MS length in word count

jannawrites · Sep 12, 2007

For those who have your WIPs listed in your signature, how did you arrive at your desired word count for the novel you're writing? Is there a guideline for how long particular genres are? Or is it just a personal goal you set for yourself?

I don't want to set myself up for a certain amount of chapters/pages or number of words, and end up bound to that. I feel like I won't know how long my novel is until I'm done telling my story...

Thoughts?

donroc · Sep 12, 2007

There's an old cliché that every novel has its own length. I have two novels appearing within the next year -- the November 1 horror story is about 65,000 words, and my historical coming out in 2008 is about 150,000. I do not worry about word count until after several rewrites and let self-editing take care of adding or cutting.

Hope this helps.

www.donaldmichaelplatt.com

Azraelsbane · Sep 12, 2007

It's just an educated guess.

I rarely hit right on it, just kinda a goal. And it's practically impossible if you don't know the story backwards and forwards.

CaroGirl · Sep 12, 2007

My only goal is to get it over 60K. I write short and definitely hope to have my stories qualify as true novels. I also don't outline so a specific final word count goal won't work for me.

AllieB · Sep 12, 2007

Depends on the genre. Most mainstream fiction falls in the 90K - 120K range, but that can vary. Some romance houses take category novels as short as 60K. YA tends to be shorter too. Anything below 55K or so will be difficult to sell to a publisher unless you're talking novella/anthology.

DragonHeart · Sep 12, 2007

jannawrites said:
I don't want to set myself up for a certain amount of chapters/pages or number of words, and end up bound to that. I feel like I won't know how long my novel is until I'm done telling my story...

This is precisely why I only list my current word count and not my goal. My goal is to finish the story. It could be in the next 1,000 words or it could be 10,000, or even longer. I won't even estimate the range for the final until after the first draft.

~DragonHeart~

ccarver30 · Sep 12, 2007

DragonHeart said:
This is precisely why I only list my current word count and not my goal. My goal is to finish the story. It could be in the next 1,000 words or it could be 10,000, or even longer. I won't even estimate the range for the final until after the first draft.

~DragonHeart~

Exactly.
Although, when I queried my novel at 60k, I was told it was too short for the genre (historical romance).
80-100k would be great!!

aadams73 · Sep 12, 2007

jannawrites said:
For those who have your WIPs listed in your signature, how did you arrive at your desired word count for the novel you're writing?

It's just a guesstimate. My first drafts always fall around the 65K mark. The second draft ends up being somewhere between 75 and 90K.

jannawrites · Sep 12, 2007

Ooh! I'm stealing your tip, DragonHeart. I'll just list my current word count.

You guys are super.

Jamesaritchie · Sep 12, 2007

Length

Different genres do have different lengths, and it's always a good idea to check publisher's length guidelines before you start writing, and not after, when you may be 50k over or under.

Writing a novel to length is not difficult, if you know what length you're supposed to hit in advance.

Jersey Chick · Sep 12, 2007

I tend to set a target in the middle - say 85 - 90k (I write historical romance) because I know in the editing process, I'll take out and add in, so I usually end up at the higher end. Besides, even the publisher guidelines can vary widely - Avon recommends 100k, but Harlequin historicals are down in the 70-75k - and that can be a huge problem to edit.

HopelessDreamer · Sep 12, 2007

My finished ms is about 80K, which I'm told is a low "standard length". I'm always afraid it's too short, though.

DocBrown · Sep 12, 2007

I am just writing and it'll take as many words as it takes.

I am keeping track of my words (using the total words function in Open Office) but solely for the purpose of setting goals for myself. Just as it says in my sig.

I'm a little behind on my current "top" goal.

jedimaster107 · Sep 12, 2007

For my current WIP, I'm not paying attention to how long it is or how many chapters there are. I'm just telling the story. If the story goes 80K words or 200ks words, i wouldn't care. But right now, I know there are something parts that couldn't come out or shorten and it wouldn't bother me.

I hate setting goals like "I want this novel to be 65k words or 25 chapters". You'll never see me doing that. Just let the mind wonder.

Chasing the Horizon · Sep 13, 2007

I outline and update the word count estimates as I go. My completed book had an estimate of 125k and ended up being 134k, so it's not an exact thing, but I want to make sure that the book is falling into the word count parameters for the genre and also like having an idea of how far along I am.

Dave.C.Robinson · Sep 13, 2007

I try for 90-100K. One novel's just over, the other just under.

MS length in word count

jannawrites

no, really

donroc

Historicals and Horror rule

Azraelsbane

Agony is defeat

CaroGirl

Living the dream

AllieB

DragonHeart

Oerba Yun Fang

ccarver30

Nicole Castro

aadams73

A Work in Progress

jannawrites

no, really

Jamesaritchie

Jersey Chick

Up all night to get Loki

HopelessDreamer

DocBrown

Hopes to one day write for food.

jedimaster107

Chasing the Horizon

Blowing in the Wind

Dave.C.Robinson

... with the High Command