The Word Count Monster

Mrs. Thompson states, “One hundred words on the Battle of Trafalgar, and don’t count the little words!” The class sighs.

The newspaper editor growls, “I need five hundred words for the Op-ed section. Tomorrow!”

And then comes the editor from the publishing house considering your novel, “Well, this is very good. But we really need 90K words. This is only 70K. Can you extend it a bit?”

Little did you know your sixth grade teacher was instructing you on the finer points of journalism.

So, the question arises; Do you write your novel to meet the word count expectations of your targeted publisher or do you write your novel the best way you know and hang the word count?

Most of us knew as students that we needed to write that history assignment to meet the word count. However, occasional bolts of brilliance that resulted in a wordy, but insightful, study of the Battle would reap benefits as well.

So, what to do? The answer entirely depends on what you expect out of your work and what it means to you. Let’s look at the two answers separately.

If you are approaching your writing career with a mercenary gleam in your eye, the first angle is a quicker way (in general) to a paycheck. The author that researches what exactly a publisher is looking for in content and length and then bends their creation to fit the mold will find doors opening for them more quickly.

Why would publishers target book length for a particular imprint? Take a moment and look at your bookshelf. Now take a look at the publisher imprint on the spines. If you enjoy reading a particular genre, you probably have many of the same imprint on your shelves. You know what to expect when you pick up that book. You know approximately how long it will be. You know how graphic the action sequences will be, what sort of language can be expected, how tame the love scenes will be. You, as the reader, expect all those things from that imprint. You are a target audience (and apparently one that pays to read books).

Hence, the publisher is looking for material that closely resembles the already established and successful titles.

Maybe, as an author, writing is your first love. Perhaps your novel is the artistic creation of the century or an incredibly powerful work. It is obvious to you that your story can only be told one way, and it doesn’t appear to fit in any predetermined slot. You will not be worrying about that word count as you write.

You will still need to research potential publishers, but you may find the right one after the work is complete. You may want to retain your artistic rights more closely and resist suggestions to change your work. You may view the ultimate goal as having your work in print as you want it, not necessarily what will bring a royalty check.

Are you feeling a little distraught because neither answer truly fits your style? That’s because, in every writer that is "going for the big time" resides both an artist (answer #2) and the bookkeeper (answer #1). The artist creates the words, the characters and the stories. The bookkeeper understands that there must be a practical approach in order to cut the grocery check. You will have to decide which one gets more say in your endeavor towards publication.

Oh! The Word Count Monster? You might as well invite him in for dinner. He’s here to stay.