Words That Get You Into Trouble
Why word count matters, whether you’re chasing a contract
or publishing yourself.
(Gaius Konstantine /Editorial)
Are you writing a novel? Congratulations. It seems half the planet is doing the same thing. It’s never been easier, and that’s both a blessing and a curse.
If you’re new to this, start with the most basic constraint of all: word count. In theory you can make the manuscript as long or as short as you want. In practice, the limit depends on whether you want a traditional contract or you’re publishing yourself.
Traditional publishing first, because the rules are simpler.
You may not do what you wish. (Not sure if I can make that clearer. Oh well.)
For a debut author, publishers work inside fairly tight ranges—often around 80,000 words, but the real number depends on genre. Stick to those ranges for a boring reason: submission piles are huge. If a house asks for 80–90K and you send 150K because “they’ll make an exception for this one,” you have given them a reason to reject the book without reading a page.
The reason should be obvious. A very long book from an unknown author means higher production cost and a higher cover price. Readers will pay that for Stephen King or J.K. Rowling. They will not pay it for you. Until you have that kind of name, behave.
Indie publishing is the harder case.
Indie titles now outnumber traditionally published ones. Independents don’t face an acquisitions editor. That does not mean book length is a free-for-all.
If you print paperback or hardcover through POD, extra pages still raise the retail price. You are unknown and indie and expensive. That is not a sales strategy. That is a recipe for failure.
The subtler problem is craft. I once took a 1,000-page fantasy for review—well over 200,000 words—because I like the genre. That was a mistake I will never make again.
The narrative dragged. Long books do that unless the writer is unusually skilled and experienced. The author was not.
Repetition was off the scale. (If I never see the phrase “good prince” again, it will be way too soon.) The longer the book, the easier it is to repeat yourself without noticing. However, your editor will notice, hate you, and probably charge more as a “nuisance fee” should you ever use them again.
Another ugly issue was the fact that two entire acts were carbon copies of each other: withdraw, desperate stand, all is lost, miraculous escape into “dangerous” territory, new allies—twice. Yeah…readers are not dumb, they’ll notice.
And the book was stuffed with inconsequential description. Pace died.
So yes, as an indie you can do what you want and ignore every range and existing parameter. The question is whether you should. Industry ranges exist because readers, printers, and attention spans are real. Ignore them if you like. You’re the one who pays for it in the end.
Gaius Konstantine is the author of Fading Away: Dark Bay and a literary critic known for honest, no-nonsense takes on literature. He writes. He critiques. He calls it as he sees it.
Connect with him on X at @GaiusKonstantin.
