“It should be as long as it needs to be.” This advice is well-intended, meant to encourage writers to focus on substance over benchmarks. However, it can also lead first-time astray and leave them trying to feel their way through the dark even more so than they already are. How can you tell how long it “needs” to be if you have yet written it? Also, if a writer fully intends to produce a published book for a real audience, ignoring some industry standards and reader expectations during the drafting process is only going to cause real head (and heart) ache down the road. When writers resist considering word count in their planning and drafting process, it often comes wanting no constraints on the freedom of the creative process. But constraints are actually quite freeing. So many authors get absolutely stuck, trapped by the sense of unlimited options without guidance on how to get started making decisions. Constraints act not as a prison, but as guiderails that help you move forward with a bit more confidence. So this week we are discussing how to consider your target book length and five tips for keeping final word count in mind during the drafting process.
Before we get into today’s post, we wanted to ask—do you have a plan for actually finishing your memoir? If not, we know you aren’t making the progress you hoped for. That’s why we developed The Memoir Method Checklist. This free guide (and video training!) will take you through every single step you need from idea to published marketable book. Grab it now at https://pageandpodium.com/checklist
Why Word Count Matters
One of the biggest challenges for first‑time memoirists is understanding the true scope of their book. Without a target word count, it’s easy to slip into the extremes of either throwing in anything and everything or writing only a barest sketch for fear of being long-winded. When you don’t know how much space you have, sometimes every memory can feel essential, and the book quickly balloons beyond what a reader (or publisher) will reasonably follow. Other times you underestimate space and short-change detail or emotional reflection in order to make sure the bare facts are there. Both ends of the spectrum usually result in a lot of needed revisions.
A target word count acts as a practical boundary. It helps you see whether you have enough material for a full‑length book or whether you’re trying to cram in far too much. If you want a shorter, more focused memoir, you’ll naturally need to narrow your topic. If you’re aiming for a longer book, you’ll need to consider where to deepen scenes or expand context.
In The Memoir Method™, we encourage writers to begin with a working assumption of a 60,000‑word manuscript divided into roughly 20 chapters. That math breaks down to about 3,000 words per chapter, or roughly 10 pages.
These numbers are starting points, and their nice round math makes it easy to break down your whole story into doable chunks. For one, ten pages a week is a reasonable pace for most writers. Secondly, ten pages is enough space to have a few scenes and important points, giving you enough flexibility within each “chunk” to still have creativity and explore each chapter.
You only have to do the math once, and suddenly you have a clear sense of what an average chapter looks like on the page and what it will feel like to write. Instead of guessing how much to include, you have a built‑in guide for pacing, depth, and narrative balance.
That doesn’t mean that you’ll end up with a book that’s exactly 60,000 words long. In fact, none of our MM graduates have ended up with a draft that is even within 3,000 words of that exact number. Some chapters will naturally come out short, others longer, but having that basic, starting target helps ensure that both the pacing of your final draft and the actual pace of your drafting process are steady. Even with a plan, you’ll hit chapters where it feels like you’ll never finish—that’s normal. But having a realistic timeline lets you adjust expectations, extend your deadline if needed, and stay grounded in the process rather than wandering in the dark.
If you want help with this, we have a free calculator tool that walks you through the math. It asks how many days per week you plan to write, how long each session will be, and how many words you typically produce. Then it shows you how many months your book will take at that pace.
Industry Standards & Expectations
When we talk about word‑count ranges, it’s important to remember that these numbers simply industry conventions. They aren’t moral judgments or artistic verdicts. They’re averages, not absolutes. But they do come from somewhere, and understanding that context helps you make informed choices about how closely you want your book to align with traditional expectations.
