Dear O'Abby: From the Archive - Word Count

 O'Abby is on vacation the next two weeks, so posts will be from the archives.  This week, always a popular question: word count...

Dear O'Abby,

I was recently trying to find out what an acceptable word count might be for a middle grade novel.  I consulted the great Google, and on the first page found three completely contradictory answers to that question.

Why is something like word count, that should be pretty standard across the industry, just... not?

Yours,

Google-plexed

Dear Google-plexed,

I agree, word count is something that should be standardized. And it largely is within the publishing industry, but this is the internet and everyone has an opinion they want to share, regardless of whether it's right or wrong.  Or up-to-date.  And word count of books change as people's reading habits change.

Partly, I think the discrepancies online are historical. The more pages a book has, the more expensive it is to print and bind.  And to ship. Have you ever noticed that books tend to get longer the further you get into a series?  That's what happens for successful authors; they get more words to play with because the publisher already knows there is an audience hungry for the next title by that author.

But this doesn't really apply when a large number of people are reading books digitally and there is no cost for printing, binding and shipping.

Which probably has a lot to do with the way word count seems to be changing.

I did some research and it appears that in the current climate, any book, regardless of age-level that is over 100,000 words starts making agents and publishers nervous.  A fantasy novel or historical that requires a lot of world building might be able to edge up to 120,000, but any higher than that and you might be looking at an insta-rejection.

Middle grade novels tend to range between 20,000 and 60,000 words, depending on subject matter and whether it's aimed at the upper or lower range of MG.

YA novels tend to range between 45,000 and 100,000 words, with most sitting around the 60,000 to 75,000 word mark.  As a YA author, I'm constantly trying to fight to get my own books to that level because while I tend to write really lean first drafts, my finished books almost always wind up being closer to 85,000 than 60,000.  The one I've been editing the past few weeks is just over 90,000.  Luckily I have a very supportive publisher...

Adult books tend to be between 60,000 and 120,000 with the majority hitting somewhere around the 85,000 to 100,000 mark.

Life seems to be getting busier all the time and there are more and more things competing for our attention.  It will be interesting to see if, as attention spans get shorter, publishers start looking for shorter books.  Certainly there has been an explosion in the popularity and availability of novellas in recent years, particularly in the romance genre, which, at around 20,000 to 40,000 words indicates people are buying and reading shorter fiction.


X O'Abby

NaNo tips from O'Abby's Archive

 With NaNo in full swing, I thought this month I'd bring back some posts from years past that might have helped writers struggling with NaNo.  Post like this one from three or four years ago.

Dear O'Abby,

I signed up to do NaNo this year for the first time and a week in, I'm already struggling.  I did tons of prep beforehand and I know what I want to write, but I have a physical condition which makes it difficult to sit in one position very long, and it's hindering my ability to reach the necessary word count each day.  I already have anxiety issues, and not reaching my daily word count is making me even more anxious. And that's making it even harder to write. Do you have any advice?

Yours,

Word Panic

Dear Word Panic,

I don't know exactly what your situation is, but you mention physical discomfort while sitting too long.  Is there a possibility you could stand?  I use a standing desk at work and that has immeasurably improved a long-standing struggle I had with arm, back and shoulder pain.  If you can't get yourself a standing desk, it's possible to raise your computer or desk using phone books, bricks, dictionaries and the like.  I also find the kitchen counters are a good height for standing and typing.

If that's not an option, maybe you could break your writing time down into small chunks so you can sit and write only as long as it's comfortable.  Then stop, do something else, and go back to the writing when you feel like you can sit again.  You will soon figure out how many words you can get through in each chunk so you'll be able to figure out how many writing sessions you will need to reach your word count each day, and how to schedule them around the rest of your life.

But even if you don't figure it out, at least you gave it a shot.  You got some words on a page. NaNo isn't for everyone.  Some people thrive on the pressure of having a daily goal to reach, but for others, it's added stress that isn't needed.  Especially while juggling everyday life as well. 

