The question of how long an eBook should be seems to crop up in discussions on Linked In e-publishing groups every couple of months. It annoys me a little since I feel that it’s not a useful question.
“I am writing a teen novel and planning to publish on Amazon. How many words are such eBooks usually?”
or
“I am writing a non-fiction piece about business management. How long would it need to be to sell for $4.99?”
These are more intelligent questions.
There is no set length for eBooks and eBooks, like print books, can cover many genres, topics, styles and target a vast array of audiences. How can one set length be assumed for them all? It can’t.
The question of length needs to be considered with the following in mind:
- how many words do you need to get across the story or information?
- how long are competing titles and how are they priced?
- see if you can fulfill a gap in the market: a cheaper and less intense take on a topic where all other titles are long and priced higher, for example?
Rather than asking how long a piece of strong is, just focus on your eBook and its competition.
