Hey writers, when you send out a manuscript (especially a novel) are you using word processor word count or the standard publishing formula (which usually yields 250 words a page in Courier 12pt)?
I use processor word count (Word), but I round when reporting my wordcount at the top of the MS or in the cover letter--usually to the nearest hundred.
If I'm sending out short fiction and my word count is slightly under or over the guidelines, I rewrite until it falls comfortably within the guidelines.
If I'm sending out a partial of a novel, I'm more lenient about going over, if the end of a chapter is at 52 pages, say, and the request was for the first 50.
Thanks! I've been using word processor count rounded up to the nearest reasonable number, but I had wondered if publishers, especially traditional print publishers, would prefer it the other way for typesetting purposes.
Thanks! I've been using word processor count rounded up to the nearest reasonable number, but I had wondered if publishers, especially traditional print publishers, would prefer it the other way for typesetting purposes.
Thanks! I've been using word processor count rounded up to the nearest reasonable number, but I had wondered if publishers, especially traditional print publishers, would prefer it the other way for typesetting purposes.
Thanks! I've been using word processor count rounded up to the nearest reasonable number, but I had wondered if publishers, especially traditional print publishers, would prefer it the other way for typesetting purposes.
Thanks! I've been using word processor count rounded up to the nearest reasonable number, but I had wondered if publishers, especially traditional print publishers, would prefer it the other way for typesetting purposes.
Word processor count. I did speak to one editor at WFC who said he prefers the standard typesetting formula, but he said it was mostly because he was used to it.
Not, um, that we should use his off the record remarks as a industry standard :)
Whatever. You're talking about a piddly difference on the vast scale of a hundred thousand words. Who cares about two thousand words more or less? By the time they've edited your manuscript, the word count will be out of date anyway. Round it to the nearest ten thousand.
I've been using word processor count rounded up to the nearest thousand, but I had wondered if publishers, especially traditional print publishers, would prefer it the other way for typesetting purposes.
Thanks! It seems like such a noob question, and I've been in this business for decent amount of time. I've been using word processor count rounded up to the nearest thousand, but I just wondered if publishers, especially traditional print publishers, would prefer it the other way for typesetting purposes
I've been using word processor count rounded up to the nearest thousand, but I had wondered if publishers, especially traditional print publishers, would prefer it the other way for typesetting purposes. That was how I was taught back in the 80s.
By the time it gets to typesetting, the book will have gone through revisions and editing and proofreading -- and the number will change. Even without all that, the typesetter will be making his own count.
The count is just to give the editor an idea of how long the book is. Word processor count, rounded to the nearest thousand, is fine.
You'd think as long as I've been doing this I wouldn't even need to ask. I've been using word processor count, but I was taught the other way back in the 1980s. I figured it was a good question to ask, just in case.
Before trying to send a short-story to one US Publisher, I found a standard “format”: “Proper Manuscript Format” by William Shunn. I think it’s important to know another rules in another country, because if I want to get a respect, I need respect for law and rules. However, let’s back to “format”. There are 250-300 words per a page (Courier 12pt), and in the top right conner in title page, I see that phrase: “about 1,800 words” -- it’s the sum, I assure. So, answering, you need go in both ways: using the word processor count and the standard publishing formula.
Yep - I'm the the word processor camp, rounding to the closest "100." I hate courier so much, I don't think I;d be able to work in that font anyway. ;-)
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If I'm sending out short fiction and my word count is slightly under or over the guidelines, I rewrite until it falls comfortably within the guidelines.
If I'm sending out a partial of a novel, I'm more lenient about going over, if the end of a chapter is at 52 pages, say, and the request was for the first 50.
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Not, um, that we should use his off the record remarks as a industry standard :)
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The count is just to give the editor an idea of how long the book is. Word processor count, rounded to the nearest thousand, is fine.
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I hate courier so much, I don't think I;d be able to work in that font anyway. ;-)
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