A Word on Word Count
Caren EstesenI've been noticing a trend with the recent queries coming to my inbox. The average length for manuscripts seems to hover around 115,000 words (I'm not including a few people who've said their word counts are 150,000 words or higher; at that point I'm just not going to consider the book unless the idea is really spectacular). Longer books have been a growing trend for a while now and while I'm a huge fan of books like Twilight, Harry Potter and Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, not every story needs or should be told in 100,000+ word formats.
There are certain categories that feature longer books and an editor doesn't bat an eye if I say it's on the long side (anything over 110,000). These are typically women's fiction and commercial fiction. However, genre fiction (at least in romance and mystery) and YA doesn't do as well for me in longer formats if I can't justify the length. I think the reason for the eyebrow raise is healthy skepticism on the part of the editor as they wonder if the story is going to have a saggy middle or tons of beautifully descriptive passages that do nothing to move the novel forward. I've learned to do the same eyebrow raise when I'm taking on new authors. Is this something I'm going to have to spend six months (rather than six weeks) working with the author on to get that story tight and that arch just right? I find myself gravitating towards the shorter stuff, not because it's necessarily better, but because the author exercised some restraint and that's harder to do.
Now there are definitely longer books out there and I'm not suggesting that authors need to follow an arbitrary word count for their books. But the days of selling a great idea and having an editor work on it with you to shape it into a fabulous book are long gone. Agents don't have that kind of time either (at least I don't). So while you may have the urge to write long, you have to make sure that your book is as perfect as it can be. This may be easier to do with a standard sized book rather than a supersized one and that can be a factor in your road to publication.
Reader Comments (6)
Could you clarify what you mean by "longer format" for genre fiction? Like anything above ___ thousand words for YA, etc? Thank you!
Thanks! Informative post.
I know that I'm currently trimming my three complete manuscripts down a bit. My YA is fantasy, so I'm trying to keep both of those under 75K. At first, I was groaning. Both ms's were at 87K, but after honing the word count, trimming the books up and really paying attention to the plot line and all the other structural pieces of both books...just...wow! I've only completed the cut on book 1, but it's MUCH stronger! Whew!
I'm currently working on the cut for my paranormal thriller. Right now it stands at 122K. The plot and character development is already tight, so finding placing to trim is a little tough. This book has undergone three major revisions already. However, there are still a few passive passages, or information that just isn't necessary or things that could be shifted a little here and there. So, I'm confident I can bring it down under 100K. The second book of that series isn't going to be WRITTEN over 100K in the first place. GADS! Rewrites kinda suck. But the books are tighter and better for it!
Thank you for the insight. I belong to a critique group of children's writers. Many of their pieces run to 90-100k. I have wondered if I'm coming up short because mine run 60-80k. I guess if the writing is good shorter may be better.
Since I'm a multi-genre writer this was something I struggled with at first. I was afraid that if I was under 100k it was too short. When I moved into YA I knew it was typically shorter so I didn't stress too much. Still, it just felt short. It's nice to hear that 100k is considered a lot. It really does make the story feel more solid and read smoother when its shorter. Thanks for easing my mind!
I'm shoked! I see in google.com
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