtually nonstop narration can feel like as many hours. Changing character onscreen and speaking directly to the camera, the actors navigate an ever-shifting story ( adapted from Roald Dahl’s original ) and constantly shuffling surroundings. A gorgeous, ingenious and finally exhausting exercise in puzzle box moviemaking.

Even allowing for Anderson’s flash and fame, Nazrin Choudhury’s “Red, White And Blue” — the only one of this year’s entries that’s overtly political — is the program’s clear standout. Wrapping the cold steel of its message in velvet-soft packaging, this beautifully acted, warmly photographed observation of financial precarity follows a desperate single mother (Brittany Snow) who must cross state lines to terminate a pregnancy. Painstakingly constructed from small, telling details, the movie ends with the kind of sting that lingers longer than any news report. JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

This year’s Oscar-nominated animated shorts — sobering tales of war, assault, trauma, identity and regret — ask the question, what tools can filmmakers use to tell a poignant, but not exploitative or gratuitous, story about trauma?

The novel technique the directors Jared Hess and Jerusha Hess use in “Ninety-Five Senses” is the story structure: An inmate (voiced by Tim Blake Nelson) eating his last meal anecdotally reflects on each of his senses, telling tidbits of the life he had (and the life that could have been). Each sense is illustrated by different artists, in a different style, creating a kind of 13-minute anthology of a life — but that makes this understated film also feel a bit incoherent, with the vignettes lacking the build to bring the film to a satisfying emotional conclusion.

“Our Uniform,” a 7-minute selection from the Iranian director Yegane Moghaddam, packs a lot into a succinct reflection on her school uniform and the ways her culture’s restrictive fashion rules shaped her understanding of her gender and autonomy. Like “Ninety-Five Senses,” the narrative of “Our Uniform” is plain and direct, but the latter shows the most creative animation concept of the group; illustrations move against a backdrop of various fabrics, with characters running around buttons and along seams.

In the quiet but harrowing French short “Pachyderme,” from the director Stéphanie Clément, a young girl tells of her summers with her grandparents in the country. The robust art style — each shot is as beautifully shaded as a painting — and sedated narration create the sense of a Grimm fairy tale, showing how seemingly innocuous details can hide something menacing beneath.

The unspoken monster in “Pachyderme” mirrors the ever-morphing monster in the breathtaking “Letter to a Pig,” directed by Tal Kantor. In the film, a Holocaust survivor tells a classroom of young students about the pig who saved his life. Though the movie never details the atrocities of the war, it paints just as chilling a picture through incisive visual metaphors. The animation, which morphs from bare-bones line drawings in black and white to fleshy watercolor pinks to 3-D realism, creates a sophisticated, heart-wrenching account of a tragedy.

Juxtaposed with such a remarkable war story, Dave Mullins’s “War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko” feels pat. In an alternate World War I, soldiers on both sides find a way to connect. A telegraphed death and the idealistic crooning of John Lennon and Yoko Ono make this the least impressive of an otherwise strong category of films about the darker parts of humanity. MAYA PHILLIPS

Documentary

Only one documentary short nominee this year has the full balance of human interest, social relevance and aesthetic appeal that tends to make a winner.

It’s “The Last Repair Shop,” directed by Ben Proudfoot, who won two years ago, for “The Queen of Basketball,” a New York Times Opinion production, and the composer Kris Bowers, who was nominated with Proudfoot for “A Concerto Is a Conversation,” another Times Opinion documentary. This time, both have made their documentary with The Los Angeles Times. But it’s a better movie, and it happens to have a Los Angeles subject.

The repair shop of the title fixes instruments for the city’s school district; according to the opening text, that service has been offered to students for decades. The movie presents the recollections of four specialists (in strings, brass, woodwinds and piano), who share their experiences of immigration, of coming to terms with being gay and even of opening for Elvis in a bluegrass band, a long-term payoff of buying a $20 fiddle at a swap meet. Schoolchildren further testify to how music affects their lives. The generational contrast gives “The Last Repair Shop” a pleasing shape and helps it make an uninflected case for the importance of financing music education.

