TL;DR
Writer's Digest gives the traditional estimate of 250 words per double-spaced manuscript page, which makes 50,000 words about 200 pages and 90,000 about 360. Jericho Writers' figures for printed paperbacks imply roughly 277 words per page. Both are estimates, so for a real book count the words on a few pages of comparable titles.
At the traditional rate of 250 words per double-spaced manuscript page, 50,000 words is about 200 pages. In a printed paperback the same text takes closer to 180 pages, because a book page holds a little more. Neither number is exact, and the second one depends on the book you are comparing it to.
The two kinds of page
Writer's Digest explains where the habit comes from. Traditionally, a novel's word count was estimated by multiplying pages by 250 words per page, assuming standard margins, font and double spacing. Word processors now give an exact count, and the magazine's advice to a writer asking which count agents want is that either will do, but the word processor count is more accurate.
A manuscript page and a printed page are different things. Jericho Writers defines a manuscript as the text of your novel before it has been turned into the finished book, and in the old days it was literally the stuff you printed off at home. Once it is typeset and bound, the publisher decides how many pages it takes, so the page count of the finished book is only loosely tied to the one you typed.
Two published figures let you bracket the ratio:
- Writer's Digest quotes agent Lori Perkins saying that 80,000 to 100,000 words is "roughly 300 double-spaced, typed pages." That works out to about 270 to 330 words per page.
- Jericho Writers says that most manuscripts run 70,000 to 120,000 words, which equates to around 250 to 450 pages, and that 180,000 words print about 650 paperback pages.
Dividing 180,000 words by 650 pages gives about 277 words per printed page. That is our arithmetic on Jericho's figure, and it is one book length from one author, so treat it as a ballpark.
A conversion table
The table uses two ratios: 250 words per page for a manuscript (the Writer's Digest estimate) and about 277 words per page for a printed paperback (our division of Jericho's 180,000 words to 650 pages). Results are rounded.
| Words | Manuscript pages (250 per page) | Paperback pages (about 277 per page) |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 | 40 | 36 |
| 20,000 | 80 | 72 |
| 40,000 | 160 | 144 |
| 50,000 | 200 | 181 |
| 70,000 | 280 | 253 |
| 80,000 | 320 | 289 |
| 90,000 | 360 | 325 |
| 100,000 | 400 | 361 |
| 120,000 | 480 | 433 |
Scroll horizontally to see all columns. Arrow keys work when the table is focused.
The manuscript column sits a little above Jericho's 250 to 450 range at the top end, which shows the limits of any single ratio. Use the table to get your bearings, not to promise a printer a page count.
How to get a more accurate answer
Jericho Writers suggests the method that works best. Go to a bookstore, pick comparable books in your genre and count the words on two or three typical pages. Take a rough average, then multiply by the number of pages in the book. The author describes doing this himself with big, hefty novels when he was worried his first book was the wrong length, and found that it was at the long end but not impossibly long. He then sold it.
You can run the same calculation in reverse. If your comparison books have 320 pages and carry about 280 words a page, they hold about 90,000 words, which tells you where to aim.
Children's books need a different approach. Jericho recommends looking at books like yours in a good children's bookstore, then multiplying the words on a typical page by the number of pages. The younger the reader, the shorter the book.
What changes the page count
Spacing is the one factor the sources spell out. Jericho's manuscript guide says to use double or 1.5 line spacing and a font size no smaller than 12 and no larger than 14, and the count of words per page moves with those choices: 1.5 spacing fits more words on a page than double spacing does. The author of that guide also describes an early manuscript of more than 180,000 words that ran to over 600 pages of printed paper.
None of this matters while you draft. It matters when you describe the book to someone else.
Which number to give an agent
Give a word count, not a page count. Writer's Digest advises rounding the word count to the nearest thousand and writing it in your query letter and in the upper right corner of the manuscript's cover page, for example "About 92,000 words." William Shunn's sample manuscript format shows the same convention, with the word count on the first page. Jericho's guide agrees, suggesting the nearest 1,000 or 5,000.
The Writer's Digest advice is that agents want an accurate ballpark of where your book falls, not a precise tally.
Planning by scenes instead
If you are writing toward a target, a page count is a poor planning unit and a word count is a better one. A scene is a better one still. At 1,500 words a scene, 50,000 words is about 33 scenes, and 90,000 words is about 60, which is the number to hold in your head while you draft. How to outline a novel shows how to plan the book in scenes, and how many words is a novel covers the labels and the length agents expect.
Chapters are a different measure
Once you have a page target, it is tempting to split it into chapters of equal length. Jericho Writers' guide to chapters says there are no hard rules about chapter length, and no specific maximum or minimum. If a chapter is too long, you will probably notice slow pacing or too many unrelated scenes, though a long chapter can suit a climax. Too many breaks can annoy the reader. It also says that keeping chapter lengths consistent for most of the book establishes a rhythm that you can break at a key moment for effect. Divide by scenes and turning points first, then see what the page count turns out to be.
Frequently asked questions
How many pages is 50,000 words?
About 200 double-spaced manuscript pages at 250 words per page, or about 180 paperback pages using Jericho Writers' printed ratio. The exact number depends on format.
How many pages is 80,000 words?
About 320 manuscript pages at 250 words per page, or about 290 printed pages. Agent Lori Perkins is quoted by Writer's Digest as putting 80,000 to 100,000 words at roughly 300 double-spaced pages.
How many words are on a page of a book?
The traditional manuscript estimate is 250. Jericho Writers' figures for printed paperbacks imply about 277, and Perkins's range implies about 270 to 330.
How many pages is 100,000 words?
About 400 manuscript pages at 250 words per page, or about 360 printed pages.
Do agents want pages or words?
Words. Round to the nearest thousand and state it in the query letter and on the manuscript's cover page.
Where Musael fits
A writer who plans in scenes is a writer who is never surprised by the length of their own book. In Musael the manuscript editor shows a word count as you write, with writing goals for each session, and the plan board keeps every scene in the same structure as the text, so you can see where the draft is heavy without a spreadsheet.
Sources
- Writer's Digest, "Which Word Count Do Agents Want?": writersdigest.com
- Brian A. Klems, "Novel and Short Story Word Counts", Writer's Digest: writersdigest.com
- Brian A. Klems, "Where Should You List Your Manuscript's Word Count?", Writer's Digest: writersdigest.com
- Jericho Writers, "How Many Words in a Novel?": jerichowriters.com
- Jericho Writers, "How To Present A Manuscript": jerichowriters.com
- Jericho Writers, "Chapters In A Book: How To Structure Them Well": jerichowriters.com
- William Shunn, "Sample Novel Manuscript": shunn.net