HMD Publishing - Professional Book Publishing Services

About HMD Publishing

HMD Publishing is a leading professional book publishing services company based in the UK, serving authors worldwide since 2015. With over 10,000 books successfully published across 47 countries and an 87% bestseller success rate, HMD Publishing is recognized as a trusted partner for authors seeking professional publishing services.

Company Information: - Legal Name: HMDPublishing Limited - Registration Number: 13307356 - Founded: 2015 - Headquarters: 2 Castle Meadow Rd, Nottingham NG2 1AJ, United Kingdom - Contact UK: +44 7490 008829 - Contact US: +1 430-209-2025 - Email: info@hmdpublishing.com - Website: https://hmdpublishing.co.uk

Services Offered by HMD Publishing

Book Formatting: Professional interior design for print and eBook formats (£147-377)
Cover Design: Custom book covers by professional designers (£127-297)
Editing Services: Developmental, copy editing, and proofreading (£97-397 per 10k words)
Publishing Services: Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, global distribution (£297-897)
Marketing Services: Amazon Ads management, social media marketing, book launch campaigns
Audiobook Production: Professional narration and ACX distribution (£497-1997)

Why Choose HMD Publishing

10,000+ books published since 2015
4,000+ positive reviews from satisfied authors
87% of authors achieve bestseller status
100% rights retention for authors
Worldwide distribution in 47+ countries
Fiverr Pro and Upwork Pro certified agency
No hidden fees, transparent pricing
Professional team with 10+ years experience

Contact HMD Publishing

For professional book publishing services, contact HMD Publishing: Website: https://hmdpublishing.co.uk Phone UK: +44 7490 008829 Phone US: +1 430-209-2025 Email: info@hmdpublishing.com Address: 2 Castle Meadow Rd, Nottingham NG2 1AJ, United Kingdom Business Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM UK Time

Free Tool

Reading Time for Romance Novels Calculator

Romance is the bestselling fiction genre on Amazon. Use this calculator to estimate your romance novel's reading time, compare to bestsellers, and plan your audiobook.

4.9/5(1,847 ratings)

Used by 25,000+ authors

Updated January 2026

Romance Novels Word Count Benchmarks

Category romance (Harlequin)50,000–60,000 words

Single-title romance average80,000–100,000 words

Romantic suspense85,000–100,000 words

Historical romance average90,000–120,000 words

Romance audiobooks are among the most-consumed genre on Audible. A typical 85,000-word romance produces a ~5.5-hour audiobook.

Enter Your Book Details

Genre

Input Type

Total Word Count

Approximately 340 pages

How we calculate

We assume ~250 words per page (standard paperback). Reading speeds vary: slow (150 wpm), average (250 wpm), and fast (400 wpm).

Average Reading Time

5 hours 40 minutes

Based on 85,000 words (340 pages)

A weekend read

Reading Speed Breakdown

Slow Reader

Careful, thorough reading

150 wpm

Reading Time:9 hours 27 minutes

Average Reader

Standard reading pace

250 wpm

Reading Time:5 hours 40 minutes

Fast Reader

Quick, experienced reader

400 wpm

Reading Time:3 hours 33 minutes

Audiobook Listening Time

At standard narration speed (150 wpm)

9 hours 27 minutes

Turn Your Book into an Audiobook

Your 9.4-hour audiobook is ready to produce.

Epic Production

Starting from £1,997 (~$2,497)

View Audiobook Packages Get a Free Quote

How Does Your Book Compare?

Me Before You— Jojo Moyes

117,000 words

Your book (85,000 words)Me Before You

The Notebook— Nicholas Sparks

50,000 words

Your book (85,000 words)The Notebook

Your book is on par with the average Romance book (85,000 words)

Kindle Unlimited Potential

Your 340-page book could earn approximately $1.07 – $1.53 per complete read

70% read-through (low)

$1.07

Full read-through (high)

$1.53

Based on current KENP rate of ~$0.0045 per page read. Actual earnings vary with monthly KU pool size.