Sentimentality in “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó” is a given. Directed by Sean Wang, who received his Oscar nomination just as his debut feature, “Dìdi,” was becoming a Sundance darling , the short profiles Wang’s two grandmothers , who are so close they even sleep in the same bed. Wang depicts them as cut-ups (he films them arm-wrestling, watching “Superbad” and generally being goofballs), which is sweet, but the subject is a bit too easy. The doc never transcends being a professional-grade home movie.

It is also no trick to wring pathos from a centenarian World War II widow speaking out against a censorious Florida school board — something that happens in “The ABCs of Book Banning,” directed by the longtime HBO documentary chief, Sheila Nevins, now at MTV. The heart of the film is children talking about books that authorities have removed or considered removing from schools. While using kids might seem cheap, they are unfailingly thoughtful. “It’s like you’re trying to slow down children’s reading,” says a fourth-grader named Ruth Anne of those who would remove books from shelves.

John Hoffman and Christine Turner’s “The Barber of Little Rock” centers on Arlo Washington, who started a barbers’ college and then a nonprofit fund with the specific goal of helping underserved Black residents of Little Rock, Ark. The short splits the difference between observing Washington and his fund at work and presenting polished interviews with him and others. The first approach is more effective than the second.

Finally, “Island in Between,” a Times Opinion documentary by the Taiwan-born director S. Leo Chiang, explores questions of national identity through the lens of Kinmen, islands that are governed by Taiwan but geographically closer to mainland China. It’s the least pushy, least resolved title in the lineup, which means it barely stands a chance. BEN KENIGSBERG

The 2024 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Live Action Not rated. Running time: 2 hours 31 minutes. In theaters.

The 2024 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Animated Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 20 minutes. In theaters.

The 2024 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Documentary Not rated. Running time: 2 hours 33 minutes. In theaters.

Maya Phillips is an arts and culture critic for The Times.  More about Maya Phillips

The Run-Up to the 2024 Oscars

The 96th academy awards will be presented on march 10 in los angeles..

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What are the best performers of the year doing when they’re not on film? Here’s how Emma Stone, Bradley Cooper, and other great actors spend their free time .

Christopher Nolan and Robert Downey Jr. have worked on some of the most beloved superhero films of our time, so how is it that the two had never worked together  on a movie before “Oppenheimer”?

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Gabrielle Union Couldn’t Decide on One Length for Her New Bob

By Marci Robin

Gabrielle Union smiling

Gabrielle Union 's hair is truly a shape-shifter. She frequently changes up her length and texture, because, honestly, she can — she looks amazing in literally every style. One look she always seems to come back to is a bob, and each time it seems to be a different length — sometimes quite short, other times reaching lob territory. And for her latest, it seems one length just wasn't enough.

Union attended London Fashion Week's Burberry show on Monday, February 19, wearing a sheer yet velvety, colorful, open-back dress — and we got to see her entire back because, unlike just a week ago, her hair isn't long enough to cover even an inch of it.

The actor and entrepreneur brought back a decidedly '90s look with this bob. On one side of the side-parted style, Union wore a barely chin-length section tucked behind her ear; on the other, we got a throwback with an angled shape that reached below the chin. The asymmetrical effect is a throwback to the decade when we first fell in love with Union, but the slight wave gives it a totally modern feel.

Gabrielle Union smiling in a colorful dress

This isn't the first time Union has opted for an asymmetrical bob, though it's definitely one of the shortest. She came pretty close in 2022 when she wore a straightened version with a similar side part. And last September, she wore a lob so awesomely askew that one side dipped below her shoulder while the other hovered above.

Does anyone wear an asymmetrical bob as well as Gabrielle Union? Probably not. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't bring these photos to the salon as inspo for your next cut.

More celebrity hair makeovers:

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Now watch Charli D'Amelio react to TikTok beauty trends:

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scenic view of the river Lerryn and hills behind in Cornwall

What are the proposals to restrict short-term lets in England?

