Is word count important?

How important is it to know the guidelines for publishing a novel or a story? When we are taught about writing, we are taught to pick our characters, our storyline, and then write. But is it important to be mindful about how many words you end up with in the final manuscript?

If your goal is to publish and sell your novel, the guidelines for word count are important. Word count guidelines exist for a number of reasons, including marketing and sales, but probably most of all to prevent stories from having plot or pacing issues that can exhaust readers. After all, your reader is the customer you want to attract to purchase your book.

Why does word count matter?

If you’re hoping to land a book deal with a traditional publisher, you don’t want to give an editor a reason to turn your book away for either being too long or too short. Word count is an indication to publishers about the kind of book they are dealing with. For print publishing, the physical cost of producing a book is an issue, and the market generally knows what it likes. One publisher said that they find that if someone has written a very short or an overly long novel, they often don’t quite have a grip on their story.

How many words should my novel be?

Here is a general guideline for writing. There are no hard and fast rules, but please do find out from the publishers you would like to approach what their guidelines are for the various books.

The average word counts:

• Novels: Generally 40,000 words but can range anywhere between 70,000 and 100,000 words
• Fantasy stories: can exceed 120,000 words
• Short stories: should be under 7,500 words
• Novelettes: between 7,500 and 17,500
• Novellas: between 17,500 and 40,000

Is 40,000 words enough for a novel?

Well-known books that were under 40,000 words are The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Animal Farm.

Determining whether or not a word count is “enough” for a novel depends on its genre.

How to stick to word count guidelines

The rule of thumb is: Don’t worry about word count when you’re writing your first draft, this is where you need to let the words and/or story flow. Word count matters as you begin to tweak and work through in the second, third, etc. drafts. So don’t edit until the first draft is completed.

Don’t be afraid to cut things out of your story. Readers don’t need finely detailed, step-by-step reports of your characters, so leave some things up to their imaginations. If you are unsure, ask yourself if the reader needs to know this information. If it is not referred to later on or does not add to the storyline, then consider leaving it out.

Be creative and avoid overuse of adjectives, adverbs, and pet words. Use a dictionary or thesaurus to find synonyms or simplify explanations to avoid over-decorating your text with descriptive imagery.

How long should a chapter be?

Chapter lengths for novels generally range between 1,500 and 5,000 words. Some authors write shorter chapters than these, and Tolkien’s chapters were generally in excess of 5,000 words.

So, first write! Concentrate on the content of your book when drawing up your outline and writing your first draft. You can work on the word count once the story is written and adjust your manuscript where necessary.

Happy writing!