How Long Should A Novel Be?

Today, I’d like to discuss what looks like a fairly simple question: how long should a novel be?

The answer, as with so many other things involved in writing, is that it depends. Rather than rules, what you have are closer to guidelines. In general, novels are usually between 60,000 and 120,000 words long. However, the length of a novel also varies by genre.

Some genres, like epic fantasy, tend to veer toward longer word counts. It’s not unusual for an epic fantasy to measure more than 150,00...