The hobbit to be split into three movies because peter. My favorite thing about this book is definitely the character growth bilbo experiences throughout his tiresome journey. And publishers are looking for more nonfiction authors to write e book singles, which run anywhere from 20 to 100 pages in length. Just as she brought back length, so tolkien boldly, or maybe unthinkingly, brought back emotional depth. You may also describe the general format you envision. A non fiction book attractive to publishers of bestsellers starts at around 75,000 words. In this article im going to attempt to answer that question. Any selfhelp or motivational nonfiction book should be between 30,000 and 70,000 words. Nonfiction requires more thinking time from your reader, so you need to consider the role of your book. Dont submit an outline for a book that contains less than 9 chapters. The hobbit, or there and back again is a childrens fantasy novel by english author j. The hobbit is one of my favorite books and the illustrations, whether big or small, add even more character and charm to the story.
Oct 18, 2017 of course, sometimes the best way to chapter your book wont crystallize until you start editing. Your guide to book word counts fiction and nonfiction. The lord of the rings audiobook the fellowship of the ring. In fact, the average nonfiction book on amazon is 10,000 words, which translates to 80 pages. But when a wandering wizard captivates him with tales of the unknown, bilbo becomes restless. Tolkien the hobbit, or there and back again is a fantasy novel by english author j. Compiling a list of longest novels yields different results depending on whether pages, words or characters are counted. In my opinion, if your nonfiction book is fewer than about 30,000 words 120 pages, it does not feel substantial enough to be real book.
The very first book i read in english cover to cover of my own free will. Tolkien 18921973 is the creator of middleearth and author of such classic and extraordinary works of fiction as the hobbit, the lord of the rings, and the silmarillion. He is hospitable to gandalf, bilbo, and the dwarves on their way to the lonely mountain and gives them ponies and provisions for their journey. While on the journey they come in contact with many creatures, people, enemies, and etc in this book there is a lot of action and adventure. Seldom has any book been so widely read and loved as j. Imdb rating chart is flawed because the quality of the source material is going to be a confounding factor.
Tolkien nonfiction browse through books written by and about j. I dont know what i can say to add to what has already been said. In these cases, the overall design of the book determines the publishing costs more than word count. It was published on 21 september 1937 to wide critical. A great modern classic and the prelude to the lord of the rings. The art of the nonfiction book proposal writers relief. Since its first publication in 1937 it has remained in print to delight each new generation of readers all over the world, and its hero, bilbo baggins, has taken his place among the ranks of the immortals of fiction. The average nonfiction book, if such a thing exists. Or worse still youd give up and put the text aside altogether. Tolkiens novel the hobbit continues to fascinate readers 70 years after its original publication. Best seen as the lore book of the elves whom the hobbits meet on their. Since the publication of the hobbit in 1937, critical readers have argued over whether the book is a fantasy, a fairy tale, a fable, a romance, an epic, or a novel.
In years past, a thick book spine was the advertisement for the title on a bookstore shelf. Tolkien nonfiction the official tolkien online bookshop. Many of the misconceptions on the ideal book length are left over from outdated publishing industry standards. That said, if your book is around 40,000 words, youre in good company. Theres nothing worse than a nonfiction book that doesnt engage the reader to keep reading. Since just comparing the number of unique words in a book does not take its length into account i decided to calculate the percentage of unique words of the whole text. His books have been translated into more than fifty languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide. However, be prepared to be flexible when it comes to length and formatthe publisher will have the final say. A full length nonfiction book usually contains 9 to 15 chapters of average length. You might be more surprised if a ya novel required olympianlevel arm strength to lift.
Gandalf and bilbo spend yuletide with him on their way back to the hobbit lands. You definitely dont need to write the equivalent of the 300,000 word novel that you might pick up when youre going on holiday. The hobbit was so successful in 1937 that tolkien was asked to write a sequel and so was born the lord of the rings. A map for lifes unexpected journeys takes a look at the lessons we can all find in the works fo j. But rules are made to be broken, and the most successful publishing phenomenon in history did just that. One day bilbo baggins, a hobbit who lives at bag end in hobbiton, receives a visit from gandalf, the wizard. To find out how long should a chapter be, we examined books from a wide variety of genres and eras. Editors and experts hammond and scull walk through the classic book s publication history, providing context for the. One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one rin. While the lord of the rings was targeted at a much older audience, i think that the hobbit appeals more to younger people.