If NaNo is making you anxious and you're feeling like you can't cope, it's not the end of the world if you stop.  No one is going to die if you don't write 50,000 words in November.  It's no crime if you take until January to hit that 50K mark.  What's important is that you want to write a book, and you've started it.  Keep writing, even if you're not writing the 1,667 words a day NaNo dictates.  Write what you can and keep going.

X O'Abby

Dear O'Abby: What do I do if my book is too long?

 Dear O'Abby,

I've been working on my first novel for about five years now, and finally got it to the point where I felt it was ready to show other people.  So I joined a critique group.  They seem like nice people and several of them have published more than one novel, so I'd hoped they would be helpful in getting my book into some kind of shape.

Well, they have, to a degree.  But all of them agree that my 146,000 word novel is too long.  I've already cut it down from over 200,000 words, so I'm not sure what else I need to do.  I feel like if I cut too much more, the book won't make sense.

Can you help?

Best,

Longwinded.

Dear Longwinded,

I'm afraid I'd have to agree with your group.  146,000 words is too long for a debut novel.  Around 100,000 is the upper limit for most adult novels with around 70,000 being standard for YA.  Fantasy can sometimes run a little higher because of the amount of world building required to set up a fantasy world, but if you're getting close to 120,000, you need to take a good hard look at what you've written.

There are a number of ways to start paring word count if you feel like you're too long.  I like to go through each chapter and remove all those pesky filtering words like just, believed, thought, quite, wondered etc.  You can usually cut a good chunk out just by doing this.

You can also search for redundant words and phrases.  Things like "she nodded her head."  I mean, what else would she nod?  And adverbs can often be redundant too.  If someone is walking quietly down the hall, see if you can find a verb that would better describe the action.  Maybe he's creeping down the hall, or shuffling, or tiptoeing.  All of these words convey something more than just moving quietly and can tell the reader something about the character and his intentions as well as describing the action.

Read through every scene and make sure what you're describing is relevant to the story and/or the characters.  If you have a paragraph describing the outside of a house, that house needs to be important.  What it looks like needs to mean something to the character looking at it.  If neither of these things are true, do you need to describe the outside of the house in that much detail?  Sometimes a broad description works just as well if the scenery is not critical to the plot or character.

You can do the same thing with your action scenes.  Are your characters doing mundane things like making tea or drawing a bath?  You can just say that's what they are doing.  You don't need to outline their actions as they do them unless the way they make tea or draw a bath is important to the plot or gives important information about the character.  

Read your dialogue passages closely.  While you want dialogue to sound natural, you can often cut a lot of dialogue out because people say a lot of stuff that doesn't mean anything.  Only keep the things people say that actually mean something.

Basically, every word of your novel needs to count either as something that drives the plot or something that colours your characters.  If you have stuff in there that does neither, it can go.

Hopefully that helps...  Best of luck with your novel!

X O'Abby

#AtoZchallenge Xesturgy

Yes, I know the dictionary defines xesturgy as polishing, as with stones, but in this case we’re looking at polishing your writing. Think of each word in your story as a stone, diamonds maybe, or rubies or opals, and imagine polishing each one until it shines.

Polishing is the last step for your manuscript before it’s ready to go out into the world. It’s also a very important step.

By the time you get to polishing, you should have already done the hard work, fixing plot holes, finding continuity errors, character inconsistencies and fixing any tense or grammar issues. Now it’s time to tighten things up to make them sing.

When I’m polishing, I like to look for overused words and replace or remove them where possible. Common culprits are words like ‘just’, ‘think’, ‘really’, ‘very’, ‘quite’, ‘that’, ‘as’, and ‘then’, but everyone has their own crutch words. Do your characters nod or shrug far more often than regular people? Change it up. Give them other actions.

Removing unnecessary adverbs will also strengthen your prose. If your characters are talking loudly or moving slowly, why not find stronger verbs to describe these things, like shouting or meandering? Also look for things that are obvious within the context. A character doesn’t need to sit down on the floor, just sit on the floor - the down is implied.

