Some basic word count guidelines:

* These are only ballpark figures and the submission guidelines for a particular publisher should be the final word on the matter.

Chapter book (6-8 yr) 5-25,000 words

Middle Reader (8-12) 25-40,000 words

Young Adult (12-18) 40-75,000 words

(middle reader and YA kids like to read about characters a couple of years older than they are)

Novelette – 7,500–20,000 words

Novella 20-30,000 words

Short Contemporary 50,000-60,000 words

Long Contemporary 70,000-80,000 words

Mass Market paperback (western, SF, Fantasy, etc) 75-90,000 words

Short Historical /Mainstream 90-100,000 words

Romance novel 90-100,000 words

Long Historical/ Mainstream 108,000-120,000

On first time authors publishers tend to want between 80-100,000 words. A person submitting above what they are looking for, should consider that each 10,000 words over the guideline is a 10% increase in print costs, and publishers are not into paying more money on unproven writers.