Ministers hope a registration scheme for holiday lets on sites such as Airbnb will increase the supply of homes for locals

New rules for short-term holiday lets in England were unveiled by the government on Monday, with the aim of reining in a sector that campaigners claim is “ out of control ”.

Amid growing concern about an explosion in the number of properties being let out on a short-term basis, leading to local residents being pushed out of their communities, ministers are proposing to introduce a registration scheme for holiday lets, and will also require them to get planning permission.

However, many campaigners say the planned changes do not go nearly far enough.

So what’s the problem?

In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people turning their properties into holiday rentals and short-term lets. A lot of this has been fuelled by the ubiquity of platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com that arguably make it easy to do this as a potentially lucrative and often largely unregulated side hustle .

The coronavirus pandemic then turbo-charged this trend because it triggered a boom in domestic holidays and short breaks – something that has continued during the cost of living crisis.

At the same time a less favourable tax regime for buy-to-let following changes made in 2015 has meant many landlords and investors have left that sector and switched to catering to tourists – particularly in popular destinations such as the Lake District and Cornwall.

The result of all this, said campaign group Generation Rent , was that “families are being driven out of their communities by the disastrous loss of homes into holiday lets, with over 35,000 privately rented homes lost to Airbnb-style short-term lets since 2019”.

Registered holiday lets and second homes have an arguably negligible effect on housing supply across England , accounting for 26,000 properties compared with the 682,000 new homes added to the nation’s housing stock over 2019-22. However, the effect they do have is highly concentrated: 80% of the recent growth in holiday homes has happened in 25 local council areas.

There is also the issue of antisocial behaviour linked to short-term lets, such as fly-tipping, bags of rubbish and noisy parties.

What has the government announced?

It has acknowledged there is a problem. The housing secretary, Michael Gove , said on Monday that in some areas “too many local families and young people feel they are being shut out of the housing market and denied the opportunity to rent or buy in their own community”.

It has been consulting on this issue and has now announced a shake-up of the rules in England.

There are two main proposals. Planning permission will be required for future short-term lets, which the government argues will give councils more power to “control” them. The proposed changes would create a planning “use class” for short-term lets that are not used as a sole or main home.

Meanwhile, a mandatory national register will be set up to provide local authorities with information on short-term lets in their area and, in theory, enable them to monitor their use, the impact on the local area and whether health and safety rules are being met.

More detailed information will be set out by ministers in the coming months, and the government said the reforms would be introduced “from this summer”.

I sense a ‘but’ …

So yes, while many commentators were happy to see the government taking action, some pointed out omissions or what they argued were sizeable flaws in the shake-up.

The “future short-term lets” aspect of the first proposal is important: the government said existing short-term lets “will automatically be reclassified into the new use class and will not require a planning application”. Generation Rent said that allowing existing holiday lets to automatically gain permission to continue “risks shutting the stable door once the horse has bolted” and would do nothing about the thousands of homes that had already been lost.

Meanwhile, ministers said homeowners would still be able to let out their own home for up to 90 nights a year without planning permission. The government had been looking at whether there should be a limit of 30, 60 or 90 nights a year.

On top of this, the government also said it was looking at how to ensure the register “does not apply disproportionate regulation – for example on property owners that let out their home infrequently”.

The fact that the government announcement included a positive quote from Airbnb welcoming the register as “good news for everyone” was seized on by some commentators, with Jonathan Eley of the Financial Times posting on X that it “tells you everything you need to know about the pointlessness of the legislation”.

Aren’t some areas already cracking down on holiday lets?

Yes. In Scotland, for example, new rules took effect on 1 October last year. There, people must have a licence before they offer short-term lets, and operating without one is a criminal offence: you could get a fine of £2,500 and be banned from applying for a licence for a year. The rules apply even if someone occasionally lets out their spare room or sublets their property while on holiday.

What do campaigners say needs to be done?

