tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-507167840242313545.post3696665935748687645..comments2023-10-15T03:20:42.697-04:00Comments on Blog of Author Michelle McLean: How to Determine Your Word CountMichelle McLeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08730366330276974943noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-507167840242313545.post-91214726630981462012009-06-30T16:33:04.281-04:002009-06-30T16:33:04.281-04:00A good thing to do is read in the genre you're...A good thing to do is read in the genre you're writing. If you find a publisher whose books are close to yours or a length you love reading, then you can look up their requested word counts as well to go by.<br /><br />For me, I tend to write in the 60,000 word count length. Good for the Steeple Hill LI line. Interestingly enough, those are the books I love reading the most. They're concise, quick reads with a bit of punch and HEA. For me, an HEA is a must.Eileen Astels Watsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11098531184044931737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-507167840242313545.post-20367153206991488162009-06-30T16:04:03.452-04:002009-06-30T16:04:03.452-04:00Thanks for the comment, Lady Glamis :) You know, I...Thanks for the comment, Lady Glamis :) You know, I think a lot of people (myself included) look at a few of the popular books today, see how long they are, and think they need to follow their example. <br /><br />With my current WIP, I found myself doing that. I set my goal for 70k (for a YA) and found that around 50k the story was winding down. I panicked for a minute, nervous that my word count wasn't high enough until I remembered that as long as I was over 50k, it counted as a novel and would be fine, probably even better, for a YA than a longer book.<br /><br />In the end I ended up with about 66k (and will probably have between 65 and 70k once the rewrites are done) but I learned a good lesson. Don't force a particular word length or your story may suffer.<br /><br />These are good guidelines to go by if you need them. But you need to stay true to your story. It will be as long or short as it needs to be. It certainly shouldn't be something to stress over. :DMichelle McLeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08730366330276974943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-507167840242313545.post-15339432346432312512009-06-30T15:57:08.017-04:002009-06-30T15:57:08.017-04:00Great post and information! I already knew these n...Great post and information! I already knew these numbers, and thought I had to follow them for the longest time. But alas, the more I write the more I'm beginning to see that I like shorter work. I'm aiming for 65-75k for my current adult novel that I'm rewriting. When *gasp* it was 102k before. Yes, I'm focusing a lot more. Not feeling like I have to chop chop, I'm just telling the story more efficiently.Michelle D. Argylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09696465137285587646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-507167840242313545.post-46260990156672286802009-06-30T12:45:44.324-04:002009-06-30T12:45:44.324-04:00Thanks...I was just thinking about this today...th...Thanks...I was just thinking about this today...this is really helpful.Jackiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09172948712721065156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-507167840242313545.post-37375126911894325772009-06-30T11:15:56.722-04:002009-06-30T11:15:56.722-04:00very true - it's interesting to look at popula...very true - it's interesting to look at popular authors' books and see how long the first book in a series is compared to the last. Look at Twilight vs Breaking Dawn. The first Harry Potter book compared to the last. Those of us struggling to get that first book published probably have to toe the line a little more than established authors. But again, sometimes the story will support a longer word count. Sometimes it is just necessary to have that extra wordage. <br /><br />And B.J. - yep...every place I looked the guidelines were different. But there were some general ranges. I think as long as you don't go too far out of range (like writing a 150,000 page YA (although I believe Twilight was 118,000 but again, there are always exceptions to the rule)) you should be fine.Michelle McLeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08730366330276974943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-507167840242313545.post-60628856351626918152009-06-30T11:02:58.436-04:002009-06-30T11:02:58.436-04:00Thanks for this post. I have a complete YA ms tha...Thanks for this post. I have a complete YA ms that has been rejected, in part, because of the word count. I think it is especially important to follow the guidelines if you are an unpublished author. Published authors can probably get away with higher word counts.Susan R. Millshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09578747592345750650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-507167840242313545.post-36184668284443790162009-06-30T10:45:24.529-04:002009-06-30T10:45:24.529-04:00Thanks for the guidelines, Michelle! I'm alwa...Thanks for the guidelines, Michelle! I'm always looking for information on word counts, although everywhere I look it's different. Sigh. Oh well!B.J. Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10767654810069240472noreply@blogger.com