Hi, what'd be an usual wordcount for a novel? I'm nearly finished with a work with about 25,000 words done. I'd like it to be called a novel instead of a short story. More words needed?
Hi, what'd be an usual wordcount for a novel? I'm nearly finished with a work with about 25,000 words done. I'd like it to be called a novel instead of a short story. More words needed?
I'm from Australia so I've never heard of ShieldCrest... what service of theirs are you considering? I would be wary of paying for services from a company that claims to be number one in the country... you might want to have a look at who they have published and contact the authors independently.
Maybe some of the Writers & Artists members from the UK can give you more details?
Hi folks,
Many, many thanks for your replies:-D
Adrian, your list is very helpful as a guideline; thanks for it!
Right, I won't add words just for the sake of it; however, there's room for the story to go a bit further, so maybe I'll work on it a bit more (it's not a fantasy or a saga, but a young adult fiction story with quite a simple storyline), but won't stare at the wordcount as if walking on a minefield (a bad comparison, but you get the point ;-)
I'm not entirely sure yet if I'll self-publish or do it the 'old-fashioned' way. We'll see, the jury's out...
I've done some research amongst self-publishing companies and it'd seem that a company called 'ShieldCrest' would offer the best value for money. Have any of you any experiences on ShieldCrest?
Thanks again for your replies and wishes!
Tero
Hi Tero,
I agree with all three of the above, especially Khai's comment that you don't want to try and add words for the sake of it.
Adrian's list is an excellent guide, but some publishers want many categories to be on the shorter side, but fantasies or sagas to be even longer. You can check publishers' websites to see if they have any specific guidelines or demands.
Final point though; if you're self-publishing then it doesn't matter to the same degree. Call it a novella and put it out there.
Keep on doing amd good luck.
PabloJ.