Well, 40,00 words. According to the Science Fiction Writers of America, a novel is a fiction work of 40,000 words or more.

I’ve written a couple of novellas, plenty of short stories, and of course I edited a book, but today I crossed over the 40,000 word line in this fiction piece I’m working on. It’s not done yet, but I’m pretty stoked. I’ll be looking for first-readers in a bit, cause it’s almost done! I’ve been working on this damn book for almost two years now. About a year ago I scrapped a 25,000 word draft to start over again, which has been worth it, but of course quite frustrating. It’s like when you draw a really, really good eye, get all excited, and then realize you drew it in the wrong place and have to erase it. Only, you know, an eye that took you a year to draw.