How Many Words in a Novel? Our Editors Have the Answers

Well, if your goal is to publish and sell your novel, those rules are pretty darn important. As with many publishing standards, word count guidelines exist for a number of reasons - including marketing and sales - but also to help create stories that are free from plot or pacing issues that can exhaust readers. You wouldn't be reading this article right now if a quick scroll down showed an apparent 10,000 words, would you?