What is the right length for a business book?

How long should your business book be?

An interesting article in BookBrunch caught my eye: Books are getting shorter . Research by WordsRated shows that from 2011 to 2021, the average length of a New York Times bestseller has dropped by 50 pages or 11.8%, and shorter books (under 400 pages) have stayed longer in the chart since 2016. You can find the original research from WordsRated here and some fantastic charts - Bestselling books have never been shorter .

They put this down to readers choosing to buy shorter books because they don't have much time. "People have more options than ever on how to spend their time", and as a result reading time is in decline. I can certainly relate to that: if browsing, it's very seldom that I'd look at a very long, heavy book and get excited unless I knew there was good reason for its length.

I would also argue that publishers could be pushing for, or authors writing shorter books. A wise man once told me something which dramatically changed my commissioning - he said: "You don't read business books at work." And it's true. So we need to be sure what we're reading is worthwhile if it's done in our own time, and one way of doing that is to keep things short. Our recent research shows the biggest barrier for readers is time, so let's not waste it.

There's no hard and fast rule on the 'right' length for a business book but aiming between 40,000 - 60,000 words is a good starting point. The right length for your book depends on the topic, the level, and the style of the content. You can easily appreciate that an introductory book on mindfulness will be much shorter than a book for professionals on credit derivatives. The mindfulness book could be around 40,000 words, and the credit derivatives book could be 80,000 words or over. Something like a reference book can be longer and is expected to be comprehensive by buyers.

When reviewing proposals, I often have a gut feel for the right length of a book. If I see 100,000 words or more I instantly think "that's too long". And at the same time, anything less than 30,000 words is quite honestly hard to print or sell effectively in printed form. A really short book has a thin spine where it's hard to read the title, and readers can think it's not worth the money.

So how can you make this work for you?

• Are you covering too much? The best books have one valued outcome. It's a book on leadership, project management, or negotiation. It's rarely all three, covered at length. Trying to publish three books in one could fail to appeal to anyone because it's so broad, and hard to explain succinctly.
• Get to the practical - a lot of proposals have practical content at the end of the book. I think this prevents you from getting the reader to do something immediately. So ask yourself, do you need those initial chapters if they're not helping the reader to do something? Either cut them and get to the useful stuff or bring the practical earlier by mixing theory and application throughout the chapter. Explain the theory, then get them to try it out.
• Only include what's necessary - balance all you know (a lot) with what's necessary for the reader of your book (enough). If they only need the basics, give basics. If they want detail, give detail, but only if it's useful. This is another reason why it's so important to know who your reader is from the outset. An introductory book on coaching won't need as much detail as an advanced book for coaches.
• Chunk it - make reading quicker and easier by breaking up long paragraphs with diagrams, examples, exercises. You aren't writing Harry Potter but you can make it feel easier if it's more bitesize.
• How long is your sample chapter? - a good sample chapter is representative of the rest of the book in style and length, so calculate how long that makes the rest of the book? (i.e. 4,000 words x 12 = 48,000 words + introduction + conclusion)
• Don't forget artwork counts - a very visual book could have a lot of tables, figures, illustrations or photographs. These aren't are in your word count but will contribute to the length of the book. If there are a lot, make this clear to the publisher as they can add up (i.e. a full-page diagram = 400-500 words)
• Make it enjoyable - remember that business books don't have to be boring. Let your enthusiasm come through and show why your subject is interesting. Get them to want to read it on the commute, or at home after work.

In other news

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• We ask why.?We challenge the status quo?by challenging ourselves.
• We ask what if.?We spark curiosity to innovate?new possibilities for everyone.
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• We deliver quality.?We hold our customers?in the highest regard,?and our work to the?highest standards.
• We make our mark.?We execute with speed and?agility to leave lasting impact?on everyone we serve.

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Finally

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