07 Jan
I guess professional translators and other professionals who often deal with word and character count are well acquainted with this magic formula. Are you?
You may count your productiveness as, for example, 1 page per day. How much is it in characters? Characters with spaces? Lines? Being commonly asked to create text with a certain word count, I still sometimes get lost. So I took a page of plain text with a little formatting, and the statistics are…
Characters with spaces | Characters without spaces | Words | Lines | |
10 pt | 4972 | 4283 | 697 | 55 |
12 pt | 3838 | 3311 | 535 | 46 |
Using the Ribbon Tabs. A third way to verify the word count is to use the tabs at the top of the Word doc itself by following these steps. Click on the Review tab. Click on the small arrow on the ABC/Proofing tab (on the far left). Select the box displaying ABC 123 Word Count (on the far right). When you select the box, the Statistics box (mentioned above) will open and list pages, words. The COUNT function counts the number of cells that contain numbers, and counts numbers within the list of arguments. Use the COUNT function to get the number of entries in a number field that is in a range or array of numbers. For example, you can enter the following formula to count the numbers in the range A1:A20: =COUNT(A1:A20).In this example, if five of the cells in the range contain. Step 1: Choose the type of list you have: a new line for each list item, a comma in between each list item or a space between each list item. Step 2: Input your list into the text area. Step 3: Choose the appropriate button on the left side for the type of alphabetizing function you want to have performed on your list. That's all there is to it. Prior to the match, as of 10 November 2016, Carlsen and Karjakin had played each other 21 times (at long time controls) with Carlsen leading 4 wins to 1 with 16 draws. Their most recent encounter was at the July 2016 Bilbao Chess Masters double round-robin tournament, where Carlsen won one game while the other was drawn.
Your word and character count may vary depending on page margin, applied font, font size, spacing, etc. For example, in a one page A4 with single line spacing, in Arial typeface are the following number of characters, words, and lines:
Characters with spaces | Characters without spaces | Words | Lines | |
10 pt | 5153 | 4391 | 769 | 93.7 |
12 pt | 3542 | 3034 | 512 | 64.4 |
14 pt | 2682 | 2307 | 378 | 48.8 |
16 pt | 2129 | 1829 | 302 | 38.7 |
Once we change single to 1.5 line spacing in the text, figures contrast sharply:
Characters with spaces | Characters without spaces | Words | Lines | |
10 pt | 3426 | 2938 | 492 | 62.3 |
12 pt | 2370 | 2039 | 332 | 43.1 |
14 pt | 1840 | 1577 | 263 | 33.5 |
16 pt | 1319 | 1123 | 196 | 24.0 |
Just to keep in mind, the average one spaced page usually contains about 3000 characters or 500 words. Depending on the text formatting, a page word count may include from 200 (large print) up to 600 words (academic book).
Count characters and words with the AnyCount tool for a precise estimate and get every single cent you've earned. Try it absolutely free here.
Writers are not only concerned with what words to use, but also, how many.
In writing conferences, creative courses and in online forums, a beginning writer will invariably ask for a clear definition of what is acceptable in any particular genre.
This in itself can prove tricky because contrary to the belief in some quarters, word count is not a rule, it is only ever a guideline.
To further complicate the clarification, a minority of publishers have their own specifications on what is acceptable for submission.
So it is of no wonder that aspiring writers not au fait with how to edit their manuscript will become confused at just how ruthless they need to be with their final draft.
The more obstinate writers keen to trail blaze their own approach will claim rules are there to be broken. There is some truth to this argument. These submission rules can be broken. This is not to say that all authors now do so. The majority still use the same guidelines as beginning writers, because not to, is disrespectful to their publishing colleagues who set them.
The guidelines are there for a reason: economics. Not just managing the economy of word usage, but of greater importance, it is more economical to a publishing house to publish a book of a specific length, than to publish one that is longer. It costs money to proofread a book twice the length of another. It costs time and money to have an editor work scrupulously with an author to condense their book down to an acceptable word count. It costs a great deal of money to actually bind books. All of these costs can be drastically reduced by a writer demonstrating a professional respect for the guidelines outlined below.
Genre Guidelines
- Literary / Commercial / Women's: 80,000 to 110,000 - Thesegenres vary greatly in how their stories are told, but not in how many words are used to tell them. There are few exceptions of published debut novels not falling between these strict markers. The adherence to this is never more tested than when a writer pushes the limit to the full 110k or beyond. The upper marker is still accepted but will almost certainly be cut by an editor should the writer secure a deal. A literary agent will always look more favourable on these genre submissions being around the 100k mark.
07 Jan
I guess professional translators and other professionals who often deal with word and character count are well acquainted with this magic formula. Are you?