Groups such as Generation Rent say the government should rethink its approach and give councils the power to require holiday lets to join a licensing scheme.

It has also called for the introduction of local caps on the number of holiday lets that can operate in an area – particularly those locations with especially serious housing affordability problems.

There is already precedent for a national licensing regime. A fairly strict one is in place for larger private rented homes – large houses in multiple occupation – in England and Wales.

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Welcome to ‘Supersex’: Why Porn Icon Rocco Siffredi Brought His True Story and More Than 40 ‘Boundary-Pushing’ Sex Scenes to Netflix

Porn icon Rocco Siffredi claims that after making roughly 1,400 hardcore films — with titles like “The Ass Collector” and “Rocco’s Perfect Slaves” — over the past four decades, he has finally found “the peace of his senses.”

“I could crack a bad joke and say I can’t get it up anymore,” says Siffredi, 59, speaking on a video call from the Budapest office of his Rocco Siffredi Production company, which houses the Siffredi Hard Academy, touted as the world’s first “university of porn.”

“I have to tell you that it was a mix of problems connected with my personal life and the dependency that this job, for better or worse, sets forth in you when you’re on set 28 days every month doing two or three scenes a day,” Siffredi says. “I don’t know if it was dependency or just desire. But I swear, it’s over.”

That said, he’s still happy to shoot other actors and create porn. “But I don’t feel the need to do it myself.”

“ Supersex ,” the Netflix series inspired by Siffredi’s life that drops globally on March 6 after premiering at the Berlin Film Festival in February, begins with Rocco announcing, “Porn for me is over. I’m retiring,” at a 2004 Paris porn industry convention. That really happened. But in a fictional twist written by the show’s creator, Francesca Manieri, Rocco, played by Italian star Alessandro Borghi, then proceeds to have rough sex in front of a throng of cheering journalists and fans, having been enticed by one of the convention’s hostesses, an aspiring porn performer who is seeking her big break.

Manieri, who is a militant feminist, says that when she was approached by producer Lorenzo Mieli about doing a Rocco Siffredi origins show on the set of Luca Guadagnino’s gay coming-of-age TV series “We Are Who We Are” — which she co-wrote — she thought Mieli was joking. He asked her to give it some serious thought.

Everyone told her it was “too risky,” but Manieri came on board because she saw it as a unique opportunity.

“I said to myself that if when women are given the chance to delve into the heart of masculinity — with all its dysfunctionality and potential toxicity, or even its power —we turn it down, then we can’t blame anyone anymore,” she says.

“That evening was like my high school and college graduation crammed into one,” says Siffredi — who is named after Alain Delon’s gangster character Roch Siffredi in the 1970 French film “Borsalino.” “When I saw Gabriel in that club, I knew that in front of me I had the opportunity that I had been seeking ever since I was a kid. The emotion I felt is indescribable.”

“Supersex” traces Siffredi’s journey from Ortona to Paris, Rome and then Los Angeles, where he started working with U.S. porn pioneer John Leslie and producer John Stagliano. It delves into Rocco’s close relationships with his mom and older brother Tommaso (Adriano Giannini) and with Tommaso’s partner Lucia, played by Jasmine Trinca, a Berlin juror. Lucia becomes a prostitute and is a “mirror for Rocco.” “They are both sex workers,” Manieri says. “But the social judgment cast upon them is completely different.” Lucia eventually manages to find redemption, though not entirely, “because our society does not allow that strong a twist.” But her character provides a “bridge between the feminine and masculine [realms].”

In terms of genre, Manieri calls “Supersex” a hybrid between a melodrama and a coming-of-age story. As references she cites Luchino Visconti’s neo-realist classic “Rocco and His Brothers” and Sergio Leone’s epic “Once Upon a Time in America,” classics that feature respectively a feminicide and a rape, she points out. These films depict “the dynamics of how a masculine psyche is built,” she says. Similarly, the series deconstructs “the boundaries of that type of toxic masculinity.”

