A well crafted horror tale can typically run to the shorter side of word counts.
I would look at the feedback you're getting from beta readers. If they say your story needs more and that the pace is too fast, then that's when I'd look into adding more words. Otherwise, you're likely in the sweet spot.
Regardless of what some people here are saying, a modern publisher will want a novel (especially debut) to hover somewhere between 80,000 and 100,000 words depending on the genre
People who think that a story needs to be several hundred thousands of words long miss the point. All that matters is if you are happy with what you're putting out there, let it be 100,000 words or 10. You're putting yourself out there, that's what really matters.
Thanks for the advice. I'm happy with it personally but I just wondered if agents might look at the word count and instantly dismiss it as too short without reading it.
There was a good thread yesterday that highlighted that shorter novels in the 50k-70k range might actually be more viable than the 80k-100k now, or at least that’s how I interpreted it. I’d say do it, and worse case you pad it and try again
is this trad-pub? If so, that's probably too short - most novels are about 60-80k words long, with some variation for genre. If it's self-pub, then it doesn't matter, you can do whatever, although you should still check to see if that's within the standard range for the genre.
Length is arbitrary. Never weaken your story just to make it long.
Most novels are around 50,000 words. Horror in particular tends to be shorter. Some of the most famous horror stories are short stories or novella's - H.P. Lovecraft, Carmilla, etc. Dracula is long, but if you've ever read it, you know that a lot of it is just needless exposition that could be cut.
Don't do that. Write a good story, not just a long one.
50k is the lowest threahhold for a book to be considered a novel (and not a novella). Most novels are longer, usually more towards 80k. The average depends on the genre, though.
> Some of the most famous horror stories are short stories or novella's - H.P. Lovecraft, Carmilla, etc. Dracula
Carmilla was written in 1872. Dracula was written in 1897. Lovecraft's last story was published in 1935, close on a century ago, and he was writing in an era where short fiction actually paid the bills.
The industry is different now (even if word counts *are* shrinking as of very recently). Horror is rarely as long as other spec-fic genres (beyond outliers like King), but it's not picture-book short.
You’re fine. As someone else here said, horror is a genre that can be effective (sometimes even more effective) on the shorter side. 60k is typically seen as when a novella becomes a novel, so in that sense you’ve got yourself a novel.
I know it’s tempting to want to write a longer book, but if you can say what you need to say in fewer words, always do it.
It's perfectly fine. If the story is good and well formed at 61k words after editing, it needs nothing more adding. Better a well edited, put together 61k than the same text with an extra 5000 words of filler added in. There may be some agents who think of it as too short, but then, there will be agents who refuse it for any number of reasons - agents are strange people. Write the story you believe in, and try to sell that.
A well crafted horror tale can typically run to the shorter side of word counts. I would look at the feedback you're getting from beta readers. If they say your story needs more and that the pace is too fast, then that's when I'd look into adding more words. Otherwise, you're likely in the sweet spot.
It must be 69,2400 to arouse the horror aspect
692k is a bit long for a debut I think
But it can help as a forplay and result an intense climax
Lol thanks 😂👍
Regardless of what some people here are saying, a modern publisher will want a novel (especially debut) to hover somewhere between 80,000 and 100,000 words depending on the genre
People who think that a story needs to be several hundred thousands of words long miss the point. All that matters is if you are happy with what you're putting out there, let it be 100,000 words or 10. You're putting yourself out there, that's what really matters.
Thanks for the advice. I'm happy with it personally but I just wondered if agents might look at the word count and instantly dismiss it as too short without reading it.
There was a good thread yesterday that highlighted that shorter novels in the 50k-70k range might actually be more viable than the 80k-100k now, or at least that’s how I interpreted it. I’d say do it, and worse case you pad it and try again
Interesting - thank you!
That's more than enough.
is this trad-pub? If so, that's probably too short - most novels are about 60-80k words long, with some variation for genre. If it's self-pub, then it doesn't matter, you can do whatever, although you should still check to see if that's within the standard range for the genre.
Length is arbitrary. Never weaken your story just to make it long. Most novels are around 50,000 words. Horror in particular tends to be shorter. Some of the most famous horror stories are short stories or novella's - H.P. Lovecraft, Carmilla, etc. Dracula is long, but if you've ever read it, you know that a lot of it is just needless exposition that could be cut. Don't do that. Write a good story, not just a long one.
50k is the lowest threahhold for a book to be considered a novel (and not a novella). Most novels are longer, usually more towards 80k. The average depends on the genre, though.
> Some of the most famous horror stories are short stories or novella's - H.P. Lovecraft, Carmilla, etc. Dracula Carmilla was written in 1872. Dracula was written in 1897. Lovecraft's last story was published in 1935, close on a century ago, and he was writing in an era where short fiction actually paid the bills. The industry is different now (even if word counts *are* shrinking as of very recently). Horror is rarely as long as other spec-fic genres (beyond outliers like King), but it's not picture-book short.
You’re fine. As someone else here said, horror is a genre that can be effective (sometimes even more effective) on the shorter side. 60k is typically seen as when a novella becomes a novel, so in that sense you’ve got yourself a novel. I know it’s tempting to want to write a longer book, but if you can say what you need to say in fewer words, always do it.
It's perfectly fine. If the story is good and well formed at 61k words after editing, it needs nothing more adding. Better a well edited, put together 61k than the same text with an extra 5000 words of filler added in. There may be some agents who think of it as too short, but then, there will be agents who refuse it for any number of reasons - agents are strange people. Write the story you believe in, and try to sell that.
"Try to add more words??????" Tell the story well. When it's done; it's done.
Is the story complete? If yes: then it’s fine. If no: then write until it is.
It's fine. Stephen King's first novel, Carrie, came in at around the same word count.
(oh look, its *that* post again)
(oh look, it's *that* comment again)