How Long Should My Manuscript Be?

By: Carla Trueheart

Before submitting a manuscript to an agent or publishing house, one of the first things you should do, after final edits and revisions, is make sure your word count fits your genre. This is not always a simple task, as you may be tempted to go over the word count, or perhaps you are stuck under the word count. Still, this is an important factor when an agent or publisher looks at your work. Believe it or not, it might just make the difference between whether they request more of your project or they pass. Word counts are not tricky when it comes to understanding certain genre requirements, but it does get tricky when attempting to be precise in word count. 

Certain genres have certain expectations. In general (and I will provide a quick breakdown below), you should be between 80,000 - 90,000 words for general fiction. Definitely not over 100,000 words, especially for a first-time author. This word count expectation includes romance, horror, thrillers, crime, westerns, LGBT, mystery, and most mainstream adult fiction. Things change a bit with fantasy and sci-fi, as with world-building, these genres allow a little more leeway when it comes to word count. You can go a bit higher, but not too much. YA in general should be a lower word count than adult fiction, and children’s fiction, lower still. Literary fiction also allows a bit longer of a word count, but not too much more than general fiction. 

So what do you do if you go over the word count? You can try to submit the project and take your chances, provided you’re not too far over the recommended word count for your genre. After all, Twilight was picked up by an agent and was way past the normal word count for YA fiction. The best course of action, however, is to revise until you’re closer. Alternately, you might consider making your manuscript a two-book series. If you go this route, you will need to find a complete break in the manuscript, one that makes sense and includes a climax and a conclusion. There is nothing worse than reading a to-be-continued book that does not give a clear ending of some kind.

If you’re under the manuscript word count, this is a bit easier to rectify. Simply add more to your story, fill in with details, backgrounds, setting information, or anything else you feel the manuscript might be lacking. You might also consider having a trusted friend who is a reader or editor look over your work and determine where the work needs fluffing. Remember, however, not to add narrative for the sake of adding to the final word count. Generally, if the word count is too far under, the story needs more attention to plot and theme. 

Remember that agents and publishers almost always ask for word counts. This is so they can determine if the work needs major editing and/or fits the expected word counts for a genre. Unfortunately, it is also used to gauge your writing ability in some cases. If you’re a new author and your manuscript is 150,000 words, you have probably not mastered the fine art of editing (and in their eyes, writing as well). The same is true for writing below the word count. Basically, it’s a red flag you don’t want to raise, either way. 

Here is a list of manuscript word counts that should be helpful to you, as well as a quick visual aid:

General Fiction: 80,000 - 90,000

(includes romance, mystery, thriller, horror, LGBT, westerns, crime, women’s fiction)

Fantasy and Sci-Fi: 100,000 or even a touch higher is normally okay, unless it’s YA or children’s

Literary Fiction: 80,000 - 100,000

YA: 60,000 - 80,000

Middle Grade: 40,000 - 55,000

Children’s: 20,000 - 35,000

Again, going slightly over or under should not be a problem in most cases. If your romance novel ends up at 92,000 words, it should still be fine to present to agents. If your YA novel ends up at 101,000 words, however, you have a problem to address. Remember that more pages equals more printing paper, which equals more expense for a publisher who might not be so keen to take a chance and risk that much money on a new author. Keeping the recommended word counts in mind should put you on the right track toward publication!

I hope this helps. Please don’t hesitate to contact us/comment for more information or with questions!

By: Carla Trueheart