Google Docs to Published Book Size Translation

[Tolkien]

I submitted a MS to a small publisher who liked my book but said its size [400 pages] would prevent it from selling enough copies for them to make their money back. I understand they only offer paperback and so the size of their books is likely small, but it was only 220 pages in google docs. So I am just wondering, does anyone have a general idea of what a page in google docs equals to a normal sized paperback book?

 

[pmmg]

I had written and article on this once, but I cant seem to find it.

Generally, 100,000 words = 300 pages in novel format.

Novels tend to be 70K through 120K in length, and 80-90K being more along the lines of the usual length a publisher may ask for. Fantasy and Sci-fi tend to get more liberty, as they are usually longer. Smaller novels, 50K or so, might be more for on screen reading.


For you, its not hard math. if 200 pages = 400 novel pages, then you are getting a 1:2 ratio. Since you are 220, maybe a little more 1:2.2 ratio or such.

I might add, Tolkien's original manuscript was so large, it was split into three pieces by the publisher. Maybe you can do the same.

 

[Tolkien]

I had written and article on this once, but I cant seem to find it.

Generally, 100,000 words = 300 pages in novel format.

Novels tend to be 70K through 120K in length, and 80-90K being more along the lines of the usual length a publisher may ask for. Fantasy and Sci-fi tend to get more liberty, as they are usually longer. Smaller novels, 50K or so, might be more for on screen reading.


For you, its not hard math. if 200 pages = 400 novel pages, then you are getting a 1:2 ratio. Since you are 220, maybe a little more 1:2.2 ratio or such.

I might add, Tolkien's original manuscript was so large, it was split into three pieces by the publisher. Maybe you can do the same.

Thanks for the help and yes that is what I am considering doing. I might just eBook the "second volume."

 

[skip.knox]

Pages in Google Docs tend to be 8.5x11 or ... is it A5 that's standard in Europe? I always have to look it up. The physical size of a paperback is much smaller--6x9 is the larger of the sizes--so the page count will always be higher. Page count for ebooks, of course, is meaningless.

If you want a closer approximation, try setting your page size to 6x9 in Google Docs. With ... what is it, guys? ... a half inch margin. Maybe it's 3/4. That will certainly get closer to the mark than 8.5x11. Oh, and set the font to Times Roman 11pt or 12pt.

 

[Prince of Spires]

This is pretty much a "how long is a piece of string" question.

First off, it very much depends on your google docs settings. Are you writing at 12 point Times New Roman, or a 14 points? Different font? Double spacing or not? How big are your margins? Do you start new chapters on new pages or not?

All that means is that word-count is a better measure of length than number of pages in a word document.

Traditionally I think publishing goes with about 250 words to a page. Might be a bit more, might be a bit less, but that's the average they use. So if you want to know how big your publisher thinks the book will be, then go with that.

Of course, even this number is relatively meaningless. As skip.knox mentioned, for ebooks number of pages is a completely meaningless number. But also in print, it very much depends on the dimensions of the book, the margins and the font used. A 5X8 book will have a very different page count from a 6X9 or 8X10. And having 12 or 13 point font makes a difference as well.

Somehow I actually think their comment might be less about the physical size of the manuscript, but rather about the amount of money needed to get the book in shape. Some costs are tied to the word-count, namely all editing costs. Which means longer book is more expensive to make even as ebook. And you can't sell a book twice as long for twice the price.

As a side note, 400 pages is not that long for a novel. most of the novels I have on my bookshelf are at least that or longer.