Genre guide · Nonfiction
Self-Help: word count & book length
How long a self-help book should be, which trim sizes suit it and what that means in printed pages. Typical length: 40,000–70,000 words.
About self-help
Practical books that promise a change — habits, confidence, relationships, productivity. A clear framework and actionable steps are what readers pay for.
Printed length in recommended trim sizes
| Trim | Pages at 11 pt | Spine (white) |
|---|---|---|
| 5.5 x 8.5 in Digest | 144–248 pages | 0.32–0.56 in |
| 6 x 9 in US Trade | 128–218 pages | 0.29–0.49 in |
Page counts for these lengths
Tips for this category
- Worksheets can be offered as a downloadable PDF to keep the book trim.
- Your subtitle should state the outcome.
About Self-Help
A self-help book is a book or text that is written with the primary intention to instruct its readers how to solve problems of a personal nature. They take their name from Self-Help, an 1859 best-selling book by Samuel Smiles, but are sometimes known and classified as "self-improvement" books. Self-help books moved from their position in a niche market to much wider adoption and use in the late twentieth century.
From the Wikipedia article “Self-help book”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Most-published self-help works in Open Library
| Title | Author | First published | Editions |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Art of War | 孙武 (Sun Tzu) | 1900 | 1,542 |
| As a Man Thinketh | James Allen | 1902 | 658 |
| Think and Grow Rich | Napoleon Hill | 1937 | 309 |
| The art of money getting, or, Golden rules for money getting | P. T. Barnum, P. T. Barnum | 1880 | 296 |
| The Richest Man in Babylon | George S. Clason | 1926 | 262 |
| The Art of Public Speaking | Dale Carnegie, Joseph Berg Esenwein | 1915 | 237 |
| The science of getting rich, or, financial success through creative thought | Wallace D. Wattles, Ruth L Miller | 1910 | 235 |
| How to Win Friends and Influence People | Dale Carnegie | 1936 | 189 |
| How to live on 24 hours a day | Arnold Bennett | 1900 | 168 |
| The master key system in twenty-four parts with questionnaire and glossary | Charles F. Haanel, Ruth L. Miller | 1919 | 135 |
Open Library lists 55,163 works under this subject.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a self-help book be?
What trim size is best for self-help?
Sources & data
- Subject statistics from Open Library.
- Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).