Literary Fiction: word count & book length

Character-driven fiction where voice, theme and prose style carry as much weight as plot. Debuts usually sit in the 80,000–95,000 word band; very short or very long literary novels are easier to place once an author has a track record.

• Lead your pitch with the emotional question the book asks, not only the plot.
• A generous interior (11–12 pt type, roomy margins) suits reflective prose.
• Comparable titles from the last five years matter more than classics in queries.

Literary fiction—also called serious fiction, high literature, artistic literature, or sometimes just literature—encompasses fiction that is more character-driven than plot-driven, examines the human condition, or is considered 'serious art' by critics. These labels are typically used in contrast to genre fiction, which refers to books that fit into established categories of the book trade and place more value on entertainment and appealing to a mass audience. Literary fiction can also be called non-genre fiction and is often considered by fans and critics of literary fiction to have more artistic merit than genre fiction. Some categories of literary fiction, such as historical fiction, magic realism, autobiographical novels, and encyclopedic novels, are frequently called genres without being considered genre fiction.

From the Wikipedia article “Literary fiction”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.