how many words is a short story

A short story is usually between about 1,000 and 7,500 words, with a loose upper limit around 10,000 words in many markets.

How Many Words Is a Short Story?

Quick Scoop

Most writing and publishing guides cluster around a very similar range:

• Common range: 1,000–7,500 words
• Often preferred for magazines/contests: 1,500–5,000 words

• Loose maximum: up to about 10,000 words in some definitions

A practical way to think of it: if it can be read comfortably in a single sitting and still feels complete and self‑contained, you’re in short‑story territory.

Related Length Terms

These labels overlap a bit but are widely used by editors and competitions.

• Flash fiction: under 1,000–1,500 words

• Short-short: roughly 1,000–2,000 words

• Standard short story: about 2,000–7,500 words

• Long short story / novelette: about 7,500–20,000 words

• Novella: roughly 17,500–40,000+ words, depending on the standard used

Think of it as a spectrum: flash → short story → novelette → novella → novel.

Why the Range Is Flexible

Different organizations and publishers use slightly different cutoffs.

• Some prizes cap short stories at 7,500 words , even if they accept the label up to 10,000.

• Many magazines list their maximum between 5,000 and 8,000 words for short‑story submissions.

• Genre, pacing, and audience all influence what “feels” like the right length.

An example: a 4,000‑word horror story with a tight focus is a classic short story; a 12,000‑word fantasy piece with multiple scenes may be marketed as a novelette instead.

If You’re Writing One

If you’re drafting your own short story right now, a safe, industry‑friendly target is:

• Aim for 2,000–5,000 words for most general submissions.

• Check the specific word‑count guidelines of any magazine, contest, or anthology before finalizing.

Rule of thumb: make it as short as you can while still delivering a complete, emotionally satisfying narrative.

TL;DR: In today’s publishing world, “short story” almost always means roughly 1,000–7,500 words , often sweet‑spotting around 2,000–5,000 for practical submissions.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.