How long is a chapter?

Who knows? I don’t! But carving up my latest book into chapters got me thinking about it…

While drafting and editing, I tend to work in scenes as opposed to chapters. My thinking is that scenes are segments of the story that’s being told, whereas chapters are breaks designed for the readers. Sometimes they line up and sometimes they don’t.

Very recently I reached that point in every book where I couldn’t see the forest for the trees and needed to get some fresh eyes on it. But before I passed my current work in progress, Death in Douglas Glade, onto my wonderful beta readers, I knew I had to carve up and/or group the scenes into chapters. I wanted my beta readers to experience the book as the eventual reader would.

I worked my way through, breaking the story into chapters, and I found they ranged from about 1000 to 3000 words each (or approx 4–12 pages), with most being between 1500 and 2000 words, for an overall average of about 1800 words (which is approx 7–8 pages).

Death in Douglas Glade (The Milverton Mysteries #3) by G B Ralph. Draft C chapter word count chart showing variation in chapter length.

Does this match up with what you’d expect as a reader? Do you prefer quicker, snappier chapters, or longer, fuller chapters? I’d love to hear what you think, let me know!

What to know more about the book?

Death in Douglas Glade (The Milverton Mysteries #3) by G B Ralph. Book cover and blurb.

Buy Death in Douglas Glade

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