I am writing a book about cops chasing a serial murderer but am unsure how many words one would have so I know I have done at least the minimum.
2006-11-08 08:23:10 · 6 answers · asked by Pete G 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
Enough words to examine your premise, use your imaginationand build the plot without boring the reader. There is no set number. Write until you feel you have written the best story , in the best possible fashion. If its not long enough for a novel, its better to have a fabulous short story than a wordy dull novel.
2006-11-08 08:29:36 · answer #1 · answered by fancyname 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
For a first novel there is a range you should try to stay within, otherwise the agent you submit it to may decide that the word count is too far above or beneath the standard for a first-time author. If it's too far outside this range, they might have a harder time shopping it to publishers. Of course, there have been exceptions to this rule, but they are rare.
The reason is that longer books cost publishers more. If you're a new author, they would be taking a risk to publish a lengthy book that might not sell. They want to see a proven sales record first. Established authors can get away with writing more verbose books - they already have a fan base.
The range is somewhere between 80-120K words, depending on the genre. A mystery may be on the shorter side of that range. If it's YA fiction, the range is roughly around 45k to 65k. Are you sure your book is a mystery? It sounds like it could be a thriller. For more information concerning word counts and genres, try this writing forum: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/
You can ask questions and receive answers from experienced writers
Good luck!
2006-11-08 20:20:49 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Short ones, such as Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series books, are only 100 pages. Long ones, such as George R.R. Martin's "A Storm of Swords," run around 1000 pages. The average fantasy read is about 400 pages, with about 360 words per page.
2006-11-08 08:53:12 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think you really have to have a limit. Get what you want down and make sure your happy with it, because as long as your happy with it and do waht you want. No one is making you write a certain amount of words.
2006-11-08 12:46:10 · answer #4 · answered by IyLoOuVsEuYcOkU 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There isn't a set number. Just develop the story and that should be enough.
2006-11-08 08:33:15 · answer #5 · answered by Barak 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As many as it takes to tell the story.
2006-11-08 08:44:28 · answer #6 · answered by MOM KNOWS EVERYTHING 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