Minimum word count for YA

KayMitch

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What do you think is the minimum length of a YA novel? I've tried to go searching on the interwebs for an answer and have found so many varying answers that I'd like to hear your input. I have seen some say 50k-80k. Others said 40k-100k. Some said 60k-120k. I know it's very subjective, but I'd like to know what you guys think the minimum a YA should hit and the maximum it should not exceed (except in rare cases of course). The novel I'm currently querying has fallen in a nice sweet spot of about 75k, but the one I'm currently working on I'm thinking might be a little bit shorter so I want to make sure it's not going to be TOO short.
 

bippedybop

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Mine is currently 56k. I'm hoping to add a few more thousand words while editing and slide in at the low end of the range. I understand the range is there to sell, but I feel like if the plot is complete and the characters are more than caricatures and have well thought-out backstories, then I don't see the advantage in adding a bunch of meaningless words. Just my opinion
 

KayMitch

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Mine is currently 56k. I'm hoping to add a few more thousand words while editing and slide in at the low end of the range. I understand the range is there to sell, but I feel like if the plot is complete and the characters are more than caricatures and have well thought-out backstories, then I don't see the advantage in adding a bunch of meaningless words. Just my opinion

That's definitely how I feel too, but I know I can also go back and flesh out some small parts in the beginning if I need to do so. I'm thinking this one will probably end up around 56k, so I'm hoping to maybe hit the 60k range to be safe.
 

Sage

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The answer will depend on the genre. Contemporary novels can be much shorter than fantasy or sci-fi novels. 56K is okay for contemp, but would be too short for spec fic.
 

AsTheWorldFallsDown

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I try and keep mine in between 50k and 100k. I feel like because I'm writing YA fantasy I can go over the word count slightly but anything under 50k seems too short to me.
But it all depends on what sub-genre you're writing for. Is it fantasy? Adventure? Contemporary? Drama? Because a YA Science Fiction novel will be a lot longer than a contemporary YA novel. I'd say stick between 50k - 100k and only go over if you really need to.
 

pingle

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Is there a place that lists the word count of books? I feel like most YA I read is surely over 100k, but most advice seems to be to aim for something that strikes me as a little short so maybe my guesses are wildly out.
 

owlion

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@pingle there's Renaissance, which seems pretty accurate.

I've generally heard YA shouldn't go below 50,000, but then there are exceptions to every rule.
 

KayMitch

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Mine is a YA Fantasy but I realized last night while laying in bed that I completely skipped a scene I had planned. So my guess on my end word count is a little off currently XD
 

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60-120K is probably accurate for fantasy.
 

KayMitch

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60-120K is probably accurate for fantasy.

Perfect. I think with the scenes I forgot and need to add, as well as finishing out the rest of the plot, I will be, at the very least, at 60k. I'm really excited for this one, even more so than the novel I'm currently querying XD
So I want to make sure I don't screw a single thing up that can easily be fixed. I've seen twitter agents using the tenqueries hashtag reject a manuscript for being too short even when they liked the concept.