If you have a lot of dialogue in your text, check your dialogue tags. Said is the best tag because it tends to be virtually invisible to readers while words like ‘declared’ or ‘trumpeted’ draw attention to themselves. But even ‘said’ becomes noticeable when it’s overused, so if you have a lot of dialogue, try to get rid of some tags by using action to indicate who is speaking.

Eg. “My mother’s coming this weekend.” Jade rolled her eyes.

Dale returned the gesture. “I feel your pain.”

The other thing to check when polishing is your punctuation. Do you overuse certain things like exclamation marks, ellipses or semi-colons? Do you sprinkle commas liberally, but miss their proper placement every time? Reading aloud will help you find misplaced commas and other wonky punctuation because the rhythm will be off.

Reading aloud will also help you figure out if all your sentences tend to be of similar length and construction. To keep writing dynamic, you need sentences of differing lengths and styles. If you find you have a whole lot of really long ones, try chopping them up and making several shorter ones. This is especially useful in action scenes where shorter, punchier sentences create the feeling of action.

By the time you have done all these things, your manuscript should be shining like a diamond necklace.

What are your favourite tips for the xesturgy stage of your project?

Dear O'Abby: Why does information about word count vary so much online?

Dear O'Abby,

I was recently trying to find out what an acceptable word count might be for a middle grade novel.  I consulted the great Google, and on the first page found three completely contradictory answers to that question.

Why is something like word count, that should be pretty standard across the industry, just... not?

Yours,

Google-plexed

Dear Google-plexed,

I agree, word count is something that should be standardized. And it largely is within the publishing industry, but this is the internet and everyone has an opinion they want to share, regardless of whether it's right or wrong.  Or up-to-date.  And word count of books change as people's reading habits change.

Partly, I think the discrepancies online are historical. The more pages a book has, the more expensive it is to print and bind.  And to ship. Have you ever noticed that books tend to get longer the further you get into a series?  That's what happens for successful authors; they get more words to play with because the publisher already knows there is an audience hungry for the next title by that author.

But this doesn't really apply when a large number of people are reading books digitally and there is no cost for printing, binding and shipping.

Which probably has a lot to do with the way word count seems to be changing.

I did some research and it appears that in the current climate, any book, regardless of age-level that is over 100,000 words starts making agents and publishers nervous.  A fantasy novel or historical that requires a lot of world building might be able to edge up to 120,000, but any higher than that and you might be looking at an insta-rejection.

Middle grade novels tend to range between 20,000 and 60,000 words, depending on subject matter and whether it's aimed at the upper or lower range of MG.

YA novels tend to range between 45,000 and 100,000 words, with most sitting around the 60,000 to 75,000 word mark.  As a YA author, I'm constantly trying to fight to get my own books to that level because while I tend to write really lean first drafts, my finished books almost always wind up being closer to 85,000 than 60,000.  The one I've been editing the past few weeks is just over 90,000.  Luckily I have a very supportive publisher...

Adult books tend to be between 60,000 and 120,000 with the majority hitting somewhere around the 85,000 to 100,000 mark.

Life seems to be getting busier all the time and there are more and more things competing for our attention.  It will be interesting to see if, as attention spans get shorter, publishers start looking for shorter books.  Certainly there has been an explosion in the popularity and availability of novellas in recent years, particularly in the romance genre, which, at around 20,000 to 40,000 words indicates people are buying and reading shorter fiction.


X O'Abby

Before the Query Stage, and What I've Learned Editing a Second Draft

We hear it all the time. Finish what you start. Complete that novel. And we do. We write "THE END" and jump in the air. (Cue marching band.)

Until we realize, we just completed a first draft. Which is fantastic. But it's still only one piece of the journey. (Send marching band back to the rehearsal room.)

I've done NaNo WriMo before, and even adapted an excel spreadsheet from it when I'm drafting. But for me, drafting isn't the issue. I'm usually good about meeting my word counts and getting words on the page in an efficient manner.

