Word counts seem to hide in the background of the writing process for me. They are always lingering there, but I rarely take much notice of them (Unless I am writing a blog post, in which case I try to keep my posts around five-hundred words).
Word Count is Important.
Word count is important to your writing. Literary agents have stacks upon stacks of queries to go through, and they are always looking for a perfectly publishable piece. If your word count is too low, or too high for the intended audience of the writing they may not even consider it even if everything else about it is good.
There are exceptions to all rules. If you have written something completely brilliant that the agent loves, and the publisher thinks will fly off the shelves, then they won’t fret so much about the length. It’s always better to get your foot in the door first, though. Just look at J.K. Rowling, and Stephen King. They both published smaller books first, then once they were trusted by the publisher they were able to publish larger novels. It’s important to develop a relationship with your agent to build trust. Once you have a relationship, trust, and have already proved that your writing sells then they will be more likely to accept a larger piece.
So, What Is Word Count?
Word count is exactly as it sounds – The number of words in a piece of writing. It is important to know your word count as a writer (even if your readers don’t pay too much attention to it). When you go to submit your writing anywhere, whether it be an article for a magazine, a children’s book, or a novel, you need to know how long it is. A child’s book is usually pretty small (under seven-thousand words). If you were to send in a book aimed at younger kids, but the word count is that of an adult mystery novel, then it won’t be accepted.
What’s the length?
Okay, so now we all understand what word count is, and why it is important. Next, we need to learn how long – on average- a certain type of writing is. Below is a list of the average word counts that you should keep in mind when you are planning on sending something in. A lot of places where you submit work too have a word count limit to help you out also!
novel- 40,000 and over
Novella- 17,500 – 39,999
Novelette- 7,500 – 17,499
Short Story- under 7,500
These are by no means a hard and fast rule for your writing. They are just here to give you an idea of the word count you should be aiming for with your writing.
Now, Forget it.
Some people find the word count distracting during their creative process. Others flat-out lose all creative mojo if they even think about it. I am one of those people when it comes to my stories. So, forget it for now. If worrying about the length of your piece stops you from writing, then, by all means, leave it for the editing process. The most important thing right now is getting everything written down so you can improve on it later.
I hope you all enjoyed this post! Below is a writing prompt to help you keep those creative juices flowing. Have a great day!
The Written Word Inspires 