With dry wit and wild imagination, author edwin abbott abbott builds a meticulous fantasy world rooted in an astute apprehension of psychology, politics, and. And publishers are looking for more nonfiction authors to write e book singles, which run anywhere from 20 to 100 pages in length. In the critique you need to address what the author did wellpoorly and why. I made this set to help the honors or nonhonors students doing the flatland movie response assignment. What is the ideal kdp book length when writing a nonfiction book. Book length average length of a non fiction booki youtube. The average nonfiction book, if such a thing exists, runs about 50,000 words. This curated list covers the gamut of nonfiction, from compelling war stories to key feminist texts, to unbelievable struggles for survival, to tales of life in the culinary trade. 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. Abbotts delightful mathematical fantasy about life in a twodimensional world. A nonfiction book attractive to publishers of bestsellers starts at around 75,000 words. The amiable narrator, a square, provides an overview of this fantastic worldits physics and metaphysics, its history, customs. Thanks morriss003, thats the kind of information i needed to know.
The book uses a twodimensional world to comment on victorian culture and it has been the inspiration of many movies. Buy flatland by edwin abbott 97801404353 2010 from. So 50,000 words is the minimum for a nonfiction book. The story tells the tale of a humble square as he guides us through some of the idioms of life in two dimensions. The little i have read of the book gives promise of an enjoyable read. Nonfiction requires more thinking time from your reader, so you need to consider the role of your book. Abbott 1984, hardcover, revised at the best online prices at ebay. Flatland is one of the very few novels about math and philosophy that can appeal to almost any layperson.
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. But, most nonfiction publishers want to be sold the concept, and therefore be able to discuss the direction of the project, before you write the book. I am evaluating this book based on the development of plot by using fantasy. But rules are made to be broken, and the most successful publishing phenomenon in history did just that. What is a reasonable estimate for the minimum length, in word count, for a nonfiction book. Popular books in fiction and literature, nonfiction. Add to this the power of making herself practically invisible at will, and you will perceive that a female, in flatland, is a creature by no means to be trifled with. Project gutenberg has several editions of this ebook. I call our world flatland, not because we call it so, but to make its nature clearer to you, my happy readers, who are.
Know your content, know your mainline pitch and some. Rick warrens first big publishing success, the purpose driven church 1995 was composed of 103,208 words. A romance of many dimensions dover thrift editions. Long book length at the other end of the spectrum a book of 80,000 to 100,000 words has significant heft, 320400 pages. Of the climate and houses in flatland the author uses shapes as a metaphor for males and females. The range is wide open when it comes to nonfiction books in the christian world. In flatland, originally published in 1884, a humble square describes his twodimensional world to benefit the inhabitants of spaceland, the threedimensional realm he discovers when he is visited by a being from beyond his plane. Square and his brother had the same job, but in the book, they had different jobs. The first part of the book talks about the social breakdown of the flatland and it is a thinly disguised satire on the victorian society. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. A romance of many dimensions it is a law of nature with us that a male child shall have one more side than his father, so that each generation shall rise as a rule one step in the scale of development and nobility. As a satire, flatland offered pointed observations on the social hierarchy of victorian culture. A work that continues to pose provocative questions about perception and reality, flatland.
Alan lightman brings a light touch to heavy questions. A romance of many dimensions that has fascinated generations of readers with its clever blend. He has a dream about visiting lineland, a one dimensional world and while there trys to convince the worlds leader that a second dimension exists. I dont know what i can say to add to what has already been said. Standard font size of 10 for all books high quality paper fulfilled by amazon. I guess 50,000 is a short novel and some early novels before goes as low as 40,000 which can be considered to be a novella. As a satire, flatland offers pointed observations on the social hierarchy of victorian culture.
