Genre guide · Fiction
Romance: word count & book length
How long a romance book should be, which trim sizes suit it and what that means in printed pages. Typical length: 70,000–100,000 words.
About romance
A central love story with an emotionally satisfying, optimistic ending. Category (series) romance runs shorter, typically 50,000–75,000 words; single-title romance is longer.
Printed length in recommended trim sizes
| Trim | Pages at 11 pt | Spine (white) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 x 8 in | 336–474 pages | 0.76–1.07 in |
| 5.5 x 8.5 in Digest | 274–398 pages | 0.62–0.9 in |
| 6 x 9 in US Trade | 242–348 pages | 0.54–0.78 in |
Page counts for these lengths
Tips for this category
- Romance readers buy heavily in ebook and Kindle Unlimited; price the paperback for gifting and signings.
- Trope and heat level belong in your book description and keywords.
About Romance
Romance, or romance fiction, is the genre of narrative fiction whose works focus on the budding emotional, sexual, and loving relationship between two or more characters, often concluding with an emotionally satisfying or optimistic ending. Traditionally its most common format is the romance novel. Romance novels encompass numerous subgenres. While women have traditionally been considered the primary readers of romance novels, a 2017 study commissioned by the Romance Writers of America found that men accounted for 18% of romance book buyers The genre of works retroactively referred to as "romance novels" existed as far back as Greece in the Roman era. Precursors can also be found in the literary fiction of the 18th and 19th centuries, including Samuel Richardson's sentimental novel Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740) and the novels of Jane Austen.
From the Wikipedia article “Romance novel”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Most-published romance works in Open Library
| Title | Author | First published | Editions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wuthering Heights | Emily Brontë | 1846 | 2,889 |
| Emma | Jane Austen | 1815 | 2,262 |
| Sense and Sensibility | Jane Austen | 1811 | 2,091 |
| Little Women | Louisa May Alcott | 1848 | 1,890 |
| Анна Каренина | Leo Tolstoy | 1876 | 1,316 |
| The Great Gatsby | F. Scott Fitzgerald | 1920 | 1,181 |
| Jane Eyre | Charlotte Brontë | 1847 | 1,170 |
| The Moonstone | Wilkie Collins | 1800 | 1,015 |
| Northanger Abbey | Jane Austen | 1818 | 1,014 |
| Ethan Frome | Edith Wharton | 1910 | 1,000 |
Open Library lists 22,227 works under this subject.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a romance book be?
What trim size is best for romance?
Sources & data
- Subject statistics from Open Library.
- Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).