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Quick thread on word count for debut epic fantasy novels, because there& #39;s a load of terrible advice out there and it& #39;s hard enough trying to write a brilliant book without worrying about whether your manuscript is too short or too long. 1/15
1st caveat: I& #39;m talking specifically about *epic* fantasy - not contemporary/urban, historical, etc. What might be considered a desirable word count in one sub-genre might not be applicable to another. That said, I think what follows here can also be applied to space opera. 2/15
2nd caveat: I& #39;m talking about writing epic fantasy for traditional publication, not writing with the intent to self-publish (the latter operates by a different set of dynamics altogether). Oh, and 3rd caveat: I& #39;m talking specifically about debuts. 3/15
So, word count for an epic fantasy debut. The internet has a lot of opinions about this, and they& #39;re mostly wrong. One of the most common I see is this: & #39;If your debut is longer than 100k words you won& #39;t be able to land an agent and/or attract a publisher.& #39; Which is... 4/15
...total bullshit. I recently bought an epic fantasy debut that clocked in at this exact length and have since discussed with the author how we can develop the story, partly to *increase* the word count, because 100k - I think - is too short for an epic fantasy debut. 5/15
Looking at other epic fantasy debuts I& #39;ve acquired in the last two or three years, one came in at ~120k words, the other at ~230,000. So let& #39;s bin this notion that writing a book that exceeds 100k words is somehow putting you at a disadvantage. It& #39;s not. 6/15
So what is the & #39;best& #39; length for an epic fantasy debut? If we take & #39;best& #39; to mean & #39;a word count that won& #39;t make agents/editors raise an eyebrow& #39; then I& #39;d recommend shooting for around 150k. But it& #39;s fine if your word count comes in ~25k on either side. 7/15
Ideally, you probably want to land somewhere between 125 - 175k. Straying too far on either side could see you run into certain issues. For example, it& #39;s hard to pitch a book as being & #39;epic& #39; fantasy when it& #39;s only 90,000 words long and appears as a slim volume. Similarly... 8/15
...a book that soars past 200k is going to incur higher production costs, meaning the bottom line is under greater strain, thus affecting profitability, etc. Which is fine if you& #39;re a New York Times bestseller, but potentially tricky if this is your first rodeo. 9/15
Delivering a manuscript that& #39;s falling somewhere between 125 - 175k will mean you avoid potential issues. That& #39;s not to say you can& #39;t go significantly above or below these totals - just be aware that if you do, you& #39;re more likely to run into challenges. 10/15
Anyway, word count is less important than quality. A book& #39;s length can be changed. But unless it& #39;s has real quality, an agent/editor isn& #39;t going to be interested in helping the author shape their work. So worry less about length and more about whether your book is good. 11/15
I can only speak for myself here, but I& #39;d never say & #39;Wow, this manuscript is incredible, but it& #39;s 30k words too long/short and so I& #39;m going to reject it.& #39; Because the length can be fixed. So it really is all about the quality of the reading experience. 12/15
Hopefully this thread offers some clarity in terms of appropriate word count for a debut epic fantasy novel. It frustrates me to think new writers are following online advice given by people who have no idea what they& #39;re talking about. 13/15
If you& #39;re interested in reading some of the epic fantasy debuts I& #39;ve worked on (and mentioned above), be sure to check out LEGACY OF ASH by @thetowerofstars and THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER by @AndreaGStewart. And keep your eyes peeled for... 14/15
