The Great Word Count Freakout (And Why You Can Relax)

By Janice Hardy

Figure out your word count without losing your mind.

You’ve finally finished the novel you’ve been working on for oh-so-long. You poured your heart into it, metaphorically bed on the pages, and finally typed “The End” before doing a little happy dance. Then you checked your word count—and panic set in.

Is it too long? Too short? Will agents laugh? Will readers riot? Should you cut 30,000 words? Add 20,000? Toss the whole thing into a fire and start over?

Take a deep breath. It’s all going to be okay.

Stressing out over your word count happens to pretty much every at some point.

3 “Easy” Steps for Cutting Words from Your Manuscript

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Deleting words from your novel is easier than you think.

Before I dive in, I'm guest posting at Writers in the Storm this week, with  A Handy Trick for Brainstorming Your Plot. Come on over and say hello!

Getting rid of thousands of words from your manuscript is daunting. Having to cut tens of thousands of words can make you want to curl up in a ball and cry.

But trimming down a novel doesn’t have to be a huge hack and slash deal. You don’t have to rip your baby to shreds and gut the wonderful words that make the story shine. In fact, throwing away entire scenes often hurts more than helps, because you’re killing the story, not the extra words bogging that story down.

You want to get rid of the words that aren’t helping the story.

Word Count Is Not the Only Metric for Productivity

By Spencer Ellsworth, @spencimus

Part of The Writer's Life Series

JH: Putting too much focus on word counts can derail a writer from what really matters—the story. Spencer Ellsworth shares thoughts and tips on how to be productive without stressing over word counts.

Spencer Ellsworth is the author of The Great Faerie Strike from Broken Eye Books and the Starfire space opera trilogy from Tor. He lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and three children, and would really like a war mammoth if you know a guy.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Take it away Spencer…

How to Show (and not Tell) Without Raising Your Word Count

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Your word count has nothing to do with how well your novel is written, but it can be a red flag that there’s a problem.

I got several interesting questions on last week’s article about how point of view strengthens a novel that deserved further exploration. Essentially, commenters were concerned that showing would bloat their manuscripts and add too many words. They were particularly worried about already large manuscripts.

This is a legitimate concern for a lot of writers, because showing can use more words than telling. But it also allows you to cut words from other areas, because when you show you also:

• Characterize
• Dramatize
• Describe

When you show, you allow characters to interact with the world, which sneaks in details while you show action and internalization. The details you use convey more than one thing, which saves you words in the long run.

Bulking Up: Fleshing Out a Too-Short Novel

By Janice Hardy, @Janie_Hardy

What can you do when your novel is too short?

Despite writing fantasy (which is known to be looooong), I typically write sparse first drafts. I'm not a fan of heavy description, and only add the bare minimum to my drafts unless nudged by a critique partner to describe more. I even have a beta reader specifically for this, since I know it's a weakness of mine, and a strength of hers.

My first drafts are full of "white rooms" and conversations in sketchy locations (and not the good kind). I always need to do a revision pass that focuses on description to make sure I add all those details in.

Which means my first drafts are almost always too short.

Sparse-draft writers come in many flavors, and while my quirk is description, others might scrimp on stage direction, or action, or even internalization. Whatever their preferences, they wind up with a draft that needs bulking up instead of the typical trimming down most writers endure.

If you're a sparse writer, here are things to do to hit your target word count.  

What to Do When Your Novel's Too Short

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

This week's Refresher Friday takes an updated look at ways to flesh out a novel that's too short. Enjoy!

Before we dive in, just a heads up that I'm over at Writers in the Storm today, asking the question--What Do You Really Know About Your Critique Partners? Come on over and say hello. 

Although most word count problems are too many words, the too-short novel does happen. I've talked before about things to do to bulk up a short novel, but today, let's look at a novel that's not just light on one writing aspect (such as not enough description or dialogue), but is actually, truly too short for the market or genre it’s intended for.

This novel has all the right pieces--a solid plot, good writing, good subplots, a complete and solid story--but it's not where it needs to be word count-wise. Just adding more “stuff” to it isn't going to solve the problem, because the book is working great right where it's at.

How to Use Your Word Count to Your Advantage

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy 

Quite often, word counts are associated with dread. "Oh no, I have to cut words," or "My manuscript is too short for the market I want to write for." We might even stress over a chapter that's gotten too big (or too small). 

It makes sense, since what we can measure is what usually gets measured, and word count is the easiest thing to measure in a manuscript. It's how we judge the hard to judge.

Which is a bit unfair to the poor word count, because it's actually a very handy tool to use when writing. The number of words we have can help us judge our pacing and structure. I even use my word count to help me write my scenes.

