Hello!

In this episode we’re talking all about the future of publishing, from word counts to what genres publishers are looking for, and summarizing some webinars, stats, etc. we’ve seen lately.

Here are some of the authors, artists, and other things we brought up during the episode. Just a disclaimer - please do not take our word as fact. The publishing industry is always changing, and often we are talking about things we are remembering from a while ago or have heard from others. While the agent deep dive is always fact checked, we do not prep for these episodes or look up other information beforehand. It’s always important to do your own research! If we realize after the fact that we have gotten anything wrong, we will do our best to correct it in the show notes.

**** SeeSaw Press! Check out Suzanne’s publishing company!!**** https://www.seesaw-press.com/

The webinar I saw was called State of the Children's Publishing Market with Deborah Halverson - November 2025 , and the replay video should be available for SCBWI members.

Deborah Halverson, the speaker from the webinar: https://www.deborahhalverson.com/

AR bookfinder (the site that gives you the word count of books): https://www.arbookfind.com/

Article on standard word count length for books: https://kidlit.com/manuscript-length/
These are the word count ranges we read out:

• Board Book — 100 words max
• Early Picture Book — 400 words max
• Picture Book — 600 words max (Seriously. Max.)
• Nonfiction Picture Book — 3,000 words max, but closer to 1,000 to 2,000 words
• Early Reader — 1,500 words is the max
• Chapter Book — This varies widely, depending on grade and reader level, usually starting at 4,000 words and 15,000 words max
• Young Middle Grade or MG — 15,000 to 25,000 words
• Middle Grade or MG — 45,000 words max for contemporary, mystery, humor
• Upper Middle Grade — 65,000 words max for fantasy/sci-fi, adventure and historical
• Young Adult or YA — 85,000 words max for contemporary, humor, mystery, historical, romance, etc. 95,000 words max for fantasy, sci-fi, paranormal, etc.
• New Adult — 65,000 to 85,000 words

Bob the Vampire Snail: https://bookshop.org/p/books/bob-the-vampire-snail-andrea-zuill/67bed346cd53eda5?ean=9780593814963&next=t