This often feels like this:

But after NaNo ends...then what? We don't hear a lot about what to do after first draft is on the page (or perhaps after the second or third draft is done either). Perhaps it's because drafting is sexier than editing. Editing is work. Drafting is fun! But one of my previous NaNo novels was so messy that I wasn't able to get it off the ground at all, and it's currently sitting in a drawer waiting for me to sell it for parts.

And maybe someday I will. But right now, I'm almost 200 pages revised into the second draft of a manuscript I drafted last year. The story is shaping up much differently than when I first wrote it, which means, after I finish this pass through, I'll need to trunk the novel again, bring it out of moth balls, and edit it at least once or twice more before showing it to beta readers.

This process is more like this:

I was lucky enough to land on this blog post called "Braving Your Second Draft." It said: "Each draft is an essential step on the road to the completed manuscript you’re trying to write." The good news? No words are wasted, despite what I claimed in this previous post. Those anchors aren't always bad, and sometimes, they can be stabilizing, offering further proof that the true joy comes from the writing itself.

So with that in mind, here's what I've learned in my second draft edits this go-round:

1. Instead of word count, do a minimum page count.

I'm forgetting where I heard this advice, so I'm unable to cite anybody on it. But I discovered that if I grapple with at least five pages a day, and get them done, I still accomplish something. And if I do more, great. This breaks the perfectionist part of me that wants to dwell on a word and paragraph level, which is not what I should be doing at this stage, and prevents twelve hour editing binges (you think I'm joking, but this actually happened).

2. Covering a plot hole might make more, so be careful when this turns into a domino effect.

 About mid-way through the draft, I finally figured out my villain's true motivation. It went against some of what I'd written previously, and when I fixed it, more plot holes opened, and soon I was in a gopher field, with my novel progress halted. So I took a step back and only made the changes that were absolutely necessary to remain consistent with what the villain wanted. If there's more to it, I can always address it in a subsequent draft.

3. Don't be afraid of the delete key...

Once the words are down, it's hard to get rid of them, and I carry this anxiety of not getting back what I delete if I need it later. So I created a document where I could put excess stuff (including plot points that went nowhere). And I'm discovering that I'm only drawing from it rarely--it's grown to over 100 pages and 24,000 words. A novella of scraps, in other words. What this has taught me is it's okay to delete words and write new ones that are better--and the more I'm willing to part with, the better the novel will be.

4. ...but also don't be afraid to flesh out those skeletons.

All the novels I've written with the NaNo spreadsheet, even if they took a few months, ended up pretty skeletal, and those drafts always needed more fleshing out. So look for areas of expansion, and remember to go deeper instead of wider.

5. Editing can really be fun. Really.

I'm still having scads of fun with this novel and its growth spurts, so at least for now, the editing doesn't feel like work yet. I'm in the third act, when a lot of previous plot clues are answered--but also found the big reveal wasn't well established or consistent. So I wrote outside conversations between my characters to establish some clarity, which were tons of fun. And lo and behold, a plot point I didn't know was staring me in the face revealed itself, and today I combed the novel to make this detail more apparent throughout. I'm sure there are some places I missed--but I can always catch them on the next go-round.

Of course, none of this is on official deadline--so I'm curious to hear from those of you needing to make these kinds of editing decisions quickly. How do you negotiate the changes you're asked to make? 

Chopping down that wordcount

We all have filler text. Some of us have a lot of it. And it does serve a purpose: we need it sometimes for our brain to transition from Point A to Point B in a scene. Of course, one of my favorite parts of revision is realizing you don't actually need that filler text at all, and that the scene is that much more snappy and powerful and interesting without it. People often ask me if it's hard, deleting the words I've written, but personally, I think it's a pretty great feeling sometimes.

