Why 40 is My Bag. Baby--by Reb MacRath
Your editor and agent may answer that question for you. And you'll know the word count you need at the start. 80K or 65K. No 'novellas' need apply if you're on the hunt for an agent. And don't even think of arguing that a long list could be made of shorter tales published and sold by traditional publishers as novels: from Billy Budd to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to Tbe Postman Always Rings Twice...to The Old Man and the Sea...and on.
This is a battle I've fought for more than thirty years. Though I never set out to write novels of 40K words, one book after another came in at that length. In my mind, they had the fullness of novels despite their shorter length. Some friends suggested I pad them to reach the minimum count. Add a subplot or two, more characters, descriptions, etc. As an experiment, I tried adding 20 words of filler to every page of one of the best little books. Adjectives, adverbs, redundant lines of dialogue. But the added 6000 words still fell short of the desired word count...and they ruined a good book.
With my new WIP, I believed I was besting my dilemma. Without adding lard or blubber, I did clarify and set scenes in more detail and provide more intel on the theme of Organized Crime. But I'd saved the ms. in 2 parts on my laptop and lost track of the word count total though I knew I had a better, clearer, stronger book.
Whelp, imagine my surprise today when I tallied the counts on both parts: 36K. With front and back matter to be added, plus narrative blanks still to be filled, I'll end up as always with:
40K
There's no sense, imo, in my singing the blues or getting argumentative. I salute those who play the word count game, adding whatever needs adding and coming out on top. And I cheer those who work on larger canvases, giving us epics we treasure.
Still, it's time for me to accept my creative lot. I simply can't help writing the sort of books I love to read: short, tight narratives that move like the wind without feeling too clipped. They read like real novels because that's what they are.
40K's my bag, baby. And I hope you enjoy the new book next spring.
This is my report.
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