You may count your productiveness as, for example, 1 page per day. How much is it in characters? Characters with spaces? Lines? Being commonly asked to create text with a certain word count, I still sometimes get lost. So I took a page of plain text with a little formatting, and the statistics are…
Characters with spaces | Characters without spaces | Words | Lines | |
10 pt | 4972 | 4283 | 697 | 55 |
12 pt | 3838 | 3311 | 535 | 46 |
Using the Ribbon Tabs. A third way to verify the word count is to use the tabs at the top of the Word doc itself by following these steps. Click on the Review tab. Click on the small arrow on the ABC/Proofing tab (on the far left). Select the box displaying ABC 123 Word Count (on the far right). When you select the box, the Statistics box (mentioned above) will open and list pages, words. The COUNT function counts the number of cells that contain numbers, and counts numbers within the list of arguments. Use the COUNT function to get the number of entries in a number field that is in a range or array of numbers. For example, you can enter the following formula to count the numbers in the range A1:A20: =COUNT(A1:A20).In this example, if five of the cells in the range contain. Step 1: Choose the type of list you have: a new line for each list item, a comma in between each list item or a space between each list item. Step 2: Input your list into the text area. Step 3: Choose the appropriate button on the left side for the type of alphabetizing function you want to have performed on your list. That's all there is to it. Prior to the match, as of 10 November 2016, Carlsen and Karjakin had played each other 21 times (at long time controls) with Carlsen leading 4 wins to 1 with 16 draws. Their most recent encounter was at the July 2016 Bilbao Chess Masters double round-robin tournament, where Carlsen won one game while the other was drawn.
Your word and character count may vary depending on page margin, applied font, font size, spacing, etc. For example, in a one page A4 with single line spacing, in Arial typeface are the following number of characters, words, and lines:
Characters with spaces | Characters without spaces | Words | Lines | |
10 pt | 5153 | 4391 | 769 | 93.7 |
12 pt | 3542 | 3034 | 512 | 64.4 |
14 pt | 2682 | 2307 | 378 | 48.8 |
16 pt | 2129 | 1829 | 302 | 38.7 |
Once we change single to 1.5 line spacing in the text, figures contrast sharply:
Characters with spaces | Characters without spaces | Words | Lines | |
10 pt | 3426 | 2938 | 492 | 62.3 |
12 pt | 2370 | 2039 | 332 | 43.1 |
14 pt | 1840 | 1577 | 263 | 33.5 |
16 pt | 1319 | 1123 | 196 | 24.0 |
Just to keep in mind, the average one spaced page usually contains about 3000 characters or 500 words. Depending on the text formatting, a page word count may include from 200 (large print) up to 600 words (academic book).
Count characters and words with the AnyCount tool for a precise estimate and get every single cent you've earned. Try it absolutely free here.
Writers are not only concerned with what words to use, but also, how many.
In writing conferences, creative courses and in online forums, a beginning writer will invariably ask for a clear definition of what is acceptable in any particular genre.
This in itself can prove tricky because contrary to the belief in some quarters, word count is not a rule, it is only ever a guideline.
To further complicate the clarification, a minority of publishers have their own specifications on what is acceptable for submission.
So it is of no wonder that aspiring writers not au fait with how to edit their manuscript will become confused at just how ruthless they need to be with their final draft.
The more obstinate writers keen to trail blaze their own approach will claim rules are there to be broken. There is some truth to this argument. These submission rules can be broken. This is not to say that all authors now do so. The majority still use the same guidelines as beginning writers, because not to, is disrespectful to their publishing colleagues who set them.
The guidelines are there for a reason: economics. Not just managing the economy of word usage, but of greater importance, it is more economical to a publishing house to publish a book of a specific length, than to publish one that is longer. It costs money to proofread a book twice the length of another. It costs time and money to have an editor work scrupulously with an author to condense their book down to an acceptable word count. It costs a great deal of money to actually bind books. All of these costs can be drastically reduced by a writer demonstrating a professional respect for the guidelines outlined below.
Genre Guidelines
- Literary / Commercial / Women's: 80,000 to 110,000 - Thesegenres vary greatly in how their stories are told, but not in how many words are used to tell them. There are few exceptions of published debut novels not falling between these strict markers. The adherence to this is never more tested than when a writer pushes the limit to the full 110k or beyond. The upper marker is still accepted but will almost certainly be cut by an editor should the writer secure a deal. A literary agent will always look more favourable on these genre submissions being around the 100k mark.
- Crime Fiction: 90,000 to 100,000 - The page-turning demands and competitive market enforce a word count which it is advisable to comply to.
- Mysteries / Thrillers / Suspense: 70,000 to 90,000 - The variation covers Cozy Mysteries which can clock in at just 70-75k, to noir and historical which are often published at 80-90k.
- Romance: 40,000 to 100,000 - Since it has many sub-genres this genre can vary greatly depending on the story. Regency Romance, Inspirational Romance, Romantic Suspense and Paranormal Romance all have a minimum of 40k. But for mainstream romance novels the parameters are between 70K and 100K.
