Historical Word Count

Eddyz Aquila · Aug 2, 2010

Ok so my turn to ask a basic writing question.

I've seen so many threads on this, you probably would say "Not another one!". Yeap, another one. Here's my question - what's the word count for a DEBUT historical novel?

The posts I read around here point to between 80-120k. True?

I'm asking this because my rewrites got me from 94k to 100k and counting, and I'm a bit worried.

ishtar'sgate · Aug 2, 2010

That sounds about right. I think mine ended up being around 90,000.

Jamesaritchie · Aug 3, 2010

That's about right, but publisher's guidelines are written for debut writers, so always check the guidelines.

sunandshadow · Aug 3, 2010

Since 100k is smack in the middle of the range you mention, I don't see why it's worrying...?

Eddyz Aquila · Aug 3, 2010

sunandshadow said:
Since 100k is smack in the middle of the range you mention, I don't see why it's worrying...?

I'm not done with my edits so I wanted to know what's the accepted upper limit for the word count.

Steam&Ink · Aug 4, 2010

From what I understand, 100k is alright for an historical novel.

From a psychological POV, if you can keep it under 100k (like 98k), it might be less daunting for an agent, who doesn't know how efficient you are with words (and might assume you're verbose if they see a 120k word count).

And as long as you "work" every word, and don't ramble, you should be able to justify 100k.

lkp · Aug 4, 2010

From what I have gathered from my agent, she at least is not frightened by 120K. So you should be fine.

waylander · Aug 6, 2010

http://theswivet.blogspot.com/2008/03/on-word-counts-and-novel-length.html

cooeedownunder · Aug 6, 2010

Nice link waylander

Mine has come in at 105,000 but I'm considering restructering bits and pieces in the begining...and altering my ending to get it under 100,000 but that said, I'm not convinced some storys can be told in full, or more so have the same effect at a particular word count level.

pdr · Aug 6, 2010

Thank you...

for that Waylander. My editors and agent all say a new writer in particular should aim for 80,000 -100,000 words. They are UK based.

dgaughran · Aug 8, 2010

A lot of agents would hold a 100k upper limit for a new author, but the UK tends to be a little more flexible with word counts than the US.

As one of the posters said above, if you can hold your manuscript below 100k, it may have a psychological effect, showing the agent that your manuscript is tight.

My last draft was 107k, but I put 100k in my queries. I am aiming to get the current draft just below 100k

Dave

Eddyz Aquila · Aug 8, 2010

Mine has no way in heaven going to end up under 100k but if I get to 105k let's say, can I write it as 100k for the psychological effect or it's a no no? I would assume it is a no no, but since the margin is very small...

cooeedownunder · Aug 8, 2010

I see no reason why not...mine was 120,000 and is currently sitting at 102,000 and I see no reason why I can't find 2000 words to cut somehow, although I currently can't see them.

Steam&Ink · Aug 9, 2010

Maybe someone has already suggested this, but have you put some scenes on the Share Your Work forum? If you put a few scenes up and get some feedback on whether it seems "wordy" or not, you'll have a better idea of how your ms comes across (and how much "fat" you need to cut).

But as Cooee said earlier, sometimes the word count is justified - it just comes down to whether you've used the words well.

Historical Word Count

Eddyz Aquila

Noob Writers United

ishtar'sgate

living in the past

Jamesaritchie

sunandshadow

Impractical Fantasy Animal

Eddyz Aquila

Noob Writers United

Steam&Ink

sekrit superhero

lkp

waylander

Who's going for a beer?

cooeedownunder

Grateful for the day

pdr

dgaughran

Eddyz Aquila

Noob Writers United

cooeedownunder

Grateful for the day

Steam&Ink

sekrit superhero