The math, shown plainly
The daily goal is (target words − words already written) ÷ writing days left before your deadline, rounded up. Writing days are counted from the weekday schedule you set — a Monday-to-Friday writer has about 22 writing days in a month, not 30, and the pace honest enough to plan around accounts for that.
Milestone dates walk the same calendar forward: the day your running total crosses 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of the target. If the required pace looks unsustainable, that is the calculator doing its job — move the deadline now, not in month three.
Typical manuscript lengths
- Flash fictionup to 1,000 words
- Short story1,000–7,500
- Novella17,500–40,000
- Young adult novel50,000–80,000
- Adult novel70,000–100,000
- Epic fantasy100,000–150,000
Frequently Asked Questions
How many words is a novel?
Most adult novels land between 70,000 and 100,000 words. Conventions vary by category: young adult typically runs 50,000–80,000, mysteries and thrillers 70,000–90,000, and epic fantasy regularly reaches 100,000–150,000. Novellas sit between 17,500 and 40,000 words, and anything under 7,500 is usually considered a short story. If you plan to query agents, staying inside your genre’s range matters; debuts far outside it are harder to sell.
How many words a day should I write?
There is no correct number — published authors range from Graham Greene’s 500 words a day to Anthony Trollope’s 3,000 before breakfast. What matters is a pace you can repeat. A sustainable 400 words a day, five days a week, finishes a 90,000-word novel in under eleven months. This calculator works backwards from your deadline so the number is yours, not someone else’s.
How does this calculator work out my daily goal?
It counts the actual writing days between today and your deadline using the weekdays you selected, then divides the words you have left by that count: (target words − words written) ÷ writing days remaining, rounded up. Milestone dates are computed the same way, walking forward day by day. Everything runs in your browser.
What happens if I miss a day?
Nothing dramatic — the math just shifts. Come back, update the "words already written" field, and the calculator redistributes what’s left over your remaining writing days. Building one or two buffer days a week into your schedule (write Monday–Friday, keep weekends in reserve) makes missed days a non-event rather than a spiral.
How long does it take to write a book at 500 words a day?
At 500 words a day, every day, a 90,000-word manuscript takes 180 days — just under six months. Writing five days a week instead stretches it to about 36 weeks, or roughly eight and a half months. Switch the calculator to "I know my daily pace" mode to see your exact finish date against your own schedule.
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