Browse your favourite books and read them free in our ereader. Long book length at the other end of the spectrum a book of 80,000 to 100,000 words has significant heft, 320400 pages. Included here are tolkiens authorised biography, his collected essays and letters, his work as an artist and illustrator, and his son christopher tolkiens epic twelvevolume work of scholarship, the history of. It was published on 21 september 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the carnegie medal and awarded a prize from the new york herald tribune for best juvenile fiction. It was published on 21 september 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the carnegie medal and awarded a. Jun 27, 2019 a story that is over 40,000 words is generally considered a novel. Unlike fiction, where an author must have a completed manuscript ready before they approach a publisher or agent, a nonfiction author only needs to develop a proposal to submit to publishers andor agents. As the 75th anniversary of jrr tolkiens novel the hobbit approaches, expert thomas shippey asks why it. Minimum realistic word count of nonfiction book writing. An unexpected journey by paddy kempshall it is about a hobbit and 12 dwarves that go on a journey. Of course, a printed book probably needs to be at least 100125 pages in length. Read the hobbit absolutely for free at readanybook. Gandalf is known for leading young hobbits off on adventures, although respectable hobbits do not do such things. Whether you read dante, swift, or any of these guys, it always boils down to the same thing.
Get the best deals on the hobbit hardcover books when you shop the largest online selection at ebay. Therefore, the word count of a novel is crucial if you want your book to be fit for. The hobbit has recently been adapted to the screen under the direction of peter jackson as a trilogy. The hobbit is a great readaloud for parents to share with children just as tolkien shared the book with his children. A reread of a favorite book hobbit book, famous books. Movie length, part 2 stokes oti staff aug 12th 20 4. This is a crossword for the book the hobbit for grades 58. Book length average length of a non fiction booki youtube. The ring sets out j r r tolkien audiobook read by phil dragash duration.
An unexpected journey is a fantastic book, written by j. Normally i take a week, maybe two to finish a book of the same length, depending on time and if im really into it i can knock a book out in just two or three days. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. If you picked up a scifi or historical novel from a bookshelf, you wouldnt be surprised if it was pretty hefty and probably had a dragon on the cover. Oct 10, 2016 the right answer to how long should my book be. However part why the new writers, the answer is difficult to identify because the answer is so difficult. Tolkien the first published the adventure in 1937 unknown publisher the hobbit by j. Free shipping on many items browse your favorite brands.
Since just comparing the number of unique words in a book does not take its length into account i decided to calculate the percentage of unique words of the. There is a lot of crossover to the lord of the rings series, so the title is a little misleading, and probably titled to take advantage of the newer movies, but it does use bilbos journey as the basis. The world where bilbo baggins, gandalf the wizard and the company of dwarves on their quest to recover treasure stolen by the dragon, smaaug the. The hobbit tells a fantastic story of adventure, danger, friendship, and courage, and serves as a prequel to the even more immersive and epic book series, the lord of the rings.
Seventyfive years and one hundred million copies later, the hobbit towers above the mounds of modern mythology, regarded by expert and child alike as one of the best books ever written. The hobbit cliffsnotes study guides book summaries, test. Id guesstimate that nonfiction books generally yes, this is very rough run perhaps 150450 pages, and at about 350 wdpage that works out to something like 50150k words. Nov 07, 20 buy the hobbit film tiein edition by tolkien, j. The hobbit is a far easier read than lotr and a child can make short work of it, but it is by no means exclusively a childrens book. The definitive collection of tolkiens classic fairie tales, in the vein of the hobbit, illustrated by oscar winner alan lee never before published in a single volume, tolkiens four novellas farmer giles of ham, leaf by niggle, smith of wootton. By 2017, however, that number has dropped to 273 pages. However, it will be on the short side, as the average length of a novel hovers around 50,00070,000 words. The average nonfiction book, if such a thing exists, runs about 50,000 to 75,000 words, but this can vary depending upon category.
