Word Count

Story Length 

Word count is extremely important, especially for novels.  It is generally not profitable for a publisher to produce a book that is twice the average size and will take up twice the average space in a store.  If your story is outside the standard length then you best have a good reason.  Generally, the only writers that can get away with breaking the rules are authors that have a fan base (i.e. longer for sequels). 

It is important to establish the correct word count for your writing project.  You can determine this by the type of story you are writing.  See the table below:

Novel Length

In addition, genre can influence the expected word count.  Agents who specialise in your genre will have up-to-date information on the current word count trend as these figures can fluctuate.  

 

Children's fiction will have different word counts depending on the age of the reader.

Chapter Length

The truth is that there is no rule on how long a chapter should be. You should write until the chapter comes to a natural end.  Most novels have on average 30 to 40 chapters and an average length of 2,500 words.  However, use common sense when deciding on the length. 

Keep in mind that many agents will request to view the first three chapters of your novel.  Therefore it is always important to make sure these initial chapters are edited well to grab their attention but you also need to keep a careful eye on the length.  If the chapters are too long then they won't have time to read them to see if you are worth investing in.  If the chapters are too short then they won't get a decent feel for the book.   
Here is some excellent advice quoted from Writing World (link at the bottom):

"Page Counts: In most cases, industry standard preferred length is 250 words per page... so a 400 page novel would be at about 100,000 words. If you want to see what size book is selling in your genre, take a look on the shelves. If the average length is 300 pages, you're looking at a 75,000 word manuscript (approximately)"

Therefore, it is a good idea to find an already published novel that you feel has the same target audience as you book (i.e. genre and age group). Then calculate number of pages * 250 = approximate word count

Links

Please see below some useful sites that I read for this article:  

• http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/word-count-for-novels-and-childrens-books-the-definitive-post
• http://theswivet.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/on-word-counts-and-novel-length.html
• http://writeforkids.org/2014/02/understanding-childrens-book-genres/
• http://www.writing-world.com/fiction/length.shtml
• http://litreactor.com/columns/ask-the-agent-your-novel-word-count-guide-and-more

Groupon - Write Story Books for Children

A groupon for an online writing course came up.  The voucher only cost £12.  If I paid for the course in full it would normally cost £249.  That's a whopping £237 saving!

I've always wanted to do a writing course but what has put me off ins the past is the price and I'm unsure whether I would have the time.  Twelve pounds is a much easier amount to afford and not such a huge waste of money if I discover that it is not suitable for me.

The Write Story Books for Children online course had the following 12 modules:

1. Introduction to writing children's story books
2. Age groups and story types
3. Choosing and developing your setting
4. Developing credible characters
5. Writing dialogue
6. Plotting, storyline and theme
7. Writing for the under sevens
8. Writing for seven to twelve year olds
9. Writing for teenagers
10. Writing fantasy and science fiction
11. Writing non-fiction
12. Writing drama and screenplays

The course is very flexible.  You can start when you like and work at your own pace.  I'm hoping to find time to do at least one module a month.  The website is easy to log in and navigate.  You can even download an app for the iPad (if you have one).

Course Review - Only completed module 1 so far!
I wasn't sure what to expect when I gave module one a go.  It was much more in depth than I expected.  A lot of what I read were things I already knew.  Still, it was good to refresh my memory and build on my knowledge.

At the end of the module, I had to take a short multiple choice test.  I was disappointed that I only scored 80%.  It was still a pass but this is my passion so I had been striving for perfection.  However, I must admit I hadn't been making notes or taking it that seriously. I was just bumbling a long to get a feel for the course.  I will put more effort into the other units as I now realise that this isn't a flyby course.  I was able to review my wrong answers which was enlightening.

After passing the module, I was excited to progress onto the next module but decided it was best to wait until another day to dedicate more time to it.  Fingers crossed, if I do it properly I can achieve a perfect score next time.   In addition, as I've thought it over I have been compelled to re-read module one, more than once.  There is just so much information to think about.

There is also more reading resources available to students too that are separate from the course.  The wealth of information available on the site it extensive.

If you see a groupon for this course it is worth so much more than the cost.  The first module covered so much content that it alone was worth the money paid.  If someone was delivering that one module locally as one day course, I suspect they'd charge a lot more than £12.  I feel so lucky that I got this groupon.

The biggest challenge will be finding the time.  I've already learnt so much and can't wait to start module 2.  I am so pleased I treated myself to this course.

http://www.groupon.co.uk/
http://www.writestorybooksforchildren.com/