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The Ultimate Guide to Word Counts - What You Need to Know About the Word Counter Tool
When you begin writing your manuscript, you’ll want to make sure it fits within the word count requirements of the publisher or agent you plan on sending your work to. These word count requirements are often listed in the submission guidelines for these publications. Word count is a measurement of the number of words in a document and is commonly used as part of a book publishing process or when analyzing literary works. The word counter tool will allow you to see how many words and characters are in a document (or even multiple documents). This article will explain what word counts mean and why they are important, explain different types of word counts and give advice on how to calculate them correctly based on the type of document you’re working with.
What is a Word Count?
A word count is a measurement of the number of words in a document and is commonly used as part of a book publishing process or when analyzing literary works. Word counts are important because they can affect the publishing process and the amount of money a publisher or platform charges you to publish your work. A publisher can charge you more to publish a manuscript with a higher word count, and a word count can also affect the way readers find and purchase your work. In book publishing, most word counts are measured using a word processor tool like Microsoft Word. While word counts are most commonly associated with novels, they are used in all types of writing. This includes not just novels and short stories, but also nonfiction, scripts, and poetry.
Why are Word Counts Important?
Word counts are important for a couple of key reasons. First, they are important for the publishing process. If the word count for your novel is 90,000 words, and you submit a 100,000-word novel, it won’t fit in the allotted space and will either have to be too small or too large for publication. If a publisher is only accepting submissions between 40,000 and 80,000 words, you don’t want to submit a 100,000-word novel. It also means that it might take you longer to finish a novel at 100,000 words than it would at 80,000 words. The second big reason word count is important is because of how readers find and purchase your work. If someone is searching for your novel, they might not find it if the search term “murder mystery” shows up next to your 90,000-word novel when they are hoping to find a 100,000-word novel with the same title.
What is an Editorial/Confirmation Word Count?
An editorial word count is also called a confirmation word count. This word count is used as a metric by editors and publishers. The editorial word count is the number of words in your manuscript once it has been edited, but before changes have been made. Let’s say you submit a 90,000-word novel to a publisher and the instructions ask for manuscripts that are between 40,000 and 80,000 words. The editor will then read your novel and make corrections. If your manuscript is 90,000 words when it’s ready to be sent back to you, you don’t have to cut 10,000 words. Instead, the editor will mark up the manuscript with suggestions for changes. This is why an editorial word count is also called a confirmation word count – the editor is confirming that the manuscript is ready to be sent back to you. The editor may also use this confirmation word count to discuss the fee with his or her publisher.
What is a Final/Publisher’s Word Count?
A publisher’s word count is the number of words in the final copy of your manuscript after it has been edited and meets the publisher’s guidelines for a specific type of publication. This can also be referred to as the publisher’s word count, the printer’s word count, or the final word count. Let’s say you submit a 90,000-word novel to a publisher and the instructions ask for manuscripts that are between 40,000 and 80,000 words. The editor will then read your novel and make corrections. If your manuscript is 90,000 words when it’s ready to be sent back to you, you don’t have to cut 10,000 words. Instead, the editor will mark up the manuscript with suggestions for changes. This is why a final or publisher’s word count is also called a confirmation word count – the editor is confirming that the manuscript is ready to be sent back to you. The editor may also use this confirmation word count to discuss the fee with his or her publisher.
What is a Script/Screenplay Word Count?
A screenplay word count is used to describe the number of words in a script. The exact word count for a screenplay will vary, but the standard is between 95 and 120 words per page. A novel-type word count is the number of words in a manuscript in the same way a screenplay word count would be used. Novel type word counts, however, vary greatly. For example, romance novels are often between 40,000 and 100,000 words, while fantasy novels can run as long as 1 million words or more.
What is a Novel Type Word Count?
A novel-type word count is the number of words in a manuscript in the same way a screenplay word count would be used. Novel type word counts, however, vary greatly. For example, romance novels are often between 40,000 and 100,000 words, while fantasy novels can run as long as 1 million words or more. If you’re writing a novel, you’ll need to know the word count range that is expected for your type of novel to make sure your work fits within those guidelines. For example, if you’re writing a romance novel and you want it to fall within the word count range of 40,000 to 100,000 words, you’ll need to stay somewhere in the middle of that range.
Summary
A word count is a measurement of the number of words in a document, including novels, short stories, nonfiction, scripts and more. Word counts are important for the publishing process and how readers find and purchase your work because they affect how much it costs to publish your work and where it will be published. There are different word counts used for different types of writing, including novel-type word counts, screenplay word counts, and editorial/confirmation word counts.