Both Siffredi and Manieri say there is a lot more of Rocco’s real journey in “Supersex” than a show “just inspired by my life,” as Siffredi puts it. “Stories are built on conflict,” says Manieri. “Rocco and I in a room were the biggest conflict you could possibly imagine, so it was a great start.”

For Borghi — known to U.S. art-house audiences for playing Bruno, the Alpine native who has a meltdown in male-bonding drama “The Eight Mountains” — “Francesca’s screenplay is probably the reason I chose to make this series.” What interested him about the story of an 8-year-old kid from a dirt-poor family in Ortona who becomes the world’s biggest porn star is that it’s “so filled with emotional changes that have to do with dependency and pain and things connected with his family — this whole dark side,” he says.

“If they had written a series about a porn actor just to show how good he was at fucking, surely I would not have accepted,” he adds.

Borghi says he has roughly 40 or 50 “boundary-pushing” sex scenes in the show, some more intense than others. But what’s crucial for him is “that every scene that has to do with sex, with porn, always involves a new narrative twist for the character,” he points out. “It’s never because at that point in the narrative you needed to throw in some sex for the audience.” Instead, the steamy scenes “can be Rocco’s consecration, his happiness, or the way he faces pain.”

To play these scenes with several actresses— including Gaia Messerklinger, who plays Italian porn star Moana Pozzi, and Jade Pedri and Linda Caridi as women with whom Rocco becomes romantically involved — directors Matteo Rovere, Francesco Carrozzini and Francesca Mazzoleni had an intimacy coordinator on set in Rome, Sicily and Paris.

“We did lots of different things,” says Borghi, who describes the mood instilled on set by intimacy coordinator Luisa Lazzaro.

“It was funny because the first couple of weeks we were all a little uneasy,” he says, “and then the third week we just stood there naked looking at scenes on the monitor. So something must have worked.”

There is little doubt that of the many women in Rocco Siffredi’s life, the most important one is his mom, Carmela.

“My whole journey [into the porn world] starts with that woman and her suffering, my desire to suffer the way she did,” he says wistfully. “It was always very important for me to find redemption in order to help my mother, even financially.”

“She’s the biggest luck of my life,” he continues. “A mom who doesn’t judge you for your choice, doesn’t try to oppose it or create problems.” On the contrary: “It’s not that she pushed me. But she had that protective attitude that says: ‘Rocco, if it makes you happy, go for it!’”

Going for it took Siffredi from Ortona to Los Angeles in 1990. It was very tough, he recalls, due to his Italian accent and “because Americans are used to selling, not to buying,” as he puts it.

“Rocco, this guy from Italy. I’m the first European to disembark in America and I changed porn,” Siffredi boasts, referring to his signature brand of rough on-screen sex, not to mention his supersized cock, which has won him 150 porn industry prizes.

So is there a moral to “Supersex”? Can it help teenagers grasp the distinction between porn and real sex? “This series can help Rocco fans understand better who Rocco is — his life, where he comes from,” says Siffredi.

But it should also help viewers understand what it takes to become a porn star. “Guys arrive at my academy and they think they are going to find 10 women with their legs spread open, ready to do what they want,” Siffredi points out. But it’s not like that.

According to Siffredi, “Porn is a very tough job; it’s a vocation. I always say to the guys, ‘If you want to do this because you are unemployed and you need to make money, it’s not going to work. Because working with sex is the worse thing you can do in your life.’”

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short stories novels length

  • Housing, local and community
  • Housing and communities
  • Rented housing sector

Short-term lets rules to protect communities and keep homes available

Local residents will be protected from being pushed out of their communities by excessive short-term lets thanks to changes in planning rules.

short stories novels length

  • Planning permission will be required for future short-term lets 
  • Mandatory national register will provide valuable information and help ensure accommodation is safe
  • Proposals will give communities greater control over future growth
  • Homeowners can continue to let out their own main or sole home for up to 90 nights a year

Local residents will be protected from being pushed out of their communities by excessive short-term lets thanks to changes in planning rules announced today.

