How long should an ebook be?

You may just be getting started in your book writing process, and you may be wondering how long your ebook should be. This is a common question for many authors, and there is no easy answer. The length of your ebook will depend on a variety of factors, including the topic of your book, the audience you are targeting, and the type of book you are writing. If you are unsure about how long your ebook should be, it is best to start by writing a rough draft and then editing and trimming it down as needed.

Ebooks are typically shorter than traditional books, but there is no set length that they must adhere to. In general, it is best to keep your ebook as concise as possible while still providing the necessary information. If your book is too long, you may lose your audience's attention, and if it is too short, you may not be able to provide all the information they need.

When determining the length of your ebook, you should also consider the type of book you are writing. For example, a book on cooking may be shorter than a book on history. When writing your book we generally follow these guidelines:

• Short stories or essays: up to 10,000 words or 20 single spaced pages
• Novels: around 100,000 words or 200 single spaced pages
• Non-fiction books: around 100,000 words or 200 single spaced pages
• Memoirs: up to 80,000 words or 160 single spaced pages
• Kids books: up to 2,000 words or 5 single spaced pages

These are just some rough estimates for beginning to figure out how long you want your book to be. Below we outline some steps you can use to hone in on the length for your target audience.

Determine the audience for your ebook

When determining the audience for your ebook, you should consider who you want to read it. Do you want to target a general audience, or a specific niche? Once you determine your target audience, you can tailor your content to appeal to them.

As we mentioned above, whoever your audience is can determine how long of an ebook they typically expect. If you are targeting a specific niche, then you can make your ebook shorter or longer, depending on the needs of that niche.

Write down who you think your perfect reader is and add a few notes on how long of a book they typically read. If you don't know who that reader is, just take a guess. You can even just write down what length of books you most often read as well.

Find other books in your niche and determine their length

If you're looking to find other books in your niche, it's important to determine their length. This will help you get an idea of how much content is available on the topic. You can also use this information to help you determine how much content you'll need to create to compete with other authors.

To find the length of a book, you can use a site like Amazon. Simply search for the book you're interested in and scroll down to the product details. Under the "Product Details" section, you'll find the length of the book. We suggest finding 5-10 books and then averaging out their lengths to give you a rough estimate of common ebook lengths.

Take your notes from the first step and see how close the numbers are. This is not a perfect science so just go with what feels right to you. After averaging the lengths of the books you found, you might come up with something like this:

The average length of a book in your niche is 150 pages. You think your target audience wants books a bit longer, around 250 pages. Use the two numbers a rough guideline for yourself, a range of 150-250 pages.

Start with your rough draft and edit

Now that you have a rough estimate of your ebook length, it's time to begin writing. Write your first draft without doing any heavy editing other than the standard self editing as you write. This version of your book will be your first draft and on the first edit you can begin to determine if the length is right.

If you begin to read and realize that your book is too long, you can begin to cut down on the content. You may want to consider cutting entire chapters or scenes, or condensing them into a shorter, more concise version. If you find that your book is too short, you can add additional content to make it longer. However, be careful not to add too much content or your book will become bloated and difficult to read.

Once you have a completed first edited draft, you can really work out if the book length is where you want it to.

Our guide should give you a place to start as you begin to write your ebook and plan for how long you want your book to be. After doing the exercises above you should have a good idea of how long your book will be. Even if you aren't completely certain of how long you want the finished product to be you can now figure out how other authors approach the subject.

Bonus Tip

Use images and other multimedia to break up the text and keep your audience engaged throughout your ebook

Images and multimedia are a unique aspect of writing an ebook versus a traditional book. They can also be used to illustrate your points, add visual interest, and create a more engaging experience for your readers.

Some things to keep in mind when using images and multimedia in your ebook:

• Make sure all images and multimedia are high quality. You don't want to be using low quality images as users may be reading on newer screens with high resolutions.
• Include a caption or description for each image or video. This helps provide context for your readers who might not recognize and image and also helps people who may use screen readers.
• Make sure all images and multimedia are properly credited. Do not embed multimedia that is copyrighted without permission from the copyright holder.