Lighten Up! Cutting Down Your Word Count

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

This week’s Refresher Fridays takes an updated another look and how to trim words from a novel. Enjoy!

Eliminating words from a manuscript is a common headache (and heartache) for a lot of writers, but it doesn’t have to be. You don't have to rip your baby to shreds. In fact, hacking away whole scenes often hurts the novel more than helps, because you're killing the story, not the extra words. It’s often better for you and the manuscript to get rid of the words that aren't helping your story—or if you really need to cut, the words you can live without.

It can be daunting though. Hearing "cut 10,000 words from your novel" can make you want to curl up in a ball. But let's look at what that really means...

How to Slash Your Word Count by 20-40% – and tighten your story without losing any of the good stuff!

By Jodie Renner, editor, author, speaker

Part of the Indie Author Series

Have you been told your story looks promising or even intriguing, but your novel is way too long? Are you cringing at the potential cost of getting your long manuscript edited?

Today’s readers have shorter attention spans and smaller reading devices, so sales are increasing for shorter fiction. Also, freelance editors charge by the word, page, or hour, so of course you’ll be paying a lot more to have your longer manuscript edited – especially if it’s rambling and needs a lot of tightening, so a lot of editing input.

The More the Merrier: Adding Words to Your Novel

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Before I dive in, here's a heads up that I'm visiting Writers in the Storm today to chat about a fun way to get you out of a writing rut. Come on over and say hello!


We spend a lot of time talking about what to cut from our manuscripts, but there are times when we really do need to add words. Even if a novel is the right size for the intended market and genre, we might feel the story just needs deepening to make it stronger. Here are some common reasons to add words to a manuscript.

Knowing What to Cut in Your Manuscript

By Marcia Wells, @WellsMarcia

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: Dealing with a too-large or unwieldy manuscript can be frustrating at times, or even disheartening if you're not sure how to cut it down to manageable size. Please help me welcome Marcia Wells, who's here today to share some tips on trimming down your manuscript.

Marcia is the author of EDDIE RED UNDERCOVER, a new MG mystery series from Houghton Mifflin. The first book in the series, MYSTERY ON MUSEUM MILE, is coming out April 1, 2014.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indie Bound

Take it away Marcia...

Finish Faster: On Beyond Word Count

By Guest Author Emily Wenstrom, @EmilyWenstrom

Part of the How They Do It Series

Please help me welcome Emily Wenstrom to the blog today to chat with us about becoming more efficient writers. She shares four tips to help make the most of your writing process.

Lit addict, movie geek, writer. Emily is a public relations professional who blogs about creativity in art and work at Creative Juicer and runs the short story zine wordhaus. In her alleged free time, she writes fantasy fiction.

GIVEAWAY: One lucky commenter will win a free copy of the wordhaus short story collection Best of 2013! Leave a comment below to enter sharing your own tip to help writers finish their manuscript faster or another thought. Deadline: Sunday, February 2. Winner announced Monday. (GIVEAWAY CLOSED)

Take it away Emily...

Guest Author Suzanne van Rooyen: Shifting the Story

By Suzanne van Rooyen

Today I'd like to welcome Suzanne van Rooyen to the blog. She's here to talk with us about something I've seen asked many a time: How do you turn a short story into a novel? Sometimes you just don't know where a story is going to end up until you write it, and that path can lead in some interesting directions.

Suzanne is a freelance writer, author and occasional musician. Despite having a Master's in Music, Mind and Technology, she prefers writing twisted tales of the SF persuasion and playing in the snow. She's the author of the cyberpunk novel Dragon's Teeth released in November 2011 by Divertir Publishing, and has a handful of short stories and non-fiction articles published across the globe. You can find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Take it away Suzanne...

Word Count to the Wise: Handling Your Word Count

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

How long is too long? What's the average length of a YA book? A romance novel? A thriller? Can you go over (or under) and still sell your book? What if you have to cut words?

First, let's look at some of the basics: 

A quick note first...these are general ranges not hard and fast rules. There are plenty of novels that fall outside these ranges. If your novel is one of them, don't panic. There's wiggle room, but be smart about it.

Word Up! Word Counts

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Word count guidelines provide a framework in which to plan a novel, and can actually make it easier for a writer, because you have a structure within which to work. But going over or under often sends a writer into a fit of panic, because there's so much contradictory information out there. For every person who says you'll never get published with a 145,000-word book, another says BestsellerBob’s novel was 145,000 words, so don't worry. The really frustrating part, is that they're both right. But it's all depends on the book. (Doesn't it always?)

But here’s the thing…

It's not about how many words you have, but what those words do, that counts.

This, folks, is the holy grail of word counts.