Fyle
Inkling
So, a question I see over and over (and we all do) is - what's a good chapter length?
Most people answer the question in word count. But, to me, when I think of reading through a chapter, I get a better idea about length based on pages.
So, I did some calculating and at 12 point font, I find I like the average of 6-7.5 pages per chapter better than 11 point font of 4.5-5.5 pages (roughly) per average chapter of mine.
The question is, who makes the decision on what font size to use once a book is published? For self publishing, I am assuming it is all up to you.
12 point (arial) at 3k words is 6.7 pages
11 point (arial) at 3k is 5.5 pages
11point (arial) 2.5k is 4.5 pages (seems thin to me simply as far as personal taste)
12 point (arial) 2.5k is 5.5 pages (a bit of a sweet spot for my shortest of chapters)
The reason I like to think about length is I feel deeper immersion takes place when the length hits a sweet spot. Too short can be hard to get immersed in, whereas too long can start to get tiring and break immersion cause the reader is waiting for the next "thing" to happen and you risk boring them if that chapter isn't a real page turner or one they have been waiting for.
Most people answer the question in word count. But, to me, when I think of reading through a chapter, I get a better idea about length based on pages.
So, I did some calculating and at 12 point font, I find I like the average of 6-7.5 pages per chapter better than 11 point font of 4.5-5.5 pages (roughly) per average chapter of mine.
The question is, who makes the decision on what font size to use once a book is published? For self publishing, I am assuming it is all up to you.
12 point (arial) at 3k words is 6.7 pages
11 point (arial) at 3k is 5.5 pages
11point (arial) 2.5k is 4.5 pages (seems thin to me simply as far as personal taste)
12 point (arial) 2.5k is 5.5 pages (a bit of a sweet spot for my shortest of chapters)
The reason I like to think about length is I feel deeper immersion takes place when the length hits a sweet spot. Too short can be hard to get immersed in, whereas too long can start to get tiring and break immersion cause the reader is waiting for the next "thing" to happen and you risk boring them if that chapter isn't a real page turner or one they have been waiting for.