There is a trend, however, for business books to be shorter. Since 2011, the average length of a bestseller has dropped steadily from year to year. Start writing days 525 this is where the bulk of your time will be spent. But i could assume that it is based on an average font size on a kindle screen. If you have been looking for a way to make money online, or if youre a budding author, then you have most likely been considering writing and selling an ebook. Writing a first novel that doesnt represent too much of an economic gamble for a publisher makes it so much easier for the publisher to say yes. One of the things i love about twitter is how often i get asked questions by people who are beavering away on their business book. He claims that 121,000 is the average successful ebook length. I was surprised when smashwords founder, mark coker, revealed that on average, as word count decreases, so do sales.
Organizers of ted have found that 18 minutes is the ideal length of a presentation, and so all presentersincluding bill gates and bonoare required to come in under this mark. Ebooks for beginners how many pages is the average ebook. I know of an author with a very large publisher whose novel has sold only 1,087 copies in its lifetime. This is around 5060,000 words although there are some who would say it should be more and a few that it should be less. How to use ebooks strategically and reach your content. Publishers want to put ebooks out of business so they can continue. And a big reason is because of the length and level of detail that i go into. Using amazons number of words as a guide, 5,000 words would equal 26. However, as this is relatively new to you, you have several questions. May 22, 2011 the big 6 had been pushing for higher ebook prices on new releases. Im going to tell you what people have actually paid for their ebooks, based on some hard data. Pdf ebooks are easily created on any computer you own.
And for every book that sells 20,000, there is one that is a disaster. Its brilliant when i can help them, even if its only in 140 characters. Today im answering 2 questions from vanessa and heather about the length of your ebooks, aaaand a bit about pricing too. As evidenced by the price of dragon haven, they got it. For nonfiction, especially selfhelp and business books, the length of the book matters less because its about the value your content provides. A 1020 page ebook is a good length if your purpose is to use it as a bonus to web visitors when they optin and subscribe to your site or ezine. How about a shorter ebook 10,000 words, say 500 per day is an average blog post. We found that the average file size and average number of pages of a single kindle ebook is 2. No reader relishes the sight of a long introduction they want to dive into the. However, it is worth seeing if this is true for your own ebook. So the bottom line here is that your average, run of the mill, 500 800 blog post used to be totally sufficient. Although the length of fiction is genredependent to an extent fantasy novels, for example, tend to be on the thicker side, sticking to the ideal novel length is still the best advice.
If you plan to turn your ebook into a print book at some point, you might. The size is less important than the value to the customer. How to price an ebook and which factors affect price. Finding the bright lights that drive innovation in your business. Punch fear in the face, escape average and do work that matters. Ive got an ebook in the works but i fear it may be too. Unfortunately, many people still use page count as measurement. It only takes a quick scan of a handful of ebooks, say in the kindle store, to notice that the number of pages that constitutes an ebook is almost as wide as the pacific. In 2011, the lists average length peaked at 467 pages.
The blank slate, by the same author, also a kindle edition, is almost as long, 525 pages, but has just a few pictures, and takes only 4,5 mb. In my free cheat sheet, i tell people not to worry about the length of their ebook when they are just starting. If perhaps it had even more pictures it would be even a lot better. I dont know what i can say to add to what has already been said. Discover all relevant statistics and facts on the u. But, for those of you who are already started, im going to answer two questions about ebook length and pricing. Apr 26, 2017 mobipocket ebooks are quite small and range from 200 kb for a short to medium length ebook including mainly text to 600 kb for a longer work. At the 80 to 100 page length though, i think youre getting into an area.
If youre aiming for a 20,000 word ebook around 80100 pages, assuming youre including a few images then that breaks down to writing 1,000 words a day. And in that context, some of the more practical, internaluseonly business plans can be only 5 or 10 pages. A high price will return more profit, but a low price will deliver more readers, or at least that is the common logic. Punch fear in the face, escape average and do work that matters kindle edition by acuff, jon. How to write a bestselling business book bloomberg. Ten things you may not know about ebook prices techcrunch. Thats because your average ebook author doesnt have a clue how to write an. How to write an ebook for a b2b audience complete guide. A typical ebook is around 2,0002,500 words, which probably only gives you around 300350 words per section. To fill a page in word, you would need around 500 words, 1. Sep 23, 20 as with everything in publishing, dont forget the powerful amazon factor. According to amazons great text stats feature, the median length for all books is about 64,000 words. Available in ebook, print, audiobook and workbook formats. How to write a highquality ebook in 30 days copyblogger.
