Self-Pubbed Books Shorter?

[arjaybe]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

Nicely said and good examples of various genres/page numbers.

I get:

#1 - Science Fiction 277 words per page
#2 - Mystery 329 words per page
#3 - Science Fiction 357 words per page
#4 - Fantasy Satire 322 words per page

From this sample, it seems genre doesn't affect words per page. Small sample, though.

[John Carroll]

I keep my self-pubbed fantasy around 100k words per book, which is shorter than traditionally-pubbed fantasy. I could write 300k epics, but publishing is a business and I need to publish enough books to produce an income. 100k words is far more manageable to format, print and sell.

It's also much easier to write less words when it's just me pushing myself to write. So there's a lot of practicality in doing a slightly shorter book.

[Pulpmeister]

Words per page depends on publisher, book format, and period, rather than genre.

For instance, during WW2, paper rationing was severe, and in the UK paperbacks used thinner and cheaper paper, smaller type, and narrower margins, to squeeze a book onto less paper. In addition, peace time books would usually end a chapter, leave the rest of that page blank, and start a new chapter on a new page, sometimes a quarter or third of the way down the page. This wouldn't happen in the wartime; there wouldjust be a line or two skipped between chapters. A book that might be, say, 230 pages in hardback before the War could have become 180 pages in wartime paperback.

Also, because paperbacks were for many years purely budget productions, they were deliberately kept compact, again using smaller type and narrower margins.

Then there's the writer's style. Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason books contain a great deal of dialogue in short question and answer form, during long trial scenes for instance, which leaves a lot of white space on the page (ie fewer words per page). Writers who prefer long narrative sequences and longer speeches can leave very little white space.

This is why page count isn't a lot of help in determining the size of a book, because so much depends on publishing houses' styles. It's why print publishers and writers prefer word count.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Pulpmeister

Words per page depends on publisher, book format, and period, rather than genre.

For instance, during WW2, paper rationing was severe, and in the UK paperbacks used thinner and cheaper paper, smaller type, and narrower margins, to squeeze a book onto less paper. In addition, peace time books would usually end a chapter, leave the rest of that page blank, and start a new chapter on a new page, sometimes a quarter or third of the way down the page. This wouldn't happen in the wartime; there wouldjust be a line or two skipped between chapters. A book that might be, say, 230 pages in hardback before the War could have become 180 pages in wartime paperback.

I wonder if that in part explains James Michener's 1st book "South Pacific." As I understand it from what I've read by Mr. Michener himself it was crowded together in just that way. And of course a lot of the old pulps went out of business during WWII as well due to there not being enough paper to go round.