Across genres, word‑count expectations vary widely. Novels often land around 100,000 words, sometimes stretching higher for fantasy or other world‑building genres. Business books sit much lower, typically 30,000–50,000 words, with some intentionally marketed short reads closer to 25,000–30,000. Topical nonfiction and self‑help span a broad range—roughly 30,000–80,000 depending on depth and author platform. Memoir is more contained: for first‑time authors, 60,000–80,000 words is the sweet spot. Under 50,000 usually feels too thin, and anything over 80,000—especially crossing into six figures—is rarely considered unless the author has major name recognition.
The most important driver of word‑count standards, for both the industry and for conscientious writers, is the reader. Whether you’re pursuing a traditional deal, hybrid publishing, or self‑publishing with excellence, you still need to consider what your audience expects when they pick up a book in your genre. Readers don’t want to feel overwhelmed by a tome that looks impossibly long, nor do they want to feel shortchanged by something that reads like a pamphlet. Most of us grew up reading books produced by traditional publishers, which means our internal sense of “normal” length was shaped by those conventions.
The cost of production shapes industry word‑count standards more than they’d like to admit. Publishers absolutely care about literary value, but they also have their eye on the bottom line. Longer books require more paper, more ink, different binding options, and higher shipping costs. Those costs affect everything from the retail price to how many copies fit in a case. In fact, if you are notice in your bookstore’s aisles that spine-widths are surprisingly uniform on certain shelves, that probably has a lot more to do with the standard size of a box than narrative needs.
Even if you’re self‑publishing, these constraints still apply. Print‑on‑demand services like KDP have their own page‑count thresholds that influence pricing. If your book is significantly longer than the normative range, you may end up with a retail price that readers simply won’t pay. You don’t need to obsess over logistics, but it’s helpful to understand that word‑count ranges aren’t arbitrary—they’re tied to real production realities.
Helpful Constraints
As you work with word‑count guidelines, remember that they’re meant to support you, not handicap you. The goal is never to hit an exact number. It’s to give yourself a container that keeps you grounded while still leaving room for the creative freedom your story needs.
These ranges should be flexible enough to bend when you have a good reason, sturdy enough to keep you from drifting into overwhelm. They prevent that untethered, floating‑in‑space feeling and help you make clearer decisions about what belongs in your book.
It’s also worth considering how much depth your particular project calls for. If you bring documented expertise—professional credentials, a large platform, or deep subject‑matter authority—you may choose to go further into nuance and expand your word count accordingly. If your goal is a tighter, more streamlined narrative, you may intentionally keep things lean. The point isn’t to force your book into a number; it’s to let the number guide the level of depth that best serves your story.
Consider your writing habits
Always factor in your natural writing tendencies when considering targets. Some writers are “overwriters”—they generate a lot of material, explore ideas expansively, and often need to trim during revision. Others are naturally succinct and get to the point quickly, sometimes needing to add depth, detail, or emotional texture later. Knowing which camp you fall into helps you choose the right end of the word‑count range. If you tend to write lean, aiming for the lower end of the range will feel more natural. If you’re someone who writes long (as both Amanda and I do), drafting toward the higher end gives you room to cut without ending up short.
At the same time, try not to let perfectionism turn these ranges into rigid rules. They’re planning tools, not performance metrics. You don’t need to land exactly on a target number or even within a few hundred words of it. Give yourself space to write what the chapter actually needs. In Amanda’s own memoir draft, her chapters ranged from about 4,500 words down to 2,500, even though she initially planned for twenty 3,000‑word chapters. Real writing rarely unfolds with mathematical precision, and that’s perfectly fine. The goal is to stay generally aligned with your intended scope while allowing your creative process to breathe.
So in the end, your memoir really is going to be just “as long as it needs to be,” but setting some targets on the front end simply helps you with the process of long-form writing.
PS. Searching the internet for writing, publishing, and book marketing advice can be exhausting to say the least! If you’re ready for hands on, one-on-one support for your memoir, check out The Memoir Method. We’d love to welcome you into this nine-month group program specially designed for women writing their first memoirs. And don’t forget, if you’d like to chat with Amanda about the program (or any other services we offer), you can book a free consult any time!
