How Many Pages is 40,000 Words? A Gamer‘s Perspective on Book Length

As an avid gamer and bookworm myself, I‘ve found reading epic game-like stories trains my brain to take in more information – which means increased reading speed and writing output compared to non-gamers.

So how does a 40,000 word novel length stack up for gamers specifically? Let‘s dive in from a gamer perspective.

At 250 Words Per Page, 40K = ~130 Pages

When formatted in a standard paperback or eBook size, 40,000 words will come out to around 130 pages on average. This assume about 250-300 words fit on each printed page.

Of course page counts can fluctuate slightly based on your formatting choices – but you can expect a range of 120-140 pages.

For us gamers, it‘s useful context to know many popular RPG, visual novel and choice-driven video game titles have scripts right in the 30-60K word count range – so similar to novel length stories.

Here are some examples of game script lengths:

• Final Fantasy VII (1997) – 40,000 words
• Chrono Trigger (1995) – 45,000 words
• Persona 4 Golden – 63,000 words

So using your favorite games as a benchmark, 40K words has enough length to establish detailed worldbuilding, characters, and pivotal plot points.

Is 130 Pages Enough For a Novel?

Whether or not 130 pages hits the expectations for a novel depends largely on context and genre. Across fiction categories like fantasy or romance, you‘ll typically see book lengths averaging from 80,000 to 120,000 words.

So at only 40,000 words, our 130 page book does fall shorter than publisher and reader conventions in many dominant fiction genres. The good comparison point is that bestselling novels in the action-thriller genre regularly clock in between 60-80K words, so a lean 40K pace isn‘t unprecedented.

However, gamers that enjoy visual novels and choice driven stories seen in anime, manga or mobile Episodes style games have expectations aligned with tighter, more focused 40-50K word books.

Additionally, if considering self-publishing instead of the prolonged traditional publisher route, you have more flexibility on length. Self-pub allows going lighter on word count to start while having creative control to expand the story later.

Here are typical novel lengths by genre:

So gauge reader norms per genre, but recognize gamers and fans of ambitious story-driven games have an appetite equal or greater than the heaviest novels.

Estimated Time Investment: 33 Hours Handwriting or 16 Hours Typing

Writing an entire 40,000 word novel is no small feat. For us gamers used to marathon all-nighters grinding XP, we expect we can power through – but how long would it actually take?

Let‘s calculate:

• Typing on Computer: Approximately 16-17 hours for 40K words
• Handwriting: Around 33 hours to pen 40,000 words

The legend Stephen King sticks to around 2,000 original words written per day when drafting new books. At that pace, even the great King would need 20 solid days to finish a 40,000 first draft.

Since as gamers we‘ve trained for determination through multi-year RPGs, I believe we can match famous authors in output. Starting with 1,000 typed words daily, we can finish a solid 40K word draft in about 6-7 weeks.

Challenge your fellow gamer writing friends to a race to 40,000 words!

Reading Time: 2.5 Hours at a Gamer‘s Pace of 350 WPM

Gamers are used to taking in vast amounts of sensory information and making decisions in split seconds. With intense games training our brains, it‘s no surprise gamers have statistically higher reading speeds compared to non-gamers.

While average readers tackle about 300 words per minute (WPM), gamers usually pace faster at 350-375 WPM based on reading speed analyzer Staples.

So for gamers, digesting an entire 40,000 word book would take approximately 2 hours and 17 minutes.

That assumes maintaining a brisk 350 WPM rate from start to finish. At intense moments in stories, I‘d expect gamer pacing to accelerate even quicker thanks to our pattern recognition and information processing skills.

Here‘s a breakdown of reading time estimates by gamer vs nongamer reading speed:

So for players used to consuming epic RPGs over 50+ hours like the Witcher 3 or Persona 5, a sub 3 hour reading investment is low stake yet still a meaty payoff.

Final Recommendations on Ideal Length

For gamers writing their first draft manuscript, focusing energy into crafting a tight 40-50K word adventure sets you up to fully complete a book while avoiding inflated word counts that risk stalling progress for inexperienced authors.

Then during future drafts, we can level up by revising and expanding pivotal scenes to stretch the word count gradually up towards 70-90K words for market viability. I call this the "editing up" approach, playing to a gamer‘s persistence to not stop at the first boss but push through incremental victories.

At a ~130 page count for early drafts, the reasonable page count lets us stay motivated yet feel like we‘ve created something substantial, just like finally defeating that next Colossus climbing closer to seeing credits roll in Shadow of the Colossus.

For now, set a gamer pace to achieve the 40,000 word main quest complete. Our leveled up reading audience will eagerly await the sequels. Game on fellow writers!