This is a very brief post relating to a comment someone made awhile back (and I’m too rushed this morning to look up–apologies.)\u00a0\u00a0 But I want to answer this while I think of it, since I meant to back then and didn’t.<\/p>\n
What I remember is that I mentioned how many pages of the new book I had, and what the wordage was, and someone was surprised that it took that many pages (or was it that few??) for that number of words.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Back in days of yore, when I used a typewriter (and later, my first printer)\u00a0 and was very, very short of money, I tried to cram as many words on a page as I could–double-spaced, because I knew manuscripts required that, but using elite rather than pica font size.\u00a0 12 characters to the inch instead of 10.\u00a0\u00a0 Then I found out that Editors like to conserve their eyesight and strongly prefer 10 characters\/inch.\u00a0\u00a0 Although I sold things submitted at 12 characters\/inch (perhaps because I always used a clean ribbon and non-smudgy paper)\u00a0 it wasn’t long before an editor asked if I could please, PLEASE use the larger font size.\u00a0 Which means the writer needed more paper.\u00a0\u00a0 But by then I was making enough to afford the more paper, so I switched.<\/p>\n
With electronic submissions, we don’t need to worry about the cost of paper (and yes, I know some still request paper submissions.)\u00a0\u00a0 What we do need to worry about is wordage, because every Editor has a size limit imposed by Publisher (sometimes overall, sometimes by genre, sometimes by author–what GRRM can get away with, First-novelist can’t, and GRRM didn’t on his<\/em> first novel either.\u00a0\u00a0 There is, however, a standard manuscript format, used for decades, that allows you-the-writer and he\/she\/it\/whatever the Editor to quickly calculate roughly how long the manuscript is.\u00a0 Roughly.\u00a0\u00a0 Which is then easily translated into printed pages (by different equations depending on whether one-column for a book or two-columns for some magazines or three-columns (two text plus ads) for some websites.)\u00a0\u00a0 For ease of reading, Editor may, on his\/her\/its\/whatever’s computer or mobile device change the font size to something that’s easy to read on the subway or the train or hanging upside down in a bat cave.<\/p>\n So.\u00a0\u00a0 10 characters to the inch, double-spaced, on an 8 1\/2 x 11 page will, on average, yield really close to 200 words\/page. If you write in short one-sound words you can cram more on a line.\u00a0\u00a0 If you write magnificently complex, elaborate, multisyllabic floridity, naturally fewer fundamental elements of meaning can be subsumed in one line.\u00a0 Style matters.\u00a0 But basically…200 words\/page.\u00a0 Lots of short dialog, you’ll come up a bit short.\u00a0\u00a0 Lots of long, explanatory paragraphs in simple language, you may get a bit more.<\/p>\n And yes, I do know your word processor has a word count feature, but mine (for instance) is teeny-tiny and down in one corner and I have to squint.\u00a0 Page number (which isn’t going to exceed three digits no matter what) requires only a glance.\u00a0\u00a0 I’m now near the top of page 200, and the word count (squinting at five digits, no comma, dammit)\u00a0 is 39478.\u00a0\u00a0 This ms. has some blank space between sections on purpose, and a fair amount of less-than-line-length dialogue.\u00a0 By the end of the page it’ll probably be 39600.<\/p>\n When you’re writing on contract, Editor will often ask how it’s coming along.\u00a0\u00a0 The answer can be in either pages or word count, whichever makes you feel better, but Editor will likely use 200 words per, if you give Editor pages.\u00a0 If you’re printing out as you go, for later editing, and doing it single-spaced to save paper,\u00a0 Editor will react differently to “I’m 150 pages, about halfway”\u00a0 and “I’m 300 pages, about halfway” unless you specify that the 150 pages is single-spaced.\u00a0\u00a0 (If you say you’re at 500 pages and halfway, editor will multiply by 200 and start worrying that it’s going to be too long.\u00a0 Or not.\u00a0 If you’re GRRM, no problem.\u00a0 If you’re First-novelist, you may be reminded that your contract is for 110,000 words total<\/em>.)<\/p>\n And why in the digital age would Editor worry about a book being too long?\u00a0\u00a0 Even if it’s only an e-book, it costs more to produce a longer book because of the editing, copy editing, make-up, and proof-reading.\u00a0 All those take a given amount of time per page.\u00a0 The people doing it either get paid by the page (copy editors who are independent contractors) or by the hour (publisher employees) and if it takes them twice as long to work on your book, they don’t have that time to work on someone else’s book.\u00a0 (No, I’m not telling you not to write long books.\u00a0 I write long books.\u00a0\u00a0 I like to read long books.\u00a0 But realistically, long books cost more to produce, and thus are often priced higher–to keep the same profit margin–and thus take longer to recover those costs, besides Author, Editor, and Publisher having to listen to the complaints about the higher price and whether or not the Author wrote the book that long just to make more money off it.\u00a0 [headdesk!!!])<\/p>\n So at some point in writing your book, whatever way you format the pages onscreen or print them for your own use, make a (digital) copy in standard 10 characters\/inch (12 point)\u00a0 type, double-spaced, and use that page count in communicating with Editor.\u00a0 It will save you both moments of concern.\u00a0 And when you submit it, do the same.\u00a0\u00a0 Until your Editor says “Why did you do that, we want it in teeny-tiny (or huge) Asimov Italic Bold, in orange on black…”<\/p>\n Which I promise you Will Not Happen (unless my Editor is reading this and decides to be funny next Halloween.\u00a0 Have you ever looked at the Asimov font?\u00a0 Eye-bending.)\u00a0 (It was going to be a short post.\u00a0 But I write long books.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This is a very brief post relating to a comment someone made awhile back (and I’m too rushed this morning to look up–apologies.)\u00a0\u00a0 But I want to answer this while I think of it, since I meant to back then and didn’t. 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