Genre Vs. length?

crich70 · 06-10-2011, 02:22 AM

Is there a general set of guidelines as to how long a novel of a particular genre is? I mean I imagine that what is average length for one genre (say Science Fiction) might be either too short or longer than the average for a Romance or Mystery novel.

peterjmerrigan · 06-10-2011, 04:28 AM

I don't believe there's any pre-set guidelines (unlike the film industry, where scripts for thriller movies are generally considered to be 120 minutes, and comedy only 90 minutes - as a guide, not a rule).

However, I do think there's an unwritten rule about genre length in books. Sci-Fi and fantasy novels are generally a lot longer. Same as horror, etc. Comedy and 'chick lit' are generally shorter (again, as guidelines, not rules).

jocampo · 06-10-2011, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crich70

Is there a general set of guidelines as to how long a novel of a particular genre is? I mean I imagine that what is average length for one genre (say Science Fiction) might be either too short or longer than the average for a Romance or Mystery novel.

Interesting question.

Long time ago I read "Memorias de mis Putas Tristes", by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It was a novel but barely have 100 pages or so. I actually was surprised of the very short length but still being sold as a novel.

So I don't know what the threshold is or if there is certainly a way to distinguish both or not.

jbcohen · 06-10-2011, 12:43 PM

All great information and what has been said before is correct, however most books that I have seen tend to be arround 310 pages long unless you are writting a fantasy novel in which the books tend to be 1,200 in length.

VydorScope · 06-10-2011, 03:36 PM

Orson Scott Card says that a Sci-fi / Fantasy novel to get published (with traditional publisher) needs to be in the 75k-150k range, and that if you drift to either side of that it gets hard to be taken seriously. So that is what I assume to be true for lack of any other evidence.

Mikael Aizen · 06-10-2011, 04:02 PM

Fiction in general is anything between 50-80k. Genre fiction ends up being more around 80-100. Fantasy in particular is more in the 100-120k range due to the massive worldbuilding that has to occur

crich70 · 06-11-2011, 08:29 PM

Interesting answers. While writing isn't a exact thing as far as # of pages, scenes, etc. I do think that having an idea of how much space you have (pages & words) does help in the planning. That is if you are working with key scenes you know that by a given place you should have key scene X it might help keep you on track. So having an idea of how many 1000's of words is average according to genre could help to a degree, though I'm sure that such isn't fixed in stone either. Meaning that there is a bit of leeway either way since writing is more organic than technological in nature.

06-10-2011, 02:22 AM	#1
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,305 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	Genre Vs. length? Is there a general set of guidelines as to how long a novel of a particular genre is? I mean I imagine that what is average length for one genre (say Science Fiction) might be either too short or longer than the average for a Romance or Mystery novel.

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06-10-2011, 04:28 AM	#2
peterjmerrigan Member Posts: 17 Karma: 20000 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: West Yorkshire, England Device: Kindle	I don't believe there's any pre-set guidelines (unlike the film industry, where scripts for thriller movies are generally considered to be 120 minutes, and comedy only 90 minutes - as a guide, not a rule). However, I do think there's an unwritten rule about genre length in books. Sci-Fi and fantasy novels are generally a lot longer. Same as horror, etc. Comedy and 'chick lit' are generally shorter (again, as guidelines, not rules).

06-10-2011, 12:43 PM	#4
jbcohen Wizard Posts: 3,025 Karma: 11196738 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Piper College Device: Samsung A21	All great information and what has been said before is correct, however most books that I have seen tend to be arround 310 pages long unless you are writting a fantasy novel in which the books tend to be 1,200 in length.

06-10-2011, 03:36 PM	#5
VydorScope Wizard Posts: 3,418 Karma: 35207650 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: iPad	Orson Scott Card says that a Sci-fi / Fantasy novel to get published (with traditional publisher) needs to be in the 75k-150k range, and that if you drift to either side of that it gets hard to be taken seriously. So that is what I assume to be true for lack of any other evidence.

06-10-2011, 04:02 PM	#6
Mikael Aizen Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 26 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: none	Fiction in general is anything between 50-80k. Genre fiction ends up being more around 80-100. Fantasy in particular is more in the 100-120k range due to the massive worldbuilding that has to occur

06-11-2011, 08:29 PM	#7
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,305 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	Interesting answers. While writing isn't a exact thing as far as # of pages, scenes, etc. I do think that having an idea of how much space you have (pages & words) does help in the planning. That is if you are working with key scenes you know that by a given place you should have key scene X it might help keep you on track. So having an idea of how many 1000's of words is average according to genre could help to a degree, though I'm sure that such isn't fixed in stone either. Meaning that there is a bit of leeway either way since writing is more organic than technological in nature.

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