{"id":2098,"date":"2013-07-04T15:07:55","date_gmt":"2013-07-04T19:07:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/heather-maclean.com\/?page_id=2098"},"modified":"2016-03-21T16:08:18","modified_gmt":"2016-03-21T16:08:18","slug":"a-word-about-word-counts","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.heather-maclean.com\/heathermacleancooks\/a-word-about-word-counts\/","title":{"rendered":"How Long Should Your Book Be? Word Counts by Genre"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every writer worries that their manuscript isn’t the “right” number of pages. Since books come in all shapes and sizes, the publishing world judges submissions not by pages, but by word count. <\/p>\n

It’s easy enough to calculate with your writing software, but no one ever tells you how long something should be. While there are exceptions (Twilight<\/em> was way longer than normal, When The Emperor Was Divine<\/em> was way shorter), for the most part, if your manuscript is too far outside the lines, an agent or publisher won’t consider it. Your manuscript is supposed to be complete and perfect before you submit it. Especially if it’s too long, professionals will assume you didn’t edit it enough, and aren’t going to want to read your early “draft.”<\/p>\n

Here are the standard word counts by genre:<\/strong><\/p>\n