In the world of traditional publishing, 20,000 words is not considered a book-length story. Even if you’re posting yourself, you may want to try to follow the actual storytelling guidelines.
The traditional rule of thumb still largely applies to the length of an adult business novel: between 80,000 and 120,000 words, or 320 and 480 pages. A standard page contains 250 words per page in 12 point Times New Roman, double spaced with one inch margins.
Book Length Calculator
The best way to find out how many pages your book will have is to use this calculation method:
Take your current word count and divide it by 300 This will give you the approximate number of pages your book will have.
How many pages are there…
The following list is an estimate, and actual pages will vary based on various factors mentioned earlier in this article. Please use the following information as a general reference, but do not assume it will always be true. Here’s a basic word-to-page conversion:
- A single-spaced page contains 500 words, 2 double-spaced pages.
- 2 single-spaced pages 4 double-spaced pages contain 1000 words.
- 3 single-spaced pages, 6 double-spaced pages contain 1500 words.
- 4 single-spaced pages, 8 double-spaced pages contain 2000 words.
- 5 single-spaced pages, 10 double-spaced pages contain 2500 words.
- There are 3,000 words in 6 single-spaced pages, 12 double-spaced pages.
- 8 single-spaced pages, 16 double-spaced pages contain 4000 words.
- There are 5000 words in 10 single-spaced pages, 20 double-spaced pages.
- 15 single-spaced pages, 30 double-spaced pages contain 7500 words.
- 20 single-spaced pages, 40 double-spaced pages contain 10,000 words.
- 40 single-spaced pages, 80 double-spaced pages contain 20,000 words.
- 50 single-spaced pages, 100 double-spaced pages contain 25,000 words.
- 60 single-spaced pages, 120 double-spaced pages contain 30,000 words.
- 80 single-spaced pages, 160 double-spaced pages contain 40,000 words.
- 100 single-spaced pages, 200 double-spaced pages contain 50,000 words.
- 120 single-spaced pages, 240 double-spaced pages contain 60,000 words.
- 140 single-spaced pages, 280 double-spaced pages contain 70,000 words.
- 150 single-spaced pages, 300 double-spaced pages contain 75,000 words.
- 160 single-spaced pages, 320 double-spaced pages contain 80,000 words.
- 180 single-spaced pages, 360 double-spaced pages is 90,000 words.
- 100,000 words correspond to 200 single-spaced pages, 400 double-spaced pages.
Why are new words important?
Word count is important because every book, regardless of genre, has an inherent contract with the reader. But this arrangement depends on the genre of the book.
For example, when a reader picks up a thriller, he has certain expectations regarding what he is about to read. This includes scenes like “the hero at the mercy of the villain,” but also includes the length of the book. Since thrillers are all about heartwarming action and possibly character development (especially if it’s part of a series), the word count isn’t huge. A thriller is usually between 70,000 and 90,000 words.
Word count for the Chronicles of Narnia series
The total word count for CS Lewis’s seven-book series, The Chronicles of Narnia, is 345,535. About the same extension than Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (344,665).
Ursula K. Le Guin’s six-book Earthsea series is 480,503 words. It’s like reading Stephen King’s The Stand: Uncut at 471,485 words and a third of Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea at 26,601 words.