We all know books can vary in size, but their length is often much more important than their dimensions. Whilst there is no clear-cut answer to what the ideal length for a book is, you can still create a rough overview and estimation based on your preferences as a reader.
So let’s go through an overview of common lengths for works, particularly fiction.
Sub-150 Pages
Almost anything below the 150-page mark is a novella or collection of short (or sometimes micro) fiction. Plenty of non-fiction also falls below this threshold, but those books are typically much larger in proportions to that of a standard novella, resulting in a much higher word count.
If you have a taste for easy to digest reads that only take a day or two of consistent reading to get through, then books around or lower than 150 pages are probably an ideal length.
The biggest caveat with books of this length is the price to page ratio being skewed to a greater expense. If your novella costs the same as a full-length novel, then you’re probably paying around twice as much per page of reading. However, if you can source them for cheap, or borrow them from the library for a short while, it should balance out perfectly fine.
However, these detractors clearly indicate that publications of such a short length are not ideal, nor sought out, by the majority of readers. They suit experimental or more abstract stories.
150–249 Pages
This is starting to appear more promising. Books in excess of 150 pages tend to be more eye catching, often due to their thicker spines and more serious look.
Almost every reader has read a few short novels that have fallen into this bracket. In fact, it is not so uncommon to find best-selling novels that stray just shy of the 250-page threshold.
Given that books within this range appease those with an appetite for shorter readers, whilst also offering a suitably long story and room for an author to flesh out the world of their narrative, they do seem to be rather ideal. In comparison to much shorter works, these releases tend to offer more enticing value on a cost-per-page basis, making them more popular than publications below 150 pages.
Personally, I think books in this range are perfect, particularly those around 180–200 pages. But I know many people would disagree and say, ‘This is too short for me, I want something longer and with a more intricate story!’ — meaning they would much prefer to read from the category below.
250–399 Pages
It is safe to say this is the realm where most readers reside, regardless of any preference for fiction or non-fiction. These works are usually well in excess of 50,000 words, meaning they’ll take a lengthy, but not sluggish, amount of time to finish.
Regarding novels, most tend to hover on the lower end of this spectrum, more so 250–325 pages. This window tends to be the sweet spot for both authors and readers. It allows plenty of room for a narrative to start, carry out, and conclude. As alluded, it also straddles a good line between lengthy enough to justify buying, but not too drawn-out to the point the reader gets bored.
Go into any bookshop, skip to the final page of most novels, and I assure you their page count will frequently be fifty pages either side of the 300-page mark. It is rare to find many which drop into the 350–399 range.
In essence, this is the most ideal range for length. It tends to keep all sides happy.
400+ Pages
Only the most dedicated and patient readers can tolerate books that exceed four hundred pages. These lengthy publications are great value for money, look impressive on a bookshelf, and often offer a sprawling story or thought-out world to be immersed in.
Personally, I can’t comment too much on releases that go beyond four hundred pages (mainly because I have only read a handful), but it is safe to say that many people are put off by such an imposing number.
It is all too easy to grow bored or disinterested when a book can take well over six or seven hours of time to get through. Most novels will never reach this threshold for page count, and even if they do, seldom dare to get close to the five hundred mark. Generally, it is more so classics from the 19th and 20th centuries that dare to tread here.
1,000+ Pages
Uh… Love and War?
Only madmen dare to write this much, especially for one release. And only the most boring of people have time to read, and be invested, in such a slog of a publication.
I highly doubt anyone enjoys reading books of this length, unless they have little else to do or want to appear more sophisticated than they really are.
Overall, does length really matter? Somewhat, but not entirely.
Books should be the length that the author desires them to be. But it has been shown before that length can influence a lot of things, and it is easy to assume those who read on a tighter budget than most will want books that last them a while.
What is most important about the length of a book is that it is appropriate, both for the complexity of the story within, and the sanity of the reader. In general, no one really cares about how long a specific book is.
Typically, most see anything below two hundred pages as a shorter read, anything within the two hundreds as a decently long one, and anything beyond the three hundred threshold as a longer commitment.
What is essential is finding what you deem to be an ideal length and working from there, so you can answer the question of ideal length by, and for, yourself. However, to do that, you need to read some short works and some long works, as well as some more common length ones, to draw a sound conclusion.
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