By the editor if my poor flatland friend retained the vigour of mind which he enjoyed when he began to compose these memoirs, i should not now need to represent him in this preface, in which he desires, firstly, to return his thanks to his readers and critics in spaceland, whose appreciation has, with unexpected. If you choose to selfpublish, you have a choice to go long or short. As a satire, flatland offered pointed observations on. I heard 10,000 words can be accepted as an e book at a short length at least for nonfiction. Book length average length of a non fiction book a 10 minute training video from video discusses how to determine the av. Flatland this masterpiece of science and mathematical fiction is a delightfully unique and highly entertaining satire that has charmed readers. A romance of many dimensions by edwin abbott 2018, paperback at the best online prices at ebay. Project gutenberg offers 61,863 free ebooks to download. A romance of many dimensions and millions of other books are. 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 sphere vehemently rejects the idea of yet more dimensions, proving itself. A romance of many dimensions is one of the great classic science fiction novels which continues to be as popular today as it ever was. A romance of many dimensions is a classic satirical novella written by edwin a. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
The movie had a happy ending, but the book ended unhappily. However, the novellas more enduring contribution is its examination of dimensions. Of the nature of flatland the author explains to the reader the nature of flatland. Seeing reality from a new dimension new prairie press. Published in 1880, this short fantasy takes us to a completely flat world of two physical dimensions where all the inhabitants are geometric shapes, and who think the planar world of length and width that they know is all there is. Written pseudonymously by a square, the book used the fictional twodimensional world of flatland to comment on the hierarchy of victorian culture, but the novellas more enduring contribution is its examination of dimensions. Less than 100 pages and it becomes difficult for a printer to print the title of the book on the spine. You should also address what impact the book had on your understanding of flatland. The washington post book world flatland has remained of interest for over a century precisely because of its ability to engage its readers on so many different planes in so many different dimensions. Abbott, is one of the oddest books that i have ever read. People are divided into classes according to their geometry and the worst off this was one crazy, opium fuelled, brilliant book about geometry and different dimensions and i am going to explain it the best.
Abbott flatland is a story of depth, and the lack there of. A romance of many dimensions is an 1884 science fiction novella by the english schoolmaster edwin abbott abbott. You definitely dont need to write the equivalent of the 300,000 word novel that you might pick up when youre going on holiday. In this case, the impossibilities are the very existence of other dimensions, or worlds. This masterpiece of science and mathematical fiction is a delightfull. Abbott 2010, paperback at the best online prices at ebay. Throughout, lightman takes us back and forth between ordinary occurrencesold shoes and entropy, sailing far out at sea and the infinite expanse of space. Many wouldbe authors worry that readers will not take a short book seriously.
A story of justice and redemption 08182015 by bryan stevenson. Your guide to book word counts fiction and nonfiction. However part why the new writers, the answer is difficult to. The harry potter books are young adult titles, and ya publishers generally look for manuscripts in the 50,000 to 80,000word range. Abbott and sphereland by dionys burgere are coupled stories made into one book. All existence is limited to length and breadth in flatland, its inhabitants unable even to imagine a third dimension. If you stick to these when youre writing your nonfiction book, youll be fine. Victorian studies this reprint of abbotts flatland adventures contains an introduction by thomas banchoff which is worth reading on its own. Here is a book about nesting ospreys, multiple universes, atheism, spiritualism, and the arrow of time. Published in 1884 it tells the tale of a square, a resident of a two dimensional world, and his discovery of an incredible third dimension when he is visited by a sphere from spaceland. Loves abiding joy 2003 by janette oke, aimed at a younger audience perhaps, is half that length at 65,668 words.
That doesnt mean you can submit a manuscript twice the length a publisher recommends. Flatland is a novel by edwin abbott abbott about a two dimensional world. Abbott 1952, paperback at the best online prices at ebay. Squares ventures through pointland, lineland and spaceland ultimately reveal to him the possibilities of the seemingly impossible. A romance of many dimensions that has fascinated generations of readers with its clever blend of social satire and mathematical theory, the penguin classics edition of edwin a. In fact, the average nonfiction book on amazon is 10,000 words, which translates to 80 pages. The story is about a twodimensional world referred to as flatland.
Thats reason for nonfiction writers to pausebut not for too long. Abbott was an english schoolmaster and theologian who was educated at st. I was curious to the public reaction to shorter novels as they are not physically picking up a printed book in a bookstore and can assess the length of it before they part with cash. Similiar to our list of 100 fiction books to read in a lifetime, this list of 50 nonfiction books contains recommendations you might actually read if you havent already. I dont know if the question is meant as a mentalstatistical exorcise.
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