Need to whittle down your wordcount? Here are a few things I keep an eye out for when I'm chopping away:

Repetitive or 'on-the-nose' dialogue: Dialogue is one of the most enjoyable parts of writing for me. I think that's usually why I get carried away. When real people talk, especially when they know each other well or are in a particularly intense emotional state, they don't always use full sentences, or say what they mean. I was told by a workshop teacher once to that the character should say their piece in as little space as possible, and that advice has served me well. So if the characters are repeating themselves (or someone else), or explaining themselves in a way that leaves little up to interpretation? Cut it out.

Also a great candidate for chopping: when I'm writing a scene with a large group of characters and I shoehorn in some dialogue so that the audience remembers they're there. Not only do I cut that line, but if the character has that little to do in a scene, I try to write them out altogether.

Anything that dilutes your impact: Sometimes a scene ends. And then it keeps going. It can be hard to see until I'm in the revision phase, but sometimes a scene or chapter hits its natural endpoint (and a great one at that), and then I have a good three or four paragraphs after it. Those can all go, and the 'wham' factor is stronger for it. The same goes for a tense conversation that has a little too much slack, or a reveal that gets a little too wordy. Even if you're not writing an edge-of-your-seat thriller, those threads still need to be as taut as possible.

"As you know...": This phrase is often used to warn writers away from clumsy exposition - when two characters discuss, in great detail, something both of them already know. I am sometimes guilty of doing the same thing with the reader. Sometimes it can be necessary to remind the reader of something that hasn't been brought up in a while. But if I take up precious plotting time reiterating a point I've already made, that can go. Stories work best when you trust your reader to connect the dots. And this is where betas are invaluable. If they don't get it, they'll let you know.

There are times for the scalpel and times for the machete: Sometimes I can make a huge difference in my wordcount just by taking out the little things above. And sometimes - say, if I've done heavy revisions already - I find a scene that was necessary the first time around, but has been made redundant by the changes I've already made, or no longer make sense for the characters/relationships. It can be hard to get rid of those. But it's necessary. And when that number at the bottom of your document drops by several hundred words, it's a beautiful thing.

Happy weekend, OA, and happy writing!

Measuring Progress When Word Count Doesn't Work

I am a writer, and I want to be a primarily novelist. That should mean I spend a lot of time writing novels, but it doesn't always. Novels are long and hard, and lately my word count isn't where I want it to be. I often feel anxious and inadequate when I see the word counts that many other writers log day after day and month after month.

This week I have to remind myself that a lot of the other things I'm doing are still "writer things," and they count. For example, this week I wrote:

• A 1,200 freelance article
• A picture book draft
• This blog post (not sure this counts!)

I also beta read a friend's novel.

I didn't get anywhere on the novelette or novel I'm supposed to be working on and I don't expect to this week. In progress: another revision on my contracted novel, revision of my picture book, critique of a friend's picture book.

But there are ways to measure productivity other than word count. Part of being a writer is revision, working on jobs that pay (like freelance), and helping other writers. Here I note that I this week I benefited from two awesome picture book critiques -- both from writers who I have not yet critiqued. We all have to pay it forward.

So I decided to take a weekly tally of what I've done instead of focusing on what I haven't.

How do you measure productivity when you're not in drafting mode? What goals do you set? 

Average Word Counts

One thing I’ve noticed a lot of writers asking is “How long should my book be?” I am usually of the opinion that a book is as long as it needs to be (can you imagine Harry Potter condensed to 150 pages because MG and YA books tend to be shorter? Ack! The horror!) However, there are general guidelines for different genres, so I dug around a bit to come up with a list that may help.

Also note that I did not list each and every genre. In fact, I only mentioned a few that go outside the norm, because for the most part, when we are talking novels, they fall into one of two categories – YA novels, and adult novels. Middle grade books could generally be classified more as novellas and picture books are in a realm of their own.

