Genre guide · Fiction
War Fiction: word count & book length
How long a war fiction book should be, which trim sizes suit it and what that means in printed pages. Typical length: 80,000–110,000 words.
80,000–110,000 wordstypical length
1,175works in Open Library
About war fiction
Fiction where war is the central setting or force, from the front line to the home front.
Printed length in recommended trim sizes
| Trim | Pages at 11 pt | Spine (white) |
|---|---|---|
| 6 x 9 in US Trade | 274–380 pages | 0.62–0.86 in |
| 5.5 x 8.5 in Digest | 320–434 pages | 0.72–0.98 in |
Page counts for these lengths
Tips for this category
- Military readers spot errors in ranks, equipment and slang — get a veteran beta reader.
About War Fiction
A war novel or military fiction is a novel about war. It is a novel in which the primary action takes place on a battlefield, or in a civilian setting (or home front), where the characters are preoccupied with the preparations for, suffering the effects of, or recovering from war. Many war novels are historical novels.
From the Wikipedia article “War novel”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Most-published war fiction works in Open Library
| Title | Author | First published | Editions |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Tale of Two Cities | Charles Dickens | 1800 | 2,059 |
| Gulliver's Travels | Jonathan Swift | 1726 | 1,810 |
| War and Peace | Лев Толстой | 1845 | 647 |
| The Red Badge of Courage | Stephen Crane | 1855 | 639 |
| Greenmantle | John Buchan | 1915 | 521 |
| The War of the Worlds | H. G. Wells | — | 457 |
| Glinda of Oz | L. Frank Baum | 1920 | 454 |
| The Red Badge of Courage | Stephen Crane | 1871 | 447 |
| Mr. Standfast | John Buchan | 1918 | 437 |
| Gone With the Wind | Margaret Mitchell | 1936 | 363 |
Open Library lists 1,175 works under this subject.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a war fiction book be?
Typically 80,000–110,000 words. Fiction where war is the central setting or force, from the front line to the home front..
What trim size is best for war fiction?
Common choices are 6 x 9 in US Trade, 5.5 x 8.5 in Digest.
Sources & data
- Subject statistics from Open Library.
- Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).