Question about genre length

Derimed

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Hi there,

I am very sorry if this is the wrong place for this thread.

I started a book that a friend writer described as contemporary fantasy. It has heavy Christian elements in theme, though not theology.

What word length does a novel of this type usually run? My friend suggested 80-100k, but she said she wasn't totally sure. There's definitely a need for world building, but not as much as a normal fantasy.

Many thanks!
 
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Derimed

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80-100k is a solid ballpark for any adult fantasy, either secondary world or contemporary.

I'm querying a spec fic / contemp fantasy that runs to 93k.

Thank you!
 

indianroads

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80-100k is a solid ballpark for any adult fantasy, either secondary world or contemporary.

I'm querying a spec fic / contemp fantasy that runs to 93k.

When I start a new project (as I currently am) I create plot points to fill 100-110 K words - BUT I always edit down and end up with a product in the high 90's.
 

ecmorgan

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I think you just need to write a great story.

I ponder the word length thing, especially since I just finished writing a mystery on the short side. However, I just finished reading a great science fiction/horror novel, Annihilation, published in 2014 by a traditional publisher. 52,500 words, if you go by the 250 words per page ration.

I think there is an expectation for certain lengths, but the expectation that gets lost when we focus on lengths is to just tell a good story.
 

Treehouseman

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I think you just need to write a great story.

I ponder the word length thing, especially since I just finished writing a mystery on the short side. However, I just finished reading a great science fiction/horror novel, Annihilation, published in 2014 by a traditional publisher. 52,500 words, if you go by the 250 words per page ration.

I think there is an expectation for certain lengths, but the expectation that gets lost when we focus on lengths is to just tell a good story.

Don't forget though that Annihilation was written by an already famous, award wining author who knew the publisher personally! It is also Science Fiction, which is more sympathetic to low word counts.

If you are not rocking a backlist and all the awards like Jeff V, and your good friend does not work as the editor to the publishing company (and that there does open a lot of doors for odd-length fiction) you'll need to stick to VERY STRICT rules with debut fantasy, which is the 90-110K ballpark. So your friend is right.

Occasionally there are 160K debuts, but they'll be well written, and secular, for the most part.
 

Harlequin

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Annihilation is 63k but yes that is very short. I would agree that's probably more to do with his name and fame (well deserved), in the same way that Neal Stephenson writes books you could murder a gorilla with in terms of size. Editing is more like fairy dust than machete blows, for books by famous authors.
 

Laer Carroll

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In the science fiction and fantasy world 100,000 is a sweet spot for debut authors. Up to 120,000 is par for the course.

Less than 100K can be a problem in SF/F. One mid-size publisher (Baen Books, about 70-80 titles a year) specifically says less than that amount is a problem for them but to send in queries anyway.

Authors with a substantial following may have books a bit bigger in SF/F. Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold has 462 pages, or 250*462 = 116,000. But a page word count shows the per page count for the book is closer to 270, so 125K.

David Weber in SF/F is book-size king. At All Costs is 864 pages, 216K words at 250/pg, or 233K at 270 wds/pg. Physically the hardback (which I have) is about 1.75 inches thick, about the limit which I (with large hands) want to comfortably read.

In both cases the books are far along in a popular series, with each book complete but part of a long narrative.

Personally I think it's a mistake to think about word count until the book is done. I've written nine so far and found they take hold fairly early and insist on the right length. When the book is done and I can set it aside for a few days/weeks before the first rewrite, that is when I need to began slicing down - or beefing up!
 

eqb

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In the science fiction and fantasy world 100,000 is a sweet spot for debut authors. Up to 120,000 is par for the course.

120K is on the very high end for epic fantasy for debut authors. 80K to 100K really is the sweet spot, with SF novels often coming in on the shorter side.
 

Harlequin

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I'm being asked to revise my 96k contemp fantasy novel up to 100k, to bring it in line with editor expectations.

My cp has an epic fantasy novel of 180k and her agent was fine with it; an Orbit editor said recently on Twitter that your epic fantasy novel has better be at least 120k.