Re: Question about novel length
I have about 41 pages written in my first fiction novel. If I want it to end up to be about 300 pages, how many do I have to write on 8 1/2x11 paper. There's no danger of running out of story, and it may turn out to be longer, but just a rule of thumb? I'm really happy to be at p.41. It's the most I've written on anything, ever, just would like a ball park on how long the ride is going to be. Thanks, LadyBard

Cup is correct, as usual, about editors, agents and other such riff-raff calculating length by word count, not number of typed pages. As for "typical" length, there is none. Some genres, such as sci-fi/fantasy seem favorably disposed toward longer books. However, if you're working on a first novel in any other category, I'd suggest you try to keep it under 100K. The reason has to do with printing costs and shelf space, not artistic merit. Good luck. Bayou Bill 8)

For word counts, the best thing to do is to check the word counts of your prospective publishers *before* you finish the book. For example, in SF/F, few publishers will take a manuscript under 100,000. In some other genres, few publishers will take a manuscript *over* 100,000. So you really need to know what word lengths are wanted by the publishers you're targetting. For figuring out word counts of typed pages (if you're using Courier typeface; this won't work with a variable width typeface like Times New Roman), the easiest thing to do is to count up a couple of pages, one that seems to have a lot of words on it and one that seems to have lots of white space, and then average the count and multiply by the number of pages. If you're using a word processor, your word processor will give you an automatic count; just check the Help menu. If the manuscript is handwritten, you'll have to wait till it's in typewritten form before you can check the wordage. Congratulations on getting to page 41!

Thanks for the information, it was very helpful. I haven't even thought about publishers yet. I thought I had to finish the novel first. So now here's another question, Should I be thinking about publishers, maybe sending sample chapters or queries? This is all new to me. Thanks once again!!!!

I think you should *definitely* be thinking about publishers. Knowing who you plan to target helps with a lot of things, including formatting of your novel, word count, and gives you a chance to do all your research now, before you have the excitement of your first completed novel and are too anxious to send it out to do the research needed. But no, sample pages and queries should not go out until your book is done, polished and shined and ready to go. Good luck!

Yep, think about publishers and what not. But, don't send anything to anyone publisher or agent until the work is finished.

Ditto to all of the above responses.