Word Count: Agent Preference?

astonwest · Oct 8, 2007

I received a request for additional chapters from one agent for my 56K-word manuscript. Just today, I was told that I had to have at least 85K words from a separate agent.

Sometimes querying just makes my head hurt...

Giant Baby · Oct 8, 2007

Ouch, Astonwest. I have some Advil with your name on it.

I don't have anything productive to offer you about agent preferences (I've heard of some word count guidelines for different genres, but nothing agent specific), but sympathy for your query headache is hurling your way.

ORION · Oct 8, 2007

I know I will get jumped on and I KNOW Nickolas Sparks The Notebook was short BUT
This does not surprise me.
Many agents want something between 75,000 and 90,000 words.
My novel went from 74,000 when I queried to 87,000 when it got published.

Carrie R. · Oct 9, 2007

I'm with Orion -- there are always exceptions to the norm, but there's a pretty standard length for certain genres. It's not that books outside this length won't get published, but that being short or long on words may be a hurdle. If an agent is asking for more, it may just be that he or she is trying to eliminate as many hurdles as possible.

dantem42 · Oct 11, 2007

ORION said:
I know I will get jumped on and I KNOW Nickolas Sparks The Notebook was short BUT
This does not surprise me.
Many agents want something between 75,000 and 90,000 words.
My novel went from 74,000 when I queried to 87,000 when it got published.

Hmm. I'd loosen up a bit on the high end. I never had any issues of length raised over my ms, 110,000. I am in revisions now with my publisher that will actually lengthen it somewhat; my editor just told me to keep it less than 120,000, preferably around 115,000. My genre is thriller/suspense, and the word counts I cite are quite common. On the other hand, "cozy" mysteries tend to top out in the 90's, while many historical fiction and fantasy novels can run 150,000 words.

Jamesaritchie · Oct 11, 2007

length

Agents want books that publishers want, which means you should look up publisher's length guidelines for the type of novel you're writing.

qdsb · Oct 11, 2007

astonwest said:
I received a request for additional chapters from one agent for my 56K-word manuscript. Just today, I was told that I had to have at least 85K words from a separate agent.

Sometimes querying just makes my head hurt...

Sorry about the query stress.

But honestly, 56K is too short for a novel...of any genre. It's not a matter of individual agent preferences. Anything shorter than 70K generally signals to an agent that the manuscript is underdeveloped in some way.

A little google research would, I think, reinforce what Orion and dantem42 have said...
MINIMUM - 75K
Max - 90-110K.
Those are pretty "safe" targets.

IF you're querying YA (as a quick scan through your blog implied--one agent response asked if it was MG instead of YA), the word count can be lowered slightly, but it's still safest to shoot for at least 75K.

Astonwest--You might want to try putting up a chapter in the Share Your Work (SYW) to see if AWers have suggestions on areas that could use building/developing.

clockwatcher · Oct 11, 2007

I believe that 56K is fine for YA and generally speaking, 75K might even be a little long. But if his story is YA and the agent asked for something longer, then that's that.

I just got this from googling

http://www.agentquery.com/format_tips.aspx

Word Count for first time novelist:
Adult fiction: 80,000-100,000 words.
Young Adult fiction: 40,000-60,000 words

Look, publishers want a product they can sell to the reading public for $24.95 a pop. How many adult novels are you willing to fork over $24.95 hardcover if they're only 40,000 words in length? Not many. Major publishers want 80K-100K novels because they're easier to market and sell to the reading public—a reading public who already has certain expectations about how long books should be and what they're willing to pay.

Now, just when you thought it was safe to write an 80,000-word novel, you should know that we've heard agents give some genres of fiction a bit of flexibility with length:

Erotica novellas/short story collections: 40,000-60,000 words
Cozy mysteries only: 50,000-70,000 words
Most romance novels: 50,000-70,000 words
Short Story Collections: 40,000-75,000 words
Historical Fiction: 80,000-140,000 words
Adult Fantasy: 90,000-140,000 words
(FYI: a 140,000 word debut novel is about as scary as Joan Rivers' face. So if you're shopping a 140K chubby moon-glop monster, you might want to consider NOT advertising this fact in your query letter).

qdsb · Oct 11, 2007

clockwatcher said:
I believe that 56K is fine for YA and generally speaking, 75K might even be a little long. But if his story is YA and the agent asked for something longer, then that's that.

I just got this from googling

http://www.agentquery.com/format_tips.aspx

I stand corrected.

astonwest · Oct 19, 2007

qdsb said:
IF you're querying YA (as a quick scan through your blog implied--one agent response asked if it was MG instead of YA), the word count can be lowered slightly, but it's still safest to shoot for at least 75K.

I've been told by some that the subject matter seems a little too mature for YA...but the work itself is space opera, which is a pain in the ass to try and find a home for, so I've found.

Astonwest--You might want to try putting up a chapter in the Share Your Work (SYW) to see if AWers have suggestions on areas that could use building/developing.

I may try that in the future, but I've had very little luck in the past doing that. Out of about 3-4 postings, I think only 1 received enough meaningful critiques to be useful.

Thanks for all the feedback here...

The next novel will likely be in the ballpark, word count-wise. I find it difficult to bump a manuscript up, because it always feels like I'm throwing in unnecessary filler.

DeadlyAccurate · Oct 19, 2007

astonwest said:
I find it difficult to bump a manuscript up, because it always feels like I'm throwing in unnecessary filler.

One word: subplots.

There are any number of things that can be weaved into the story that aren't filler. A romance, a minor mystery, a medical problem that interferes with the heroes ability to reach his goal. I'm currently weaving in my heroine's teenage sister getting into the middle of the very dangerous job she's taken on, so she has the added difficulty of trying to keep her safe in the middle of all that.

Chris M · Oct 27, 2007

I was at a conference about a month ago and Lori Perkins made it pretty clear that 80K was the magic number. It had a lot to do with the size of the book and how much it cost to print. It can't be too short because then readers won't feel like their getting their money's worth and it can't be too long because then it will cost more to produce and take up more room on the bookshelves.

I e-mailed Miriam Kriss though and her office e-mailed back that they accept 70K to
110K, I was specifically asking about contemporary fantasy.

Hope that helps.

astonwest · Nov 7, 2007

Chris M said:
I was at a conference about a month ago and Lori Perkins made it pretty clear that 80K was the magic number.

Without going into details, I find it ironic that particular agent made 80K the magic number...

But who knows? I may go back and do another rewrite to put some more words into the work.

Word Count: Agent Preference?

astonwest

2 WIP? A glutton for punishment

Giant Baby

Oh, the humanity.

ORION

Sailed away years ago

Carrie R.

Procrastinating, clearly

dantem42

Jamesaritchie

qdsb

Cynical Idealist

clockwatcher

qdsb

Cynical Idealist

astonwest

2 WIP? A glutton for punishment

DeadlyAccurate

Absolutely Fazed

Chris M

astonwest

2 WIP? A glutton for punishment