Counting words seemed to me initially to be a counter intuitive concept. After all, is it not about the quality of the words rather than the quantity? Yet the guidelines for first-time authors to be accepted into established categories are rather strict. A novel must be over 40,000 words, but most publishers need 80,000-100,000 words to charge a standard amount of money and compete on a bookshelf. Thrillers are even longer at 100,000 to 175,000. I suppose it is a value per word marketing proposition.
| Classification | Word count | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Novel | over 40,000 words | ||||||
| Novella | 17,500 to 40,000 words | ||||||
| Novelette | 7,500 to 17,500 words | ||||||
| Short story | under 7,500 words |
