In a post today ( in BBC News ), discusses the government of India’s strong interest in returning to the expansion levels of yesteryear. With a former growth rate of around nine percent annually, India’s latest growth rate has been around 6.5%+ recently. Actually, 6.5% looks great compared to many countries around the world for [...]
No doubt you have seen books in all shapes, sizes, page counts, number of words per page…the list can go on and on. I have even seen a book that is blank (no words except the copyright page), with a nice front and back cover, that sold many thousands of copies. This “blank book” is analogous to the “pet rock” phenomenon years ago…humorous book writing without substance. Let’s get serious now on “conventions” on book length.
Print books come in paperback and hardback form. Paperback books are the norm. Hardback books are typically created as a precursor to the printing of the paperback version of the same manuscript or a conscious decision by a publisher to connote a high-quality book worthy of a higher price or a book that is considered “reference” and expected to be used frequently (where paperbacks would become too degraded in quality in short order).
“Trim size” is your book’s size once it is printed, bound, and trimmed. Trim sizes are measured in inches by width x height. For example, a trim size of 8 x 10 means the printed book will be eight inches wide and ten inches tall. I am familiar with at least 11 industry standard trim sizes, ranging from 5 x 8 to 8 x 10. For costs purposes, it is important to stay with a standard book writing industry trim size.
Professionals in the book writing industry have a variety of answers for what is the ideal “book length.” Here are facts that you can use to make a decision.
Industry acceptable print books are at least 108 pages. Plan on 250 words per 6 x 9 inch page (160 pages equals approximately 40,000 words) when writing books. Major publishers typically like a finished manuscript between 50,000 to 70,000 words. If you focus on publishing high-quality e-books, the typical page length for an e-book is 50 to 100 pages.
Tip: Hold on to “foreign rights” in a book writing agreement if at all possible. Many foreign publishers “shop” American manuscripts to purchase “rights” for printing in one or more countries and languages. Revenue from foreign rights can be substantial when writing books.
I mention “foreign rights” in the book length discussion (additional foreign rights details to come) because foreign editors and publishers prefer American books that are up to 200 pages in finished length because of the cost of language translation. London and Frankfurt are two major international book writing “rights” shows where publishers and “rights” owners negotiate.
Stay tuned for the next segment on writing a book…
Mike McCann
Mike-at-GlobalBusinessCafe.com