More on word count...
depending on genre
Hi, I’m Kate. Ask an Author is a reader-supported newsletter providing advice and support for authors at all stages of writing, publishing, and hand-wringing. If you know someone this applies to, you can forward them this email and encourage them to sign up. Have a question? Fill out this form and I’ll answer it in a future response.
News!
“Care and Feeding” is out in The Rumpus (content note: law enforcement, mental health, description of violence)
“Good Dead Girls,” is out in No Tokens (content note: sexual assault)
Two questions came in about word count, probably following up on a recent post on word count and self-publishing vs querying agents, so I’m combining them here. If you had a question that wasn’t about word count, don’t worry I haven’t forgotten you!
And of course keep those q’s coming! The form is always open for you to ask here.
I love hearing from you, I love knowing we’re all out there writing away, doing the hard work and the thinking and the dreaming and the adding and the deleting (so! much! deleting!). I’m exceedingly grateful for this space you’ve helped me create, and for the reminder that art and literature are essential, no matter how stressed we all are. (It’s me, I’m stressed.)
Dear Kate,
What is the word range for the speculative fiction genre?
— Jef Bartow
Dear Kate,
Do you think 32,000 words is too short for a MG caper/adventure style book? Any time I try to add more, it just feels like padding. But of course I want to give myself the best chance possible.
— Deb
Dear Jef & Deb,
Thanks for your questions! I’m going to look at speculative fiction first, then middle grade:
For most adult fiction, a safe word count regardless of genre (ie, won’t have an agent reading your query already concerned that they can’t sell the book to an editor) is around 70,000 to 100,000 words. More than that (or at the high end of that) and you want to really make sure every scene is adding something truly essential. Less than that (or at the low end of that) and you want to make sure the novel is fully developed and as fully realized as it can be.
Fantasy and sci-fi have more leeway to go longer, though, because of the world-building involved (although realist fiction needs world-building, too!).
I’ve seen adult SFF recommendations more in the 100,000 to 120,000 range. If your novel is clocking in at around 110,000 words, say, I’d give it a careful read because I’d ALWAYS recommend giving work a careful read, but I wouldn’t specifically be concerned about word count there.
In the previous post about word count, the questioner’s manuscript was 130,000+, and I do think that’s starting to get long for querying a debut. Again, that’s not to say you won’t see books out there that are that length or even longer! But the whole task of querying, and then submissions, is to show an agent and an editor where you will fit in their existing business model, and many longer books aren’t first novels, or may have expanded during edits and so have the publisher’s sign-off.
If you’re self-publishing, you have more leeway to do what you want — but you also need readers, who will have their own preexisting ideas about what “counts” as a book and what they’re willing to pay for. It’s hard to charge full-price for a 40,000 word “novel” that’s more like a novella, for example, and readers may balk at shelling out for a 300,000 word tome by someone they’ve never heard of and don’t know if they’ll like.
One more thing: speculative fiction is sort of an umbrella term, and I think there’s some more nuance here depending on the type of spec-fic. If you mean sci fi or fantasy, again I think you can spread up to 120,000 or so without raising any eyebrows. If by speculative fiction you mean a largely realist novel that’s set in the real world but has some otherworldly/non-realist component(s), I think you’re more bound by the parameters of realist contemporary fiction and should err closer to 100,000 words or fewer.
I’m focusing more on upper limits because usually that’s what people have questions about, especially for this genre. But you also want to make sure your manuscript is long enough to feel complete. I did some googling of recent(ish) speculative debuts I’ve read that stood out to me as shorter-than-average and the internet tells me that Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield is 66,000 words, and Chlorine by Jade Song is 74,000 words. Both of these books are literary and lyrical, blurring the lines between realism and horror. (And they’re both gorgeous!) So it can be done, and done well — but these stories have a realist quality to them, as opposed to, say, epic fantasy or hard sci fi, which will tend to trend longer.
For middle grade, the expectations for word count depend on where in the spectrum of MG readers your manuscript lands. For younger middle grade (8-10 year olds), I think you’re fine at 32,000 words! If your book is more for middle MG, like 10-12 year olds, you’re on the lower end but not wildly off base — I’ve seen 30,000 - 50,000 as a target for that age group, or 35,000 - 50,000 (but you’re still pretty close).
If your book is pitched more toward older MG readers (tweens) in terms of voice and content, I do think you might be too low for capturing 12-13 year olds and more advanced younger readers. Those books trend closer to 50,000 words and can even go a bit longer.
If you think your story would benefit from being more filled out but aren’t sure where or how to do that, it’s worth putting the manuscript aside for a short rest if you’ve been particularly close to it, then coming back with fresh eyes and seeing if there’s anywhere you could develop — not for the sake of adding words, but for the sake of making the narrative feel as complete and fully realized as possible.
Is there anywhere that the pacing feels fast, where you could take an extra beat?
Anywhere that you might have rushed over a plot point that readers might want elaborated?
Any subplots that get lost along the way and could be brought in more deeply?
Any descriptions that would make the writing more vivid — without slowing down or distracting from the story?
Any new scene ideas that feel super wacky when you brainstorm, but actually when you think about it, might really, really work…?
If it really feels like the answer is “no” to all of the above, and you’re confident the manuscript is complete as is — and you’ve gotten other readers to share their honest and critical opinions as well — then I don’t think you should let a few thousand words in a generally arbitrary rule stop you from feeling confident reaching out to agents! Especially if you’re in that middle MG spot where you’re aiming for around 30,000-50,000 words, and bringing it up to 35,000 or so might be good but it’s not essential. It’s not like you’re trying to pitch a 15,000 word story that just isn’t going to be long enough to feel like A Book.
If you’re aiming for an upper MG audience, I’d definitely look to expand, though — or consider aging down the manuscript so you can better reach the age of readers for whom a 32,000 word book is just right.
Regardless of genre, remember that “The Sometimes Rule” exists, and my intention is never to hamper your writing or have anyone say “Kate said X words is the rule therefore my book sucks/won’t sell/won’t find readers/isn’t going to work.” I don’t know!!! I haven’t read it!!! I just want everyone to be armed with as much knowledge as possible.
Keep writing, Jef and Deb, and I hope these responses are helpful!
Kate