Under the reforms councils will be given greater power to control short-term lets by making them subject to the planning process. This will support local people in areas where high numbers of short-term lets are preventing them from finding housing they can afford to buy or to rent.

These changes are part of a long-term plan to prevent a “hollowing out” of communities, address anti-social behaviour and ensure local people can continue to live in the place they call home.

Meanwhile, a new mandatory national register will give local authorities the information they need about short-term lets in their area. This will help councils understand the extent of short-term lets in their area, the effects on their communities, and underpin compliance with key health and safety regulations.

Short-term lets are now a significant part of the UK’s visitor economy, and can provide increased choice and flexibility for tourists and business travellers. To recognise this, homeowners will still be able to let out their own main or sole home for up to 90 nights throughout a year without planning permission and government is considering how to apply the register so it does not apply disproportionate regulation for example on property owners that let out their home infrequently.

Secretary of State for Levelling Up Housing and Communities, Michael Gove said:

Short-term lets can play an important role in the UK’s flourishing tourism economy, providing great, easily-accessible accommodation in some of the most beautiful parts of our country. But in some areas, too many local families and young people feel they are being shut out of the housing market and denied the opportunity to rent or buy in their own community. So the government is taking action as part of its long-term plan for housing. That means delivering more of the right homes in the right places, and giving communities the power to decide. This will allow local communities to take back control and strike the right balance between protecting the visitor economy and ensuring local people get the homes they need.

Tourism Minister Julia Lopez said:

Short-term lets provide flexibility for homeowners and give tourists more accommodation options than ever before, but this should not prevent local people from being able to buy or rent homes in their area. The government is committed to getting the balance right to ensure both local people and our visitor economy can thrive.

Amanda Cupples, General Manager for Northern Europe, Airbnb said: 

The introduction of a short-term lets register is good news for everyone. Families who Host on Airbnb will benefit from clear rules that support their activity, and local authorities will get access to the information they need to assess and manage housing impacts and keep communities healthy, where necessary. We have long led calls for the introduction of a Host register and we look forward to working together to make it a success.

The proposed planning changes would see a new planning ‘use class’ created for short-term lets not used as a sole or main home. Existing dedicated short-term lets will automatically be reclassified into the new use class and will not require a planning application.

The changes are part of the government’s long-term plan for housing, unlocking more of the homes this country needs and meeting the target to deliver one million homes this Parliament, backed by £10 billion investment.

The government also intends to introduce associated permitted development rights – one allowing for a property to be changed from a short-term let to a standard residential dwelling, and a second that would allow a property to be changed to a short-term let. Local authorities would be able to remove these permissions and require full planning permission if they deem it necessary.

Both of these measures are focussed on short-term lets, and therefore the planning changes and the register will not affect hotels, hostels or B&Bs.

Further details of these measures will be set out in the government’s response to the consultations, including the timeline for implementation of the register, the use class and the individual permitted development rights - with the changes being introduced from this summer.

Alistair Handyside MBE, Executive Chair of the Professional Association of Self Caterers UK (PASC UK), said:

We welcome the introduction of a registration scheme for short term lets in England. This is widely supported by accommodation providers and will finally provide real data on our sector. This is a first and important step to creating a level playing field for operators and we look forward to working with the government on the detail of the introduction of the register.

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COMMENTS

  1. How Long is a Short Story or Novella? (Updated for 2024)

    How Long is a Short Story or Novella? (Updated for 2024) In book publishing, the average length of a novel will be influenced by its genre (sci-fi epics are much longer than romance novels, for example). Those averages are a reflection of publishing norms rather than any hard-and-fast rule.

  2. Word Count Guide: How Long Is a Book, Short Story, or Novella?

    Writing Word Count Guide: How Long Is a Book, Short Story, or Novella? Written by MasterClass Last updated: Sep 3, 2021 • 4 min read There are a lot of elements that go into writing a story, like fleshing out characters, piecing together the plot, and crafting the perfect ending.

