In the publishing industry, word count is one of the most standard metrics used to decide whether a manuscript is ready for and will fit within the current market. However, new authors often make the mistake of submitting manuscripts that fall significantly outside of word count ranges. Let’s explore why word count is so important in the publishing world and how inappropriate word count holds you back from reaching your publishing goals.
Word Count by Genre
Many great resources on the internet provide information on what word count is appropriate for every specific genre, and I highly encourage you to look them up. However, according to Writer’s Digest, these are the typical word counts you should generally aim for:
Adult fiction and memoir: 70,000-90,000
Sci-fi and fantasy: 100,000-150,000
Young adult: 55,000-79,900
Middle-grade: 20,000-55,000
Why Does Word Count Matter to Editors, Agents, and Publishers?
A book’s word count is the first metric an editor, agent, or publisher looks at to gauge whether a book is ready to bring to the market. While it may seem simplistic to judge your manuscript’s quality by a number, this important data point actually tells industry professionals a lot about an author’s understanding of the market and their audience. It also provides professionals an idea of an author’s storytelling abilities.
A manuscript with a high word count—say a middle-grade novel at 80,000 words or an adult sci-fi at 250,000 words—brings up red flags instantly for industry professionals. It signals that the writer does not know how to self-edit, that they don’t have a handle on their pacing, that they are trying to fit too much into one book, or that they don’t understand what is appropriate for their audience.
A manuscript with a low word count—for example, a memoir of 30,000 words—is equally off-putting. This signals to industry professionals that the manuscript lacks depth and development.
Remember that agents and editors have to think of the long game. When they view a manuscript, they aren’t just considering it on its own merits. They are also thinking about how it would fare in the current market and how it will ultimately affect their bottom line. How well will it fit in with other books in the genre? Will it be worth the cost of printing and binding? Will consumers feel they have time to commit to the book, and will they feel they are getting their money’s worth?
While it may be irritating to keep such mercenary thoughts in mind when engaging in a work as creative as writing, if you want to find success in today’s tough writing market, learning to think of your word count in terms of how industry professionals will see it will boost your chances for success.
Does Word Count Matter if I’m Self-Publishing?
Many authors decide to self-publish their book because it provides the highest level of control and creative freedom. When you’re self-publishing, absolutely no one will stop you from publishing a book that has a low or high word count. If you decide to self-publish, you’ll likely find that word counts for each genre have a wider acceptable range than in traditional publishing.
However, when you self-publish, you essentially become your own agent and publisher. Therefore, if you want to find success, you have to learn to think in the same businesslike terms. Will your 200,000-word book be pleasant for readers to hold, and will you be able to make enough to justify the cost of printing? Will your readers be satisfied with the amount of information they get from your 20,000-word self-help book?
While you do have greater word-count flexibility when self-publishing, you should still take time to carefully consider how your word count will contribute to your book’s ultimate success.
What If My Book Is An Exception to the Rule?
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is 77,000 words. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams is only about 46,000 words. Brandon Sanderson’s first book in The Stormlight Archives, The Way of Kings, is a whopping 383,000 words. There are many bestselling examples of books that are shorter or longer than industry averages. What if you feel your book, like these bestsellers, can also succeed despite its nonstandard word count?
Well, it could. Every once in a while, there are breakout books that beat the odds and sell well. However, authors who “break the rules” and sell well are often already established in the industry. They usually have a solid platform and a dedicated audience who will buy whatever they publish. However, these success stories are outliers. In all but the rarest cases, manuscripts with nonstandard word counts have a much smaller chance of success.
That said, you certainly shouldn’t butcher or bulk up your manuscript simply in order to make it fit into a certain word-count mold. At the end of the day, the word count of your manuscript is a secondary consideration. If you have created a marketable story with a great hook, well-developed characters, and a tight plot, it will get the notice it deserves, regardless of its word count.
What Can I Do to Fix My Word Count?
If you’ve determined that your manuscript’s nonstandard word count may be holding it back, here are a few ways to bring it up to par:
If your manuscript is too long: First, start with a macro-level evaluation of all your major story elements: plot, setting/wordbuilding, characters. Have you started your story too early in the character’s timeline? Have you packed too much into one story? Does the main plot stay on one track, or does it take a few detours? Is each subplot crucial to the main plot? Is each character or event necessary, or can some be cut or combined?
Next, move in a bit closer to look at how you’re building your story on a scene-by-scene basis. Does each scene move the story forward in a meaningful way, or are some there just for fun? Do you need that flashback to be a full scene, or can it be shrunk down into a paragraph or two? Have you fallen into the trap of describing every single thing that happens rather than jump-cutting to the relevant parts?
Now look at the language itself. Is your dialogue tight, or does it sprawl a bit? Can you rephrase your sentences to express the same ideas with the same level of impact but with fewer words?
It might hurt your soul a bit to delete words by the thousands, but in more cases than not, you’ll likely emerge with a tighter, more marketable, more impactful manuscript.
If your manuscript is too short: Again, start with a macro-level evaluation. Does your plot have enough rises and falls before the main climax at the end? Can you support and develop your main plot with a subplot or two? Is your main character’s life populated with enough secondary and tertiary characters? Have you given the reader enough information to operate in the world you’ve created? Have you fleshed out the story’s setting?
Next, examine your pacing and the depth of your storytelling. Do you have large gaps of time in between scenes? Do you spend enough time developing each scene? Does the interiority of your POV character(s) need to be deepened? Does your dialogue read like a script, or does it include a healthy balance of action, detail, and interiority?
In some ways, lengthening a manuscript that is too short is trickier than cutting a manuscript that is too long. Beware of padding a manuscript with fluff that doesn’t actually improve it.
Whether you're trying to trim a bulky manuscript or flesh out a short one, you might want to consider working with a developmental editor to gain an unbiased, professional opinion on which parts of your manuscript need the most work.
Wrapping Up
Writing is an art, and it can be frustrating to have limits placed upon it. However, word count guidelines are important because, in the end, the word count of a book matters to readers. It directly impacts their reading experience. And if you want to create the best reading experience possible for your audience, it's best to keep word count in consideration when preparing your manuscript for querying or publication.
If you're not sure if your word count needs work, feel free to reach out for a free consultation!
Happy writing!