How important is word count in a book?

Word count is the almighty criteria by which any book will be deemed finished or worthy of publishing by an agent or book company. At least that’s what a lot of writers think. The word count criteria is important, but it’s not a strict defined limit as either too few or too many words as many seem to understand it. Word count is a bit more critical for a first-time author to a publishing company than the cagy veteran since word count is the quickest way of gauging the understanding of the writing process and coming within a range shows that your manuscript may have the right ingredients to bake a
nice soft batch of cookies. Now I’m hungry.

What if I’m going to self-publish?

If you self-publish you don’t have to live under the fear of rejection due to a book that is too short or long. However, be mindful that word count guidelines exist for a reason. Readers have an expectation of length based on the genre of book they are interested in. Word count guidelines have come through generations of books written by thousands of authors and it’s not just the literary agents or book companies that determine these numbers. A general rule of thumb for basic fiction is between 80,000 and 100,000 words. A book below the short end may signal to a potential audience that the book is lacking something. The characters may have limited depth or development, the story may be missing some elements of the Freytag Pyramid, or it may not be edited or formatted correctly. A publishing company may shy away from a shorter novel for those reasons plus the narrow space on the spine to help someone spot your work on the shelf!

A book on the long end may have similar concerns. Did the author describe every detail in the universe? Is the book full of multi-page ramblings like Ian Malcolm of Jurassic Park (one of my favorite books by the way)? Is such a long book going to hold my interest through 150,000 words? Is the pacing like watching paint dry? Should this have been a multi-part series? Was this book edited at all? Am I willing to invest $25 or the time on an author I’ve never heard of before? Longer books are much harder to sell to book companies and going over in count is almost an immediate ignore by most literary agents especially for a new author. Also keep in mind that word count also dictates cost. A long book will cost the reader, and the author if you’re self-published, more money for print on demand. This is one reason why many authors choose the novella or novelette route. If you’re not sure what those are we’ll get to those in a minute.

How does word count help/harm the writing process?

Following word count is good for any writer, but it can become distracting if it’s your only way to gauge your progress of the manuscript. If your only motivation to write comes from word count you’ll probably stumble around the 30,000 mark like many new authors. I say this from personal experience as well as the experiences of many other authors I know which have struggled at one point with completing a project and understanding what might have gone wrong. Word count should be used to generally guide you through the writing process and the more prep work you have done the better that guide will let you know if you’re running long or short.

If I’ve created a basic Freytag Pyramid and I’m in the climax at 40,000 words I might have an issue. Granted, this depends on how you structure your novel. I try not to stare at the word count as I write each chapter, but as I hit important phases of the book I’ll mentally figure out where I should be at that point. Even if I feel like I’m ahead or behind it’s not going to trigger me to start rewriting as the goal should be to just flush out your story as you’ll have plenty of chances for rewrites. I’ll talk about this important and sometimes controversial topic in an upcoming post.

I see some authors sharing their word count in social media posts and there are many tools (Top Wordcount Trackers for Writers & Authors | Boost Your Daily Productivity ) that keep track of your progress for writing. These can be helpful but also detract from the writing process. Your story is more than just a word count as it’s the plot, characters, pacing, and much more that go into it. Some of these tools use word count to help you through issues of writing which can be helpful and develop you as an author but be mindful of what is helping and what keeps you from moving the needle forward daily.

Word count should not be your sole motivator for writing or goal setting as this can lead to frustration or wasted words and filler. This target fixation is an unnecessary burden to an already difficult process that doesn’t need daily attention. Focusing too much on word count can create feelings of the plot fizzling or the dreaded “writer’s block” since the feeling to add more words during the writing process takes precedence over just flushing out the manuscript and evaluating gaps or drawn on dialogue later.

Are the word counts for genres I see on the Internet accurate?

Yes and no. Each basic genre can be broken down into specific ones such as fantasy and science fiction have more breakdowns based on what specific type of this broad genre you are writing. Also keep in mind that new authors may have slimmer and more specific targets and each literary agent may have their own specific guidelines that you’ll want to view before finalizing your manuscript.

If you’re wanting to write something with less length a short story is usually between 1,000 and 7,500 words. These usually focus on a single character or event, and you can create a book full of these as a collection. A novelette is a bit longer between 7,500 and 20,000 words. These add a bit more depth than a short story but are much shorter than a novella. The novella is generally between 20,000 and 50,000 words and offers a much wider view than the previous types and can be viewed as a shorter version of a novel. Many authors focus on the novella especially when writing for Kindle and cranking out book after book for a series.

Further resources:

Novel Word Count by Genre - Complete Guide to Book Length | WordTally.net

Word Count By Genre: A Guide for Novelists – MetaStellar

Novel Word Count Guide: Target Lengths by Genre for Traditional Publishing Success – allenpublishinghouse.com

Writer's Market - The Most Trusted Guides to Publishing


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