Just finished writing it, also done a pretty thorough rewrite. Now I'm trying to trim it down and wondering if around 95k is too long for an agent to take a look at. I was hoping for 89k, but damn, i really like it the way it is, and I know I can get it to 94-95k (its sitting pretty at 100k right now)...so should I try and hack it down, or let it ride the way I feel is best?
95K words too much for urban fantasy YA?
- Thread starter neotank
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Fantasy allows for a little longer novel as long as it's as tight as it can be.
Now the trick is making sure it is tight. If you haven't yet, get some betas to look at it and see if they agree with you.
Now the trick is making sure it is tight. If you haven't yet, get some betas to look at it and see if they agree with you.
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The guidelines I've seen lately seem to show YA UF capping at around 95-100k. So I think you're good. At least I hope so, because my own YA UF is right there, too.
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Mostly all of the popular YA fantasy novels of the past decade or so have word counts above 80,000.
Twilight: [FONT=geneva,arial,sans-serif]118,975
The Hunger Games: [/FONT][FONT=geneva,arial,sans-serif]99,750
City of Bones: [/FONT][FONT=geneva,arial,sans-serif]130,949[/FONT]
Harry Potter: Every book after the third has over 95,000
Eragon: [FONT=geneva,arial,sans-serif]157,220
Beautiful Creatures: [/FONT][FONT=geneva,arial,sans-serif]147,695
Fallen :[/FONT][FONT=geneva,arial,sans-serif]100,927
And many more. Worry about writing a good story first. Word count should be secondary. In fact, many teens out there actually do like nice, thick books. Remember that the kids who read don't usually like reading- they love it.
[/FONT]
Twilight: [FONT=geneva,arial,sans-serif]118,975
The Hunger Games: [/FONT][FONT=geneva,arial,sans-serif]99,750
City of Bones: [/FONT][FONT=geneva,arial,sans-serif]130,949[/FONT]
Harry Potter: Every book after the third has over 95,000
Eragon: [FONT=geneva,arial,sans-serif]157,220
Beautiful Creatures: [/FONT][FONT=geneva,arial,sans-serif]147,695
Fallen :[/FONT][FONT=geneva,arial,sans-serif]100,927
And many more. Worry about writing a good story first. Word count should be secondary. In fact, many teens out there actually do like nice, thick books. Remember that the kids who read don't usually like reading- they love it.
[/FONT]
Paul
Banned
i forced mine into 75k. reckon i might have made a mistake, but seeking rep for a 'first time' author with a 90k YA novel...well i didnt wanna do it.
i think writing up, is better than writing down myself.
i think writing up, is better than writing down myself.
Thanks guys. I can breathe a little easier now. Definately trying to tighten it up as best I can. It's just nice to know a ballpark figure.
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STOP TOUCHING IT! Just shop it the way it is. The editor can suggest places to trim later if necessary. I mean it's not like it's 150k, it's right at the borderline of acceptable so just leave it alone, especially since you're already happy with it.
I was wondering about that too, and wondering why 100k is still considered taboo for a first-time YA author. With the exception of Harry Potter and the Hunger Games, those are all first novels.
A few other examples of long first YA novels (I included a few dystopian novels because they tend to be long):
A Great and Terrible Beauty: 96,605
Blood Red Road: 95,445
Divergent: Approximately 105,000
Angelfire: Approximately 104,000
Before I Fall: 117,295
Dead Beautiful: 107,339
95K seems just fine to me, as long as you have enough material. Longer YA books, especially fantasy, are selling really well right now.
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Absolutely disagree. If the OP had posted "So I've done several rounds of edits, I've been trimming and tightening, and I really feel like this is the best length for my book" I'd say okay, yes, stop futsing. But according the OP he/she has done one re-write and that's it. I think it is most wise of the OP to try to cut some words. Not because the word count is too long, but because 9 times out of 10 our books could use a nice trim.
I remember the first time I really did a focused word count trim and the end result was so positive, resulted in a much stronger book, that I would hate for anyone else not to have that same experience.
OP - really go through the work with a fine toothed comb. Make sure every word IS necessary. Not to hit some kind of accepted word count, but to make your book as fantastic as it possibly can be.
Agree with Toothpaste. After several rounds of my own on "tightening," I got my YA (light) fantasy from 110k+ to 98k. I'm good with where it is - I never thought I'd get it below 100k ever, to be honest.
So tighten where you can, but if you're done, breathe.
So tighten where you can, but if you're done, breathe
.
Becca C.
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Got it down to 90 k. Amazing what a fifth and sixth edit can achieve Also had an agent (a dream agent I must say) give it a long look, but didn't quite like the dialogue. Said they'd take another look at it if I did some rewriting. So I'm doing the rewrite, but I gotta say, it's hard sometimes--coming so close--but never quite getting there. Like shooting a free throw to win the game, and watching the basketball spin around and around until it falls off the rim...lol, sorry, I was rambling.
Also had an agent (a dream agent I must say) give it a long look, but didn't quite like the dialogue. Said they'd take another look at it if I did some rewriting. So I'm doing the rewrite, but I gotta say, it's hard sometimes--coming so close--but never quite getting there. Like shooting a free throw to win the game, and watching the basketball spin around and around until it falls off the rim...lol, sorry, I was rambling.
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I certainly know what it is to overwrite something. The book I thought was going to be 60k (because I just wondered if I could write and finish it) came in at 125,000. I'm still doing major plot edits to the last third of it, but my next round will be to take off as much fat and filler as I can (I *know* I write wordy) and see what I'm really left with.
I know some of the stuff its good to clean ... wordy phrases that can be made more concise, unnecessary use of "that", phrases that include "began to" or "started to" that aren't technically beginning or starting things, redundant wording like "he fell off of the bed" as opposed to "he fell off" or "he fell from"...
Anyone know if there have been any lists on this or if there are other resources worth looking at? (BTW, I do realize I also need to look at my book on a large scale too and make sure I don't have unnecessary filler scenes, just to be clear).
I know some of the stuff its good to clean ... wordy phrases that can be made more concise, unnecessary use of "that", phrases that include "began to" or "started to" that aren't technically beginning or starting things, redundant wording like "he fell off of the bed" as opposed to "he fell off" or "he fell from"...
Anyone know if there have been any lists on this or if there are other resources worth looking at? (BTW, I do realize I also need to look at my book on a large scale too and make sure I don't have unnecessary filler scenes, just to be clear).
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Funny how I always find whatever I'm looking for here! That's amazing.
I haven't finish my YA fantasy yet, but the word count was driving me crazy. Now I know what people expect and I'll work to get there.
I haven't finish my YA fantasy yet, but the word count was driving me crazy. Now I know what people expect and I'll work to get there.
I know someone who was agented by Mark McVeigh with a 100,000+ YA manuscript. It just all depends.