  3. Word Counts: Short Stories, Novellas and Novelettes Length

    The four most common forms of short fiction are microfiction, short stories, novelettes, and novellas. This article will discuss what categorizes all four forms of fiction, but at a quick glance these can be divided by word count. Microfiction: 5-300 words. Short story: 1,000-7,500 words. Novelette: 7,500-19,000 words.

  4. How Long Is A Short Story? The Perfect Length For Short Stories

    Word count in flash fiction Flash fiction is classified as a short work of fiction with a word count of under 1000 words. Another Hemingway, "A Very Short Story," is told in under 700 words and, much like his famous six-word story, provides us with an example of being able to evoke an emotional response with very few words.

  5. Short Story Length (How many words are in this type of fiction writing?)

    The length of a short story isn't its only defining characteristic, but it's a decisive one. Most short stories stop at around 7,500 words, though there's some wiggle room. As for minimum length, stay tuned. How long is a novel? Let's start with the longest and work our way down.

  6. How Long is a Short Story? Unraveling the Word Counts and Beyond

    Generally speaking, a short story can be anywhere from 1,000 to 7,500 words, though stories around the 3,500-word mark seem to hit the sweet spot for many writers. As for page and average word count, using the industry standard of 250-300 words per page, a short story can be about 4 to twenty-five pages long. But again, these are not fast rules.

  7. How Long Is A Short Story? [Comprehensive Word Count Guide]

    A short story is any story between 1,000 and 10,000 words. A tale of fewer words than that is considered flash fiction. More than 10,000 is a novelette, followed by a novella, then a full-blown novel. Exact word counts are not hard and fast rules, but a rule of thumb — just an average length. New writers should aim for a reasonable number of ...

  8. How Long Is a Short Story? Short Story Length, Word Count ...

    14 Jan A short story is an entirely developed theme, but significantly more concise and less detailed than novels. Usually, people can't read books in one sitting with no break. But one can easily read a short story in one sitting. Short stories are those tales that parents often tell their children before they sleep.

  9. How Long is a Short Story, Flash Fiction, Novella, or Novel?

    In the traditional publishing industry today, the average adult novel length is 90,000 words. Novella. 20,000-50,000 words. A novella is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories.

  10. How Long Is a Short Story? And Other FAQs

    How long is a novel? Novelettes are longer short stories, generally between 7,500 words and 17,500 to 20,000 words, or up to about 100 pages. These stories sometimes read more like a short story and sometimes more like a novel. ... Word counts from Reading Length. A novel is anything over about 40,000 words, though some definitions stretch ...

  11. The Difference Between Short Stories, Novelettes, Novellas, and Novels

    The most important difference between a short story, novelette, novella, and a novel is the word count. An average short story usually has at least 3,500 words and no more than 7,500. Traditionally, short stories were meant to be read in a single sitting. They are usually published individually in magazines and then collected and published in ...

  12. How Long Is A Short Story, Novella, Or Novelette?

    Word Counts For Short Stories, Novellas And Novelettes. Short story: over 1,000 words, usually less than 10,000. Novelette: 7,500 to 19,000 words. Novella: 10,000 to 40,000 words. As you can see there's an overlap between a short story and a novelette. Also, between a novelette and a novella.

  13. Word Count For Books Explained

    Between 80,000 and 89,999 words is a good range you should be aiming for. This is a 100% safe range for literary, mainstream, women's, romance, mystery, suspense, thriller and horror. Anything in this word count won't scare off any agent anywhere.

  14. How Long is a Short Story?

    Short Stories are between 1000 and 15,000 words long. The average length runs under 7,500 words. More on these in a minute! Novelettes sit awkwardly between short stories and novellas, and the word count to qualify for this will vary by publisher. They could be considered "long short stories," or "short novellas.".

  15. What's the Best Length for Short Stories?

    Yes, there is a range. But the longer end (plus 7000 words) has fewer publishing options. Approximately 5000 and down are good for mid-length short stories. And of course, flash fiction is a lot shorter and has a fair amount of venues just for itself. Additionally, many magazines will straight out say that longer stories need to be more than ...

