Writing Wrongs

October 19, 2005

Jenn asked about the word count on The Boys� Club and whether it�s typical for a novel. The simple answer is: not really. There�s also a long and involved answer that has to do with how publishers �count� words (sometimes) and paper usage and other exciting stuff.

This site has a quick and easy explanation (with lots of white space that makes it easy to digest) of word processor word count vs. standard manuscript format word count. If you�re terminally curious, have a peek.

All done? Good. My goal of 110,000 is word processor word count. I�m hoping, when all is said and done--or rather, written--that I�ll end up with 125,000 words in standard manuscript format. That�s a fairly big book for a first-time novelist (the first one published, not necessarily the first one written, that is).

The size of a �typical� novel really depends on what it is. Those super-thin romances have a much shorter word count than say an epic fantasy. (Speaking of category romances, Diana has an interesting post that explains much about the industry side.) But a thin book can be misleading--check the font size and margins. It may be packing a lot more words than you thought it was. I�ve noticed a trend toward more words per page in published novels.

Helpful Writing Gurus� often suggest that the first-time novelist (we�re back to that ubiquitous first-time novelist) shoot for something in the 80,000 � 100,000 word count range (industry format). Many books published do fall in this range (although many do not) and I think at a glance, it suggests a writer knows her craft and has written a tight story (nothing extraneous, no long passages about the Lithuanian sunset when the story takes place in Pittsburg).

However, all 80,000 � 100,000 words maybe be crap, and that sprawling 250,000-word monstrosity may be the next big thing. You can�t always judge a book by its cover or its word count.

Back to The Boys� Club. 110,000 is an arbitrary goal. If I come in under that, I�ll be thrilled (and frankly, amazed), if I go over, especially for the first draft, no big deal. It�s supposed to be a �big� book, Big timeframe, big �scope� (or so I hope), covering nearly five years, but not every last minute of those five years (that would be . . . tedious).

While told from Kit�s point of view, there is an ensemble cast, her relationship with each of the boys (Mark, Steve, Vic), and the �club� itself. She grows. Each of the boys grows. And it takes a fair number of words to go from the fall of the Berlin Wall to Somalia, circa 1993.

And this is a much longer explanation than I�m sure anyone wanted. In fact, in standard manuscript formatting, it weighs in at 510 words (Word is telling me it�s 481).

Charity Tahmaseb wrote at 11:03 a.m.

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