Know how long your writing should be.
Pick what you are writing. See the target word count, publisher-standard range, structure template, and comparable published works — before you draft a single sentence.
Creative writing
Novels, novellas, stories — publisher-standard ranges.
Words
Fantasy novel
70,000–150,000 words
Sweet spot: 90,000–120,000
Words
Literary novel
70,000–100,000 words
Sweet spot: 80,000–90,000
Words
Science fiction novel
90,000–125,000 words
Sweet spot: 100,000–115,000
Words
Novella
17,500–40,000 words
Words
Novelette
7,500–17,500 words
Words
Short story
1,000–7,500 words
Words
Flash fiction
100–1,000 words
Academic
Essays and assignments with instructor-ready targets.
Professional
Resumes and career documents by experience level.
Speech
Duration-to-word-count for presentations and talks.
Already drafting?
Paste into the word counter and benchmark your draft against the same standards.