If you write 8,000 words, you’ll end up with 32 pages double spaced.
Imagine this scenario. You’re part of a master’s writing program. Although you’ve enjoyed doing lots of academic writing lately, you’re looking forward to completing your final project for the semester. By the end of the term, you’ll have your first novella in hand. You’ve already written 20,000 words and you’d like to complete another 8,000 before the semester’s over. You’re planning to work on your project in Microsoft Word, using double spacing. Here’s the question: How many pages do you need to write to complete the last 8,000 words of your novella?
To know how many pages you’ll need to write, you’ll first have to select a font. We recommend using a standard font, like Arial or Times New Roman, in a 12-point font size. Most readers prefer something classic. You could always test your limits with a more exotic font, such as Calibri or Verdana, or a larger font; however, think carefully before selecting anything too hard to read. You want your readers to pay attention to the content of your writing, not your formatting.
Since you’re working with a word count, you know that your novella needs 8,000 additional words. Using the chart below, you can see that the same number of words may result in a different page count, depending on the line spacing you select. With the assigned word count, your new chapters will be approximately thirty-two pages double spaced. Had you decided to work with single spacing, you’d end up with sixteen additional pages.
Of course, the content of your novella may influence the page length. Let’s say you use long character names, like “Persephone” and “Bartholomew”. That 8,000-word section could end up filling more pages. By changing the font type, deviating from standard 1-inch margins, and including illustrations, you may end up with a larger page count. For that reason, we can’t give a definitive answer about the number of pages you’ll need to write.
Here’s the good news: Most word processors, like Google Docs and Microsoft Word, contain a word counter that allows you to check the word count and character count of a document. As the writer, you can manipulate the formatting to accomplish your goals. If you’re looking to end up with a certain number of pages or a particular character count, you can use these tools to your advantage.
Whether you’re writing a term paper, a short story, a novella, or a research report, you’ll benefit from knowing how to convert words to pages. As a good rule of thumb, use this chart to approximate the number of pages you’ll get for a particular amount of words. The chart includes estimates for both single and double spacing, using Times New Roman or Arial fonts.
If you’d like to know how to convert a speech from pages to minutes, check out this article.
