So, have you determined a good chapter length for your book or do you need some more help? What is important is your readers, not how long it will take you to write the chapter. You need to consider an average reader and how long it will take them to read it.

Then think about where and when they might read the book – in a lunch break, on the bus or train, at home before they go to bed – and if they are likely to get through a chapter in that time.

The average reading time is 200 words per minutes but that depends on the flow and the complexity of the sentences. So when you think about the chapter length, think about how long it will take a reader to get through different chapter lengths:

2,000 words – 10 minutes

3,000 words – 15 minutes

4,000 words – 20 minutes

5,000 words – 25 minutes

If you are writing non-fiction, it will depend on how you impart the information you need in a chapter without using padding, i.e. unnecessary words. Put too much information in one sentence and your readers will put the book down; too little and they will do the same. Every sentence must count and with non-fiction books, you have the option of sub-headings to break a chapter down.

When your readers can stop at a marked place in the book and you give them enough to keep them interested, they’ll come back.

With a novel, you have the option of keeping each chapter short or using visual markers to break them down. And you can start each new scene or section by putting the first couple of words all in capitals.

If there is a different POV in each section (not chapter), make sure you start the section by identifying the POV.

Must-Haves in Any Chapter

It doesn’t matter whether you opt for short, long or average chapter lengths, every single chapter must have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Every chapter should have a conflict or problem with its resolution and, at the end, a teaser or a cliffhanger.

If you don’t do that, you don’t give your readers anything to come back for, especially if it was already a long chapter.

Make Adjustments as Needed

Now you have a rough idea of chapter length, you might want to go back over your work and see if you need to make any changes. If it is the first draft and you have chapters longer than 5,000 words or shorter than 2,000, don’t worry at this stage – those are changes you can make later.

Ultimately, each chapter should be just as long as it needs to be and no longer or shorter. Right now, you should concentrate solely on writing the book and having some fun with it. Once your first draft is complete, take a break and then read it. Get someone else to read it too and then ask for their opinion on chapter length – that’s the time to make your changes.