How many words are recommended for a dark fantasy novel?

[Xitra_Blud]

I am almost done with the first draft of my novel and, looking at it, it looks like it's going to be around 60,000 in all. I've been looking at a lot of word number recommendation for certain genres and subgenres. I'm only seeing fantasy but nothing for "dark" fantasy and I don't know if it would just be included with fantasy as a whole, but they're all saying a fantasy should be over 100,000 words. Most things are saying 60,000 words are too less period for any novel (unless you're aiming for young adult which I certainly am not).

Does anyone know how long a dark fantasy novel should be?

 

[LordDoubhri]

So I know you're looking for a number for me to tell you, but I have some different advice.

Screw word counts.

Sure, a novel shouldn't be 10,000 words, I mean, let's be real, but just because someone somewhere wanted a novel to be of a certain length doesn't mean YOUR novel has to be that length. You shouldn't force your work to be something it's not.

60,000 sounds like a good length for a novel to me. It doesn't always have to fit "requirements" that some think exist. (Can you tell I'm not a fan of these requirements? haha)

 

[TWErvin2]

If you read dark fantasy, take a look at some of the novels on your shelf. It wouldn't be difficult to estimate the word count.

The second option would be to check the submission guidelines of publishers of dark fiction.

 

[Penpilot]

60k words isn't too short. There are plenty of adult novels that are in all genres that are that length. If it's good enough to publish then it's good enough.

BUT the length can work for and against you. If a publisher is looking for something longer to fill a slot, they might ask you to make it longer. If you can't then that's tough. Same goes for if a publisher is looking for a novelette, and they might ask you to cut it down.

A publisher might take a risk on you because the novel is short, so the cost of printing it might not be as high as a longer book.

In short, there are many variables that determine if a novel gets picked up or not, length being one in a long long list. So just write your story, take as many words as you need to tell it, and don't worry about anything other than making it good.