Word count.

Lillie · Jun 23, 2011

Word count.

What does it include?

Title? Byline? 'The End' written at the bottom?

This isn't generally critical, but I have a bit of flash which I'm sorting out and it's all a bit tight.

JC Romel · Jun 23, 2011

You should only count the story itself, nothing else.

Lillie · Jun 23, 2011

Great.

Thank you.

MJNL · Jun 23, 2011

Oh, also, use approximate word counts. If your manuscript is exactly 5,327 words, just round to 5,300. It's cleaner and easier for the publisher to work with.

Colin L · Jun 23, 2011

MJNL said:
Oh, also, use approximate word counts. If your manuscript is exactly 5,327 words, just round to 5,300. It's cleaner and easier for the publisher to work with.

I've actually never heard that; that's a great tip. Thanks!

RobJ · Jun 23, 2011

Colin L said:
I've actually never heard that; that's a great tip. Thanks!

If it's flash fiction, as you suggest, you don't usually have to worry about specifying the word count, or rounding it. Just don't exceed it if there's a defined limit.

ETA: Sorry, it was Lillie, the OP, who posted about it being flash. Point still stands.

Stijn Hommes · Jun 24, 2011

MJNL said:
Oh, also, use approximate word counts. If your manuscript is exactly 5,327 words, just round to 5,300. It's cleaner and easier for the publisher to work with.

Whenever I round off my word count, I use the word approximately or something similar to describe it in my query.

pdr · Jun 24, 2011

And...

watch flash fiction. They are strict on exact word counts and tell you if you have to include the title or not.

Check the guidelines carefully.

Stijn Hommes · Jun 24, 2011

Whenever flash fiction is very "word count"-precise, (I once submitted to a market that requested exactly 256 words) they usually tell you what should be counted and what is considered one word as well.

JC Romel · Jun 24, 2011

The reason we round up is because different word processors will give you different counts, so it's hard to get a perfectly accurate count without counting manually.

Jamesaritchie · Jun 24, 2011

Sometimes the title is counted, sometimes not. But even in flash fiction, this shouldn't be an issue, though it might be in micro fiction.

I one had to write a story of exactly one hundred words, including a four word title, and actually had trouble getting it just as I wanted it because of those four words. They did make a difference.

Word count.

Lillie

practical experience, FTW

JC Romel

Lillie

practical experience, FTW

MJNL

A Little Lost

Colin L

RobJ

Stijn Hommes

Know what you write...

pdr

Stijn Hommes

Know what you write...

JC Romel

Jamesaritchie