Average novel chapter lengths fall in the 3,000- to 4,000-word range. But there are plenty of wildly successful books that have longer and shorter chapters. Nonfiction chapters often fall around the 4,000-word mark, but this is highly dependent on the subject matter.
Read on as we dive into chapter-length guidelines by genre. We’ll discuss why chapter-length matters and explore tips on utilizing chapter length to your advantage.
Every reader has her own preferences when it comes to the minutiae of books. Even if those preferences are unconscious, they're still there. Some readers like short chapters, while others prefer longer ones. As I'm sure you already know, you won't please all the readers all the time. Trying to do so would be a waste of energy.
So sometimes the thing to do is utilize other tools at your disposal, such as scene breaks. More on that later. First, let's talk a bit more about chapter lengths for fiction and non-fiction books.
As mentioned above, the average chapter length varies by genre, author, and subject matter. However, it's common for both nonfiction and fiction books to average around the same amount of words per chapter: 3,000 to 4,000.
But when we're talking about fiction vs nonfiction books, it's important to consider the overall length of these books. Your average fiction book (80,000 to 100,000 words) is longer than your average nonfiction book (40,000 to 60,000 words).
A 90,000-word fiction book may have 30 chapters, with an average length of 3,000 words per chapter. A 50,000-word nonfiction book, however, may have just ten chapters, at 5,000 words per chapter. Either way is fine, so long as you consider chapter word counts second to getting the point of each chapter across to the reader — in the clearest and most compelling writing possible.
Now, for the purposes of illustration, let's discuss some chapter lengths by genre. We'll also share some examples of well-known books. Here's a brief summary of the average word counts for each:
I mentioned this briefly above, but it bears repeating: each chapter needs to accomplish something. Every new chapter should propel the story forward. Or, in the case of a nonfiction book, it should provide a piece of information that adds to the overarching idea of the book.
Chapter goals are usually one or more of the following:
Reading is so important if you want to be a successful writer because so much of writing a good book is about the feel of it. The feel of the pace, the flow, the prose, description, and action.
It's all so ineffable. So hard to quantify. You need to feel when to insert a chapter break. Luckily, there are some tried and true tactics that can help you determine how your chapter should end. And the how of it can help you determine the when.
Writing a novel — or any book — is hard work. And it's important to measure your progress using daily word count goals. And making progress includes knowing how many words you have in your chapter. While this shouldn't be a major concern while you're writing, chapter length is something to keep in mind because it's important for pacing, flow, and reader engagement. Authors who write page-turners have compelling stories first and foremost, but they also know how to use chapters to enhance the reader experience.