So, after much searching, here is what I came up with:

Age Categories:

Children’s – age range – 0-12 (avg word count is 200 - 20k)
Middle Grade (Juvenile) – age range – 8-12 (avg. word count is 20k – 40k)
Young Adult – age range – 12-18 (avg word count is 50k – 70k)
Adult – age range – 18+ (avg word count is 80k – 100k)

Word Counts – I scoured the internet, agent blogs, writer forums, and helpful websites…and just about everyone had a different answer on exact word counts. However, there were some general trends. So, while there are exceptions to every rule, you should be safe if you follow these guidelines:

Novella – anything under 50,000 words
Novel – 50,000 – 110,000 words
Epic or Saga – 110,000+

Most adult mainstream fiction will fall between 80,000 – 100,000 words. In other words, if you have written a novel in any genre other than the three listed below, this range is a good one to shoot for.

YA - tends to be a bit shorter, around 60,000 – 80,000 words.

SciFi/Fantasy – traditionally these seem to be longer, but that is not always the case. In general, keeping them around 100,000 words is a good bet. However, because of the world building necessary for these books, longer lengths are generally more acceptable.

Historical Fiction – like SF/F, these generally run longer (with the necessary world building in these genres, longer word lengths are to be expected. In fact, I read a few places where editors were hesitant about shorter length novels in these genres because it does take time to get that setting established) but are usually between 90,000 – 100,000 (though sometimes as high as 150,000).

Every book is going to be different, and a longer word length isn’t necessarily going to get you rejected (though it might, especially if the word count is WAY out of average range). For an average novel, try to keep the word count between 70,000– 100,000. For YAs, 50,000 – 80,000.

Please, PLEASE do not read this and decide you need to chop up your novel. These are only average lengths found on one person's search around the interwebs. Some novels need the added length and work well with the wordage and some get the story across just fine with shorter word counts. These are just general guidelines; you must do what is best for your particular story.

La-La-La-La-La-La Word Count

I must hit my word count.
I must hit my word count.
I must...

Must I?

Setting a word count goal is supposed to be good for us as writers. These targets push us. Keep us motivated, but they can also crush us. They make us write on days when we can't squeeze out the words   (and you end up deleting them the next day due to the dreaded word poop). Sometimes the total word count becomes more important than the quality of the words.

And the delete-rewrite-delete cycle begins.

During first draft mode I like to write a chapter at a time. If I'm having a writing spurt, I'll write about 1k a day. Some days are plotting. Some are rewriting days. Some days I write nothing.

But that's okay. We all have our different methods. The main goal is to finish, right? Does it matter how many words we hit per day so long as we write the darn book?

Holly Black wrote a wonderful post about tracking her word count while writing a draft of BLACK HEART. In the end, Holly Black averaged out the days/words the draft took to write. It came out at around 81 days and just over 800 words per day. You can check out the full post here.

What about you? Do you like to hit a daily word count?

1k a Day: Write-a-Thon and Chat News

Yesterday, I posted my first 1k a Day word count on my blog. I'm glad to tell you, friends, that day one was a success!

(cue applause)

I credit my success to one tool that our OA gang loves. It's call the Write-a-Thon.

What is a Write-a-Thon? Well, I'm so glad you asked! A Write-a-Thon is when a group of writers join together in a chat room for the singular purpose of writing our butts off. What we do is set a timer for 20 minutes, and then take off and write...write...write. I'm not sure why it helps so much. Perhaps it is because one feels motivated when she knows others are writing at the same time. It also helps because it helps avoid procrastination; there are only 20 minutes to get things done.

When the 20 minutes are finished, we converge back in chat and report our word count. We chat for maybe like 5 minutes, get snacks, and then we go for another round. Last night, I was able to write 1,339 words in three rounds of Write-a-Thon.

So to help you all out--and me too--we've created a chat room for the sole purpose of writing. If you join the chat and nobody is talking, it could be they are in the middle of a serious Write-a-Thon. You are all welcome to join in the fun. And writing together really does makes it more fun! Try it out. Meet some new writers. Write with the OA gang.

FYI: I tend to write after lunch, around 12:20 or 1:00pm Central Time during the weekdays.

Here is a LINK to the OA Writing Lab. When joining, please come with the attitude of kicking word count butt.

Edit: The password to the room is awesome