The hobbit is one of the best fantasy adventure books id ever read. Aug 29, 20 seldom has any book been so widely read and loved as j. From these numbers, we can establish some guidelines. May 19, 2018 the hobbit, there and back again j r r tolkien. Bilbo baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther. What is a reasonable estimate for the minimum length, in word count, for a nonfiction book. If you want to get a target for your non fiction book, the best thing may be to look at a dozen or so bestselling books in the genreniche youre aiming at and see what their word counts are. When youre pitching a nonfiction book to a publisher, just about everything is different. It is an average length book, not too terribly long, yet somehow i found myself taking a while to finish it. Classifying the book is one way of explaining its strengths and weaknesses and understanding the immense appeal it has held for many. Over the past two years, the film version of the novel has brought to life the book s main cha. One of the questions that new writers always ask is how long should my nonfiction book be. Promote higherorder thinking, such as making comparisons among texts, with paired books. Jul 18, 20 t his book has got to be one of the greatest books i have ever read.
So if you want your chapter breaks to pack a punch whether its your first, second, or even fifth draft, these are a few of the ways you can frame the end of each section. An unexpected journey 2012, the desolation of smaug 20, and the battle of the five armies 2014. Win 1978 gandalf the silmarillion booklength fantasy. However, confident that his book would one day be divided into a dozen movies, author jrr tolkien also provided 125 pages of hobbit backstory, billed as the appendecies, in a later edition of. The harry potter books are young adult titles, and ya publishers generally look for manuscripts in the 50,000 to 80,000word range. Get the best deals on the hobbit hardcover books when you shop the largest online selection at. Do you think the hobbit dramatized needs a followup book. Dec 03, 2014 the hobbit is a story about little bilbo baggins and his notsolittle adventure. Thats reason for nonfiction writers to pausebut not for too long. The hobbit is a story about bilbo baggins, a small elflike creature, often referred as a hobbit, who is abruptly taken away from his home and reluctantly drawn into a quest full of evil orcs. Your guide to publishing a nonfiction book ny book editors. Less than 100 pages and it becomes difficult for a printer to print the title of the book on the spine. I wanna see this passed in by all on dec browse over 30 educational resources created by science etc in the official teachers pay teachers store. Book length average length of a non fiction book one of the questions that new writers always ask is how long should my nonfiction book be.
Tolkien nonfiction archives the official tolkien online bookshop. Given the status of this book and the spectacular attention given to the sequels, it is all the more surprising that this audioadaptation is so lacklustre and pedestrian. That means your manuscript must be at least 3540,000 words long. With the theatrical release of the twopart film the hobbit slated for 2012 and 20, attention will once again turn to j. The lord of the rings trilogy has delighted millions of fans worldwide in book and movie form. Tolkien and his great imaginative creation, middleearth. If you stick to these when youre writing your nonfiction book, youll be fine. The hobbit has more unique words and a higher unique word density than both the silmarillion and each volume in the lord of the rings. The hobbit is one of the treasures of english fiction. In a culture where truth is relative and morality is viewed as oldfashioned, we welcome the.
If you create a followup book or hobbit with an ensemble cast, make sure its an allbritish cast thats been classically trained. Thats book because the lord of the rings is not three books, as many assume, but one book in three parts each part originally published separately. While there are two routes you can take when publishing your nonfiction book, the focus of this guide will be on traditional publishing, i. Like every other hobbit, bilbo baggins likes nothing better than a quiet evening in his snug hole in the ground, dining on a sumptuous dinner in front of a fire. This is a crossword for the book the hobbit for grades the clues are a listen up family. R tolkien that takes place in the fictional world of middle earth, which is the setting of most of the authors works. Jun 26, 2015 the hobbit is one of the longest short books i have ever read in my life, because though it is relatively not that long it feels very long and over drawn. It doesnt come with a dust jacket, the picture on the front and back cover is expertly presseddyed onto what feels like a clothlike covering on the book.
Dec 06, 2012 a good case can be made that the hobbit is a better and more satisfying read than its gargantuan successor, the lord of the rings. Students first answer textdependent questions about each text separately, and then about both texts combined. As the 75th anniversary of jrr tolkiens novel the hobbit approaches, expert thomas shippey asks why it still manages to capture. I dont know if the question is meant as a mentalstatistical exorcise. English the book of mormon, published by joseph smith, jr.
170 1140 584 682 969 351 43 618 102 1391 989 564 472 610 1142 68 493 874 903 1073 528 566 76 555 63 1268 1128 488 112 679 330