I was reading Antoinette's question a couple minutes ago and I decide to make a research about YA books words limit. But then I found a chocking thing in a Yahoo Answers post. It could be a true or false information - and that's exactly what I want to know.
"However, bear in mind that there is a word count limit for first time writers. 100,000 words, maybe a couple thousand over, but no more."
Louise, I do realize that and I'm thinking about adding another 15,000 words so that it turns from a novella to a novel. Thank you.
I don't really think that word limit is an issue..I wrote 40,000 words for my first novel and I'm thinking about adding another 12,000 or so but I'm 70% sure I wont.
I think a book when read should leave the reader thinking, "It's over? I need more of it." and not, "Thank heavens it's over!"
I agree with Christopher "A good story is a good story, no matter the size."
I find it funny that you concern yourselves with such details.
What are you telling me?
That if I write an excellent book with an amazing story an agent and a publisher will reject it because it is too large? Seriously?
I prefer to believe that these limits are just for show. My first book is WAY over this limit. It is a fantasy story, so naturally it is lengthy, and even though each genre probably has a set limit (which I believe is just for show) I am 100% sure if you take the time and look around you will find hundreds of examples that break this rule. Books with a word count much higher or even lower than these figures you mention here.
A good story is a good story, no matter the size.
An agent/publisher might decide to split a story into 2 parts in order to print/sale it, but I don't think they will turn it down just because it is "rather larger".
These numbers exist perhaps to teach us the necessity of brevity, don't waste words, stick to the point, don't drift away and lose sight of the story. That does not mean someone cannot write a story that is really good and go above (or even stay below) these limits. It is a matter of style.