Word Counts Anybody?

[Katiebabs]

I have 2 ya stories I'm working on and the word count I have for both of them is between 70-75k. I noticed that ya agents and editors wants ya stories between 40-80k.

The idea of only writing a 40k ya seems very short to me. I find it interesting to pick up some teen books and can't believe how short some are.

So, what if your personal word count you try to meet? What do you do if you're having hard time meeting that word count goal?

[Roza marie]

I have a tab that shows me where my word count is all the time. So nope... no troubles on this end for now. Sometimes I have trouble getting to a certain word count because my story seemed to fall into a flat deadline ending... So if this happens I go back and rewrite... I rewrite until my ending is where I want it to be, and my word count is in a range I am satsfied with.

[Nicole Green]

I have a word count goal of around 60K for my current WIP. But basically, I just write until I feel like I've told the story I have to tell. I know I do a lot of cutting and adding during the revision stage, so I usually don't worry about word count too much on the first draft. As long as I'm not way over or way under, I figure it can all be fixed during revisions.

So yeah, a long way of saying that on first drafts, I aim for ~60K when I'm writing YA and about ~80K when I'm writing adult fiction.

[J.L. Spelbring]

40,000 doesn't seem YA at all. I thought YA went from 60,000 to 80,000 for the most part. Of course then there is Twilight that I think has somewhere near 120,000 then there is the Mortal Instruments Series that each of her books (3) has over 100,000. And of course can't forget Harry Potter. Those were some thick books.

I have an mss that is New YA or maybe an edgy YA because the protagonist is a bit older than the norm, but it's word count is 105,000 words. And I got a request for a full. Yes, my fingers are still crossed.

My current YA wip is already at 35,000 words, and by the looks of it, I am guessing the end word count might be right around 85,000.

So this is what I think...Write until the story is done.

Of course during editing then the word count will decrease and if you go through and get rid of every 'that' word not needed, that (ha ha) will deplete word count.

Overall don't worry about it yet. Or do what I do, not at all. :) I take that back...start worrying when it starts getting up over 100,000. Start sweating when it hits 120,000. Then you might want to go back and think, "Hmmm, maybe I should get rid of some scenes." LOL!!

[Katiebabs]

I'm fine hitting the mid 70's in word count. I am in such awe with those who can write 100k and up!

[Ash Yuhas]

During NaNoWriMo I wrote over 50k of a YA and the end was nowhere in sight! Of course, that was NaNo, so I had no idea where the end was. :P I write as much as I like on first drafts, probably up to 100K. That way I have lots of material for a clean draft. Last year's WIP probably had 80K worth of material, with this year's WIP about 10K less.

Wherever possible, I try to go over my word count goals. But I try not to worry about it if the story just doesn't want to be that long. The hardest part is simply starting, haha.

[Georgia McBride]

I wouldn't worry too much about word count when writing the book. Word count is for editing. If you're writing a YA book, you want to get it somewhere between 60-80k. But then again, there are no rules that cannot be broken. There are some that are hovering around 50 and some at 90-100k. So, just write the best book that you can. Revise and edit well and see where you end up. A well-written book is a well-written book.

[Sarah Olutola]

Yeah, some YA - especially high concept YA - tends to be trending longer. I've heard some people say no higher than 90K, but then I've heard others say under 100K and so on. But if the pacing's good and the story's great, I'm sure there are agents/publishers that will take on a 100K book!

Georgia McBride said:

I wouldn't worry too much about word count when writing the book. Word count is for editing. If you're writing a YA book, you want to get it somewhere between 60-80k. But then again, there are no rules that cannot be broken. There are some that are hovering around 50 and some at 90-100k. So, just write the best book that you can. Revise and edit well and see where you end up. A well-written book is a well-written book.

[LM Preston]

I also agree with when writing the book just finish it. However, during the editing cut it down and clean it up as tightly as possible. Remember, publishing is a business, and to spend the $$ to print a larger book and hope to stay competitive in pricing is difficult for a publisher to consider for a first time author. If you want to give your work the best possible chance try to stay within the parameters of the word count.

[Mary Brebner]

From all the blogs & tweets I've read, 60-80k is average for YA, although fantasy w/ lots of world-building can go higher (80-100k). Colleen Lindsay has fussed many-a-time about authors querying 120k and above--especially debut authors, though there are some, like Beautiful Creatures, which is around 125k.

That being said, I tend to write on the short side the first time through. So, even when I'm aiming for 60-70k, I may only write 50k to tell the bare-bones story, with little description. I'm always impressed by those who crank out 100k without breaking a sweat (j/k--writing's all about sweat!). The second time through, besides revising, is when I add detail and more description. Third time through, cuts & refining. And on and on.

[LM Preston]

Also, I must add something I thought was interesting. When I got the Maximum Ride and Percy Jackson series I realized that the books got shorter as the series continued. Hum, I wonder why.