  16. Average Length of Fiction Writing: 6 Forms with Typical word counts

    Short stories are one of the most popular forms of writing and I have enjoyed publishing a number of short story collections. Short story competitions vary in length, but the average short story length is between 2,000 and 3,000 words. A short story is a writing form that retains much of the same structure as full length novels, but in a ...

  17. The Art of Brevity: How Short Stories Differ from Novels and Novellas

    One of the most obvious differences between short stories and longer writing forms like novels and novellas is their length. Short stories typically range from 1,000 to 7,500 words, while novels can range from 50,000 to 100,000 words or more. Novellas fall somewhere in between, with a word count ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 words.

  18. The Shortest Novels Written by 20 Authors You Should've Read By Now

    Vladimir Nabokov: The Eye (trans. Dmitri Nabokov) (104 pages) Nabokov is famous for his eloquence, wordplay, and literary trickery, which may either sound enticing or unbearable to you. Either way, you may consider starting with his short and farcical fourth novel, which more or less begins with the narrator killing himself, and goes on from there.

  19. How Many Words Are in a Novel? Word Count by Genre & More

    As we've seen, the genre of a novel can determine its length. Sci-fi novels top out at 377,000 words, while short stories live up to their name, averaging 30,000 words. How many words is a typical novel? A typical novel is around 90,000 words. For reference, the average non-fiction book is only 50,000-75,000.

  20. 50 Great Classic Novels Under 200 Pages ‹ Literary Hub

    John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men (1937) : 107 pages Everybody's gateway Steinbeck is surprisingly moving, even when you revisit it as an adult. Plus, if nothing else, it has given my household the extremely useful verb "to Lenny." George Orwell, Animal Farm (1945) : 112 pages

  21. How Many Pages in a Novel, Novella, Novelette and Short Story?

    How Many Pages in a Novel, Novella, Novelette and Short Story? Writing Mairead Beeson August 6, 2022 When you first had the idea for your book, you probably weren't focusing on how long it would (or should) be. Often, it's hard to tell how many pages you'll write until you've finished.

  22. The Best New Novels and Short Story Collections

    Quentin Tarantino meets One Hundred Years of Solitude in this technicolor fable of a Mexican family cursed by the greed of its ancestors and haunted by an ageless (but not heartless) spirit sent to claim their crooked souls. Part of the story unfolds in 1895, when Antonio Sonoro crosses the border into Texas to rob a train, runs afoul of local lawmen, and survives a gunshot wound to the face ...

  23. Kelly Link's debut novel 'The Book of Love' review : NPR

    Short-story writer Kelly Link's first novel delves into the complications of love and friendship, family drama, grief, resilience, and the power of adaptability, while delivering a supernatural tale.

  24. 'The 2024 Oscar Nominated Short Films' Review: Small Running Times

    The novel technique the directors Jared Hess and Jerusha Hess use in "Ninety-Five Senses" is the story structure: An inmate (voiced by Tim Blake Nelson) eating his last meal anecdotally ...

  25. Gabrielle Union Couldn't Decide on One Length for Her New Bob

    The actor and entrepreneur brought back a decidedly '90s look with this bob. On one side of the side-parted style, Union wore a barely-chin-length section tucked behind her ear; on the other side ...

  26. What are the proposals to restrict short-term lets in England?

    New rules for short-term holiday lets in England were unveiled by the government on Monday, with the aim of reining in a sector that campaigners claim is "out of control". Amid growing concern ...

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    Welcome to 'Supersex': Why Porn Icon Rocco Siffredi Brought His True Story and More Than 40 'Boundary-Pushing' Sex Scenes to Netflix

  28. Short-term lets rules to protect communities and keep homes available

    Short-term lets provide flexibility for homeowners and give tourists more accommodation options than ever before, but this should not prevent local people from being able to buy or rent homes in ...