We’re thisclose to making an announcement regarding our 2010 list. I’m excited and proud to be working with these authors (as soon contract negotiations close), and we’re still knee deep in submissions as we think ahead to 2011.

I get emails in our submissions box regarding our submissions process and writing in general, and I’ve decided to address some of these questions on the blog in a new piece that also plays homage to Slick Rick and Outkast (couldn’t help myself). If you have writing-related questions, please email us at storytelling@plenarypublishing.com.

A big issue that we’ve seen, and been asked about, is word counts. Specifically, “how long should my manuscript be,” or, “how long is an average novel,” etc. Here’s the short answer: as long as it takes for you to tell the story and tell it well.

The longer answer is that although we’re not tied to a specific word count, we’ve received submissions that range from 15,000 words to 95,000 words.  My opinion is that an adult fiction novel that comes in at 15,000-20,000 words is leaving out a lot of material. For example, here are very general word count guidelines:

Novella: 40,000-50,000 words. Example: Steve Martin’s “Shopgirl.”

Novel: Can run from 50,000 words to 100,000 words or more, depending on who you ask. We like novels to come in around 70,000 words at a minimum and top out at 80,000-90,000 words, but we certainly won’t reject shorter or longer works if you have a great story. Novels that run over 110,000 words tend to fall into the “epic” catergory, or the ”we just don’t care how long it is because you’re an established author like Stephen King” category.

Children’s Fiction: Ranges vary greatly, depending on the audience. For example, books for the very young and easy readers can be as little as 300-2,000 words, while middle-grade and young adult books can range from 35,000 to as high as 50,000 words, or higher if you’re J.K. Rowling. The shortest Harry Potter book was almost 77,000 words, and the longest (Order of the Phoenix) was over 250,000 words.

Word counts roughly translate to 250 words per page, depending on the font that you use. Thus, an 80,000 word manscript translates to about 320 pages. Bookstores tend to prefer shorter works because of shelf and sales issues.    

We’re considering two works that fall under and over our preferred range of 70,000-90,000 words, so don’t tie yourself to specific counts. Focus on the story, structure and development, and if we’re in to it, we can edit up or down later.