Titles, Titles, My Kingdom for a Title!

Well, with my novel winding down to completion, I decided it was time to give the poor thing a name. After all, I can't just go around calling it Untitled (although the thought does appeal to me, let me tell you!)

I generally suck at titles. Every now and then, I'll get lucky and one will present itself to me. I think I have the title of my next book all picked out, but then, I thought that before I started this book as well. However, it turns out that the book is nothing like what I planned it to be...and therefore, the title I had chosen no longer works.

So, my crit partners and I have been brainstorming and stewing and agonizing (at least on my part) over what to call this nice little stack of papers I've got going. And so far...it is still nameless. We do have a few front-runners, but nothing concrete so far.

Now, I realize that if this book ever hits the shelves, chances are good someone somewhere up the line is going to change the title. So I try not to get too attached anyways. But still, a catchy title can help snag some attention. So, here I stew. If this keeps up, I may make this my next contest. Name my book and win a gift card! Hehe....I'm only half joking :D

How about everyone else? Do you have problems picking titles? Do you get attached to your titles, or do you just give it a name so you've got something to stick in the query? Anybody got an extra title they aren't using? ;-D

Hi, My Name is Michelle and I'm a Rewriter

First of all, today is the last day to enter the Book Giveaway!! Click the pic to enter! I will accept entries through midnight tonight (MT). All you have to do is leave a comment on the original post (click the pic!)



Back to our regularly scheduled post:



(comic by Debbie Ridpath Ohi at Inkygirl.com - awesome site, click the comic to check it out!!!)

Quote of the Day:

I'm not a very good writer, but I'm an excellent rewriter.
~James Michener

I love this quote. It is sooo how I'm feeling about myself lately. And it's good to know I'm not the only one who feels this way. For some reason, when I sat down to write my current novel, I thought I'd nail, right up front. I spent so much time on my first novel, learning the ropes, all the tricks of the trade, that I figured I knew everything. I'd sit down, let the words flow, edit once or twice for the few minor tweaks the book would need, and that would be that. Perfection!

Okay, I wasn't that cocky about it. But really, I did think this book would be much easier, with fewer mistakes. Well, guess what? :D Yeah....boy was I wrong.

Now, I wasn't making the same mistakes, so that is good. Nope, this time I was making all new mistakes. A lot of them :) Of course, I am writing in a new genre (I changed from historical romance to YA paranormal - a huge shift). I'm also writing in first person for the first time.

The learning curve is just a bit more curvy than I expected :)

However, I am doing much better on the rewrites this time. Instead of rushing through them, I am actually taking my time, going slow, taking into account all of my critiques, changing and revising things, then going back over it again and again to make sure I'm getting all the elements in there I need in there. And I'm learning from my mistakes already. Woohoo!!!

As my crit buddies are going through my manuscript, a chapter or so at a time, I am learning from the mistakes they are pointing out, and actually fixing some of the mistakes I make regularly before I post my chapters for review.

Most especially, my poor little MC is as flat as a pancake most of the time...when she's not all over the map with her emotions. So, I am working on making her consistent, giving her back the personality I edited out on my first run through.

And you know what? I think it might be working. Yes, it has taken me a couple months of revisions and it will probably take me at least another month before I finish. But I spent two YEARS revising my first book, off and on. So three months for writing and 3 for edits on this new book really isn't so bad in comparison.

I have finally started to learn that writing a novel TAKES TIME. Whether I want it to or not. Rushing it is not doing anyone or anything (especially my poor book) any good. Once I got that through my ridiculously thick skull, it wasn't so painful to sit down and go through my book, sentence by sentence, to make sure it was right.

If I can keep this up, I may just save myself a year or two of revisions :) I just needed to learn that it's okay that I don't get the manuscript perfect with the first, or even the second, or third, or fifth, or tenth draft. It doesn't matter how long it takes me to get it right. As long as I keep at it. :)

How to Determine Your Word Count

Quote of the Day:

Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.
~Mae West

One thing I’ve noticed a lot of writers asking is “How long should my book be?” I am usually of the opinion that a book is as long as it needs to be (can you imagine Harry Potter condensed to 150 pages because MG and YA books tend to be shorter? Ack! The horror!) However, there are general guidelines for different genres, so I dug around a bit to come up with a list that may help.

Also note that I did not list each and every genre. In fact, I only mentioned a few that go outside the norm, because for the most part, when we are talking novels, they fall into one of two categories – YA novels, and adult novels. Middle grade books would be classified more as novellas and picture books are in a realm of their own.

So, after much searching, here is what I came up with:


Age Categories:

Children’s – age range – 0-12 (avg word count is 200 - 20k)
Middle Grade (Juvenile) – age range – 8-12 (avg. word count is 20k – 40k)
Young Adult – age range – 12-18 (avg word count is 50k – 70k)
Adult – age range – 18+ (avg word count is 80k – 100k)

Word Counts – I scoured the internet, agent blogs, writer forums, and helpful websites…and just about everyone had a different answer on exact word counts. However, there were some general trends. So, while there are exceptions to every rule, you should be safe if you follow these guidelines:

Novella – anything under 45,000 words
Novel – 45,000 – 110,000 words
Epic or Saga – 110,000+

Most adult mainstream fiction will fall between 80,000 – 100,000 words. In other words, if you have written a novel in any genre other than the four listed below, this range is a good one to shoot for.

Category Romance and YA/NA tends to be a bit shorter, around 60,000 – 80,000 words.

SciFi/Fantasy – traditionally these seem to be longer, but that is not always the case. In general, keeping them around 100,000 words is a good bet. However, because of the world building necessary for these books, longer lengths are generally more acceptable.

Historical Fiction – like SF/F, these generally run longer (with the necessary world building in these genres, longer word lengths are to be expected. In fact, I read a few places where editors were hesitant about shorter length novels in these genres because it does take time to get that setting established) but are usually between 90,000 – 100,000 (though sometimes as high as 150,000).

Every book is going to be different, and a longer word length isn’t necessarily going to get you rejected (though it might). For an average novel, try to keep the word count between 70,000– 100,000. For YAs, 50,000 – 80,000.

Please, PLEASE do not read these word counts and decide you need to chop up your novel. These are only average lengths. Some novels need the added length and work well with the wordage and some get the story across just fine with shorter word counts. These are just general guidelines; you must do what is best for your particular story.