In the long run, just as the invention of the car may sadly have put buggywhip makers out of business but ultimately had many benefits, some publishers may go out of business, but some will adapt and others will rise up and embrace the promise and efficiency of ebooks to help authors and readers and improve the purchasing and reading experience. In the case of dragon haven, and many of the titles i listed, the ebook price fell no further than the paperback. Now its hard to gain any real traction without going long form at least in most industries. I got a lot of questions about how long ebooks should be. Yep, thats a sizeable commitment but, the tradeoff is. You might be surprised at the result of this pricing method. An ebook could be 3,000 words or as long as a fulllength book.
If youre selfpublishing, length means little, as we mainly do marketing online and sell printondemand. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading start. Sep, 2010 of course, foundation posts work best for this, and ive started with a blog post dating from 2010, and one of the more popular destinations for search traffic, selfpublishing basics. May 11, 2009 word count and book length getting published was indeed a good blog post. Whether youre a selfpublished author with titles on amazon or selling a nonfiction book on your website, product pricing is a major component of your marketing plan and income projections. Jul 19, 2012 regardless, publishers keep cranking out as many as 11,000 new business books each year, according to the coauthors of the 100 best business books of all time, which doesnt account for the. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the rudolph factor. Our calculation can be summarized on the table below.
Get some ideas on how many pages or how long you should make your. The science behind this 18minute mark comes from studies of attention spans. One of the most common questions is how many pages is the average ebook. In past times, books of this length would have been classed as novellas. What if, 30 days from now, you had a finished, wellcrafted ebook sitting on your. I may have just put self or my business name, ticewrites llc. On my blog, i encourage people to ask me all of their questions about ebooks. So, is it possible to define how many pages 5000 words is in an ebook. Every category will have an average length, including childrens books, young adult, business books, etc. But i also know of others who have sold over 500,000 copies. Main points should show up in a business plan as quickly as they do in a business presentation.
Something i get asked a lot is, how long should my book be. For example, a 200page novel is approximately 300 kb. The figures on individual ebook purchases support this. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Mar 20, 2020 every category will have an average length, including childrens books, young adult, business books, etc. For average epubs with pictures, the size could be anywhere from two to 10 megabytes. Over time, then, and especially once the paperback came out, the ebook price fell. One of the questions that a new writer often asks is how long should my book be. Once the ebook is written, the marketing plan in place, and the work ready to release to the public, selfpublished authors find themselves with an unexpected challenge. The figure was found through looking at a number of books text stats, until brave new worlds 64,531 word count landed in the exact center of all books50% of books have fewer words and 50% of books have more words. In two minutes i found ebooks ranging from 10 to 950 pages. Mar 06, 20 since august, weve been measuring the average price of a bestselling ebook.
We summed up the file size of each kindle book on the list and then divided by the number of books. Ali luke blogs about the art, craft and business of writing at. Enlightenment now by steven pinker, kindle edition, is 556 pages long, has about 40 pictures grayscale, except for the cover, and is 16,8 mb in size. Amazon estimates a page count in an ebook to be around 187 words. I didnt know that ebooks were better off at a shorter length. Average book length what is the average length for books you read, or more specifically, those of you who read a set amount of books within a set amount of time a book a week, a book a month are your books a similar length that you are able to reach your goal consistently. I think youre probably a new author and want to have some idea of when to stop writing in order to have an optimal length ebook or at least want to be sure your. The file size depends on the complexity of the content. I dont know if the question is meant as a mentalstatistical exorcise. If you want to know how long your ebook should be, this video is for you. Jun 24, 2019 be aware that the word average means that for every book that sells 15,000, there is one that sells 5,000. In fact, the majority of printed books are turned into ebooks.