How Long Should A Book Be?
I’m writing a non-fiction book and currently only have about 12,000 words. Is that long enough for a book? I can’t figure out how to make it much longer without adding a lot of fluff. What do you think?
Maybe it’s long enough. Trade publishers tend to expect non-fiction books to be at least 50,000 words, but there are plenty of exceptions. Business allegories like One Minute Millionaire are much shorter. You’ll find short books in almost every category.
If you really think 12,000 words covers what you want to say adequately and clearly, it may be time to look for a publisher. Spend some time in your favorite book store and look for books in your subject category that are obviously short. Make a note of the publisher and start your submissions there.
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Tags: books, freelance-writing, writing, writing-tipsRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Ask Anne, the Pro Writer
1 opinion for How Long Should A Book Be?
Publius
Oct 6, 2007 at 5:59 pm
Do you find writing freehand (Moleskine and pen, etc.) or using a computerized text editor/word processor to be better for style? Content? Flow?
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