How long should a first draft be?
- Adult literary and commercial fiction: 70,000-100,000 words.
- Adult fantasy and science fiction: 80,000-110,000 words (debuts trend lower).
- YA fiction: 50,000-90,000 words.
- Middle grade: 30,000-50,000 words.
- Revision typically cuts 10-15% of a first draft.
A first draft should match the genre’s expected length, typically 70,000-100,000 words for adult fiction, 50,000-90,000 for YA, 30,000-50,000 for middle grade, and 80,000-110,000 for adult fantasy and sci-fi. Coming in 10-20% over target is fine; revision usually cuts that much. Coming in 30-50% under target signals missing scenes or thin character work.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Genre length matters more than new writers realize. Agents reject 150,000-word debut adult contemporary novels on the word count alone — production economics make them hard to sell. Coming in well under count signals "underdeveloped" to agents. Knowing the genre target guides drafting decisions before you write the wrong number of scenes.
Chapter ii·What to include
- Adult literary or commercial fiction: 70,000-100,000 words.
- Adult fantasy and sci-fi: 80,000-110,000 words (debuts trend lower, around 90,000).
- Adult thriller and mystery: 70,000-90,000 words.
- Romance: 50,000-90,000 words depending on subgenre.
- YA fiction: 50,000-90,000 words.
- Middle grade: 30,000-50,000 words.
Chapter iii·Example
A debut adult fantasy author aims for 100,000 words and finishes a first draft at 113,000. She knows 10-15% will be cut in revision, lands at 99,000 after developmental edits, and queries within agent expectations for the subgenre. Knowing the target before drafting saved her from a 140,000-word manuscript she would have had to rewrite or shelve.
WriteLoom’s Write studio shows word count against your genre target as you draft, so the draft lands in queryable territory.
See the Write studio