How Many Words in Total Should You Write?
Issue #20
How long or short should your novel be? Be smart— check preferred word count of your genre before you even start.
I’ve gotta discuss numbers this week. Sorry. I know this is a newsletter about fiction writing, but in this case numbers are a kind of necessary evil that go along with the process. Bear with me.
It’s essential to know at the beginning of these writing labors how many words at which you’re aiming. Otherwise, you risk one of two opposing issues: overwriting (a novel that’s too long) in which case you’d later be forced to restructure and cut large portions of your manuscript, or underwriting (a novel that’s too short), in which case you might have to “pad” an already-finished project by adding de trop (or unnecessary) subplots, scenes and characterizations.
Let’s look at suggested word-counts, by type and genre, and then discuss, beginning with word counts which would be less than you’d want for a standard novel.
If we proceed up in word count from here, we’ll hit 50K. This might be considered in some rare cases to fall into the novel category. Here is one kidlit example first mentioned in issue #10.
Size Matters
For your average novel, the general guidelines are 80K to 100K. It’s easy to search for the current word counts for your chosen genre, and you should do that to dial it in for what you’re writing. In general, literary, romantic, fantasy and science fiction can be longer than the norm. And if you’re writing for kids, the word counts are much shorter (again, see issue #10 for specifics).
Try not to be tempted to produce something that goes outside these suggested parameters. In general, the closer you keep your novel to 80K, the more likely you’ll be able to sell it, whether seeking an agent or going the indie route. It’s important to keep this goal in mind from the very beginning so you can gauge the length of your story as you write.
You can find exceptions, of course. Let’s take Harry Potter.
The average fantasy novel for an established writer could run 150K max, although for a first-time author, it should be more like 120K max. Yet the penultimate (or second-to-last) book in the blockbuster series, Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince, was 169K, and the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was a whopping 198K. So—you might say—why can’t you get your 200K fantasy book published? J.K. Rowling did!
To which I might respond, with all due respect: it’s quite possible that neither you nor I are the next J.K. Rowling. And unless you’re feeling quite lucky regarding defying word-count odds, it might be better to go with a smaller count than a higher one.
According to Master Class, shorter novels are more marketable, and longer novels more expensive to print. For a new writer without a track record, especially, a very long book can be a red flag. “Excessive length,” according to Publishing Talk, “screams rookie.”
Here’s a tip: the mother of all novel writing programs, Scrivener (discussed in issue #18), enables you to set targets for your writing in which you enter word counts either per chapter or for the whole manuscript. The program will keep track of your number and signal your progress with notifications and a bar which changes color, allowing writers to pace themselves accordingly.
I’ve had to face up to this total word count thing, and you should consider it, too. It’s hard enough to get your work before an agent or editor for an honest evaluation, and hard enough to entice readers whether you’re traditional or indie. You don’t need the additional problem of a manuscript that’s the wrong size.
I am definitely a right-brained kind of guy, and far prefer words to numbers. But I’ve found that I cannot get around the need for numbering my words.
We have extra vocab points this issue with not one but two words to save.
The first is French-based (and hardly unnecessary), so hear the pronunciation.
What is de trop?
As a hint for the second word, consider that the word de trop is in this order to it.
What is penultimate?
(Did you get them both?)
Action Plan
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Next Up
#21) What Time of Day Will You Write? See you in two weeks!
Craig
How about a biography of someone you knew but isn’t famous? I read the short “story” that Annie Ernaux wrote about her mother. I guess like with the case of JK Rowling she got away with it because she had a very long list of highly acclaimed books. But that seemed doable to me. Maybe I go and write it anyway and then self publish it?
This is good advice. Breaking in with a conventional novel is hard enough, let alone an unconventional one.