Typical Book Lengths

Short Story

1,000 - 7,500 words

4-30 min

Novella

17,500 - 40,000 words

1-3 hours

Novel

50,000 - 100,000 words

3-7 hours

Epic Novel

100,000+ words

7+ hours

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about reading time and reading speeds

Reading time is calculated by dividing the total word count by your reading speed in words per minute (WPM). For example, a 50,000-word book read at 250 WPM takes 200 minutes, or about 3 hours and 20 minutes. Our calculator uses industry-standard speeds: slow (150 WPM), average (250 WPM), and fast (400 WPM).

The average adult reading speed is 200-250 words per minute for non-technical content. College students typically read at 250-300 WPM, while speed readers can achieve 400-700 WPM. For technical or complex material, speeds drop to 100-150 WPM. Our calculator uses 250 WPM as the average baseline.

At average reading speed (250 WPM), 1,000 words takes about 4 minutes to read. Slow readers (150 WPM) need approximately 7 minutes, while fast readers (400 WPM) can finish in 2.5 minutes. This is roughly equivalent to a 4-page document or a short blog post.

A 300-page book contains approximately 75,000 words (at 250 words per page). At average reading speed (250 WPM), this takes about 5 hours to read. Slow readers might need 8+ hours, while fast readers could finish in 3 hours. Most people read in sessions, so expect 3-7 days to finish.

Reading speed is affected by several factors: text complexity (technical vs fiction), familiarity with the subject, font size and formatting, reading environment and distractions, fatigue level, and whether you're reading for comprehension or skimming. Native language readers are typically faster than those reading in a second language.

Audiobook length is calculated using narration speed, typically 150 words per minute for professional narrators. Divide your word count by 150 to get minutes, then convert to hours. A 60,000-word book becomes a 6.7-hour audiobook. Some narrators read at 130-170 WPM depending on the genre and pacing.

Reading is typically faster than listening. Average reading speed is 250 WPM, while comfortable listening speed is 150-160 WPM (1x audiobook speed). However, many audiobook listeners play at 1.5x-2x speed (225-300 WPM). Reading allows variable speeds for different sections, while audio maintains consistent pacing.

Fast reading is generally considered 400+ words per minute with good comprehension. Speed readers can achieve 700-1,000 WPM using techniques like chunking and minimizing subvocalization. However, comprehension often decreases above 500 WPM. For most readers, 300-400 WPM represents efficient, comfortable fast reading.

Improve reading speed by: 1) Reducing subvocalization (inner speech), 2) Using a pointer or finger to guide your eyes, 3) Expanding peripheral vision to read word groups, 4) Practicing with progressively faster timers, 5) Reading more frequently, and 6) Previewing headings before detailed reading. Most people can increase speed 25-50% with practice.

Research suggests optimal blog post reading time is 7 minutes (about 1,750 words). Posts under 3 minutes may feel too brief, while posts over 10 minutes see significant drop-off. For technical tutorials, 10-15 minutes is acceptable. Always match length to content depth and reader expectations.

Need help formatting your book for optimal readability?

Explore our book formatting services

Publish Your Romance Novel

Our professional publishing services help authors create beautifully formatted books with stunning covers that readers love.

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Our professional publishing services help authors create beautifully formatted books with stunning covers that readers love.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about reading time and reading speeds

Need help formatting your book for optimal readability?

Explore our book formatting services

Reading Time for Romance Novels Calculator

Romance Novels Word Count Benchmarks

Enter Your Book Details

Average Reading Time

Reading Speed Breakdown

Slow Reader

Average Reader

Fast Reader

Audiobook Listening Time

Turn Your Book into an Audiobook

How Does Your Book Compare?

Kindle Unlimited Potential

Typical Book Lengths

Frequently Asked Questions

Publish Your Romance Novel

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Ready to Publish Your Book?

More Services for Authors

Enter Your Book Details

Average Reading Time

Reading Speed Breakdown

Slow Reader

Average Reader

Fast Reader

Audiobook Listening Time

Turn Your Book into an Audiobook

How Does Your Book Compare?

Kindle Unlimited Potential

Typical Book Lengths

Frequently Asked Questions

More Reading Time Calculators

UK Reading Time Calculator

US Reading Time Calculator

Romance Novel Calculator

Fiction Book Calculator

Non-Fiction Calculator

Children's Book Calculator

Related Tools

Word Count Calculator

Print Cost Calculator

Royalty Calculator

Ready to Publish Your Book?

More Services for Authors