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[Fyle]

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.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

I write in 12 point fonts (Calibri or Arial). That came from habit after I learned publishing houses usually demand 12 point. I figured it'd be best to train myself in that font size.

Typically my chapters run between 10-20 pages, with a maximum of roughly 25. I average between 250 & 300 words per page.

Some chapters, I'm trying for deep immersion, as you mentioned. In others, I might be going for faster paced action. In that case, a shorter chapter might aid in creating that sense of quickness. It all just depends on story need.

 

[Laurence]

I don't mind a long chapter (T.Allen.Smith's length sounds good to me). What tires me out is a long page. I like turning pages!

 

[Fyle]

Thanks for the responses...

When doing the math, I like how 12 point turns out myself. Sounds good.

 

[skip.knox]

Sorry but page count makes no sense to me and never has. Even before e-books, page count varied depending not only on the font but on the form factor (e.g., paperback versus hardback). What matters as I read is not how many physical pages I encounter (though I rarely read physical books any more).

What matters far more, more or less in order is:
line length (which I can vary with my ebooks)
sentence length
paragraph length
scene length
chapter length

With all these, shorter does not always mean better. I just means there is a sweet spot *for me* and books that hit that spot on all points tend to be the ones I call good. Ones that get too clumsy or convoluted (not quite the same as long) on those points are ones that I call clumsy or convoluted.

But I don't believe I have ever said a book, or a chapter, had too many pages.