- Fantasy: 90,000 to 100,000 - One of thefew genres with some leeway in first approach submissions, since many literary agents know publishers who will happily accept 120K. This is not to say one should aim for that higher count. But if a writer queries with 110k it will not be rejected on word count alone.
Word Counter 1 6 2016 Torrent
- Paranormal: 75,000 to 95,000 - Althoughcommonly entwined with other genres, standalone fiction in this genreis best when it is concise. Literary agents and publishers will allow flexibility when the story merits it, but for debut manuscripts it is best to refrain from anything above the industry standard.
- Horror: 80,000 to 100,000 - A writermust be as ruthless with their words, as their antagonist is with the lives within the story. For if a grip on the reader is lost by overly long descriptions and digressions, the very tension which drives this genre fizzles out. Never go beyond the 100k limit without first checking with a freelance editor for revisions.
- Science-Fiction: 90,000 to 125,000 - Encompassing many sub-genres results in a flexibility across the genre that is not often given to the others. Many publishers will accept works in the higher bracket and even beyond. While literary agents are open to submissions far below 90K, they will usually lean more towards those within the requirements because they know the devoted readers of this genre do not mind an epic read.
- Historical: 100,000 to 120,000 - A genre rich with historical events means writers are affordedthe luxury of an extended word count. However, writers who edit down to a 100k submission increase their chances of being read beyond the partials.
- Young Adult Fiction (YA):50,000 to 80,000 - Thisparticular genre has become one of the hardest for writers to grasp when deciding on their own word count. This is due in large part to the variety of sub-genres within it and the trend for a book series with an ever greater word count. But for mainstream YA it is always best to stick to under 80K.
- New Adult Fiction: 60,000 to 85,000 - Coinedby the industry for the industry meant the requirements could be defined from the outset. Going above 85K still happens, but those for that do, they are giving a literary agent an easy reason to reject them.
- Middle Grade: 25,000 to 40,000 - Sucha tight restraint can be beneficial to a writer because it allows them to demonstrate their ability to edit accordingly. For debut books in this field the average word count tends to be 35K and it has therefore become the marker many industry professionals look for in queries from new writers.
- Picture Books: 500 to 700 - When thisis applied it equates to one or two lines per page, for a 30 page book. The one main advantage this genre has over every other is that literary agents and publishers will accept the full text with the initial query. There is no need for partials.
- Novella: 20,000 to 50,000 - Astory can be written in any of the other genres, but if its word count falls within these parameters it is usually classified as a novella.
- Non-Fiction: 70,000 to 110,000 - Coveringa broad range of topics still sees little variation in the size of published books. Although there is not a requirement for the work to be complete before an initial query, this is the word count literary agents want projected and delivered.
- Short Stories: 1000 to 8,000 - Manycontests will advise on their own maximum word count, sometimes as high as 20K. But those requests are extremely rare, as the majority will set a limit of 8K.
- Flash Fiction: 100 to 500 - Thereis no flexibility to this as the word count determines if it is Flash Fiction.
The Debut Rule Breakers
There are many writers who choose the more difficult path of convincing publishing professionals that the parameters should be stretched beyond the norm and that their manuscript justifies a larger word count. Now regarded as classics, these debut novels had to be edited to reduce them to these published word counts.
- Remembrance Rock:530,030
- Gone with the Wind:418,053
- Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: 308,931
- Memoirs of a Geisha: 186,418
- Jane Eyre: 183,858
- Catch-22: 174,269
- White Teeth: 169,389
- Watership Down: 156,154
- The Time Traveler's Wife: 155,717
- Sense and Sensibility:126,194
If editors had not taken a chance on these longer reads, their authors would not have had a single word in print. Instead, the rules were broken and guidelines were abandoned. Publishing houses made exceptions to enrich the lives of millions of readers.
Be the Rule, Not the Exception
Receiving hundreds of submissions per year, makes it far easier for a literary agent to reject, than to accept.
Word counter pro 1 7 2. Agents ask for the word count in a query letter for a reason: if it is considered too high for the genre, they will often skip to the next query without even reading the premise.
Word Counter 1 6 2016 Free
Failing to mention the word count, or committing the faux pas of stating the page count instead, will also see a quick rejection. Page count is determined by the publisher, not the writer. The binding, font and paper size establish how many pages a published book will be. As a result, a 100K manuscript can size up very differently on a shelf, depending on what printers the publishing house used. Hence why industry professionals never ask a writer for their page count, they only ever ask for the word count.
Word Counter 1 6 2016 Download
It should also be noted, with the exception of short stories, novellas, and flash fiction:
The story always determines the genre, not the word count.
A writer should never give a literary agent or publisher an easy option to reject them. By demonstrating a clear understanding of the guidelines it will at the very least, get their work read. During which time, an industry professional is looking to see if the writer has not just adhered to the word count guidelines, but they have shown a consummate skill for pacing, to make every word count.