This week I passed the 60,000 word mark in the novel I’m writing. As it is, again, for the YA market, I can almost hear my publisher saying, ‘Between 50,000 and 70,000 words only!’ I don’t think I’m going to go beyond 70,000, but then, sometimes it’s hard to tell. All three of my other published works, all written for the YA market, came in at over 70,000, so I guess it’s not a hard and fast rule, but how long is too long? Is there such a thing?
I remember being surprised when my published told me that YA books were supposed to be under 70,000. At the time, most of the YA books I’d read were huge. But then, I was a first-time author, so the rules were different for me. It didn’t seem fair to have that limit. Although I do think a limit can be helpful for some people, even if it’s a ball park figure. When I originally handed in The Heir to my publisher it was 125,000 words long. I managed to cut it down to 75,000 or so. That was a feat, let me tell you! However, it was one that did the book a lot of good. It’s true there were a couple of things I had to cut that upset me, but most of the things I cut were not required.
Authors often seem to think that longer is better and that things should be explained over and over again to make sure our audience gets it. Sometimes I think we undervalue them. This is where a helpful, if brutal, editor can come in handy, but that process isn’t fun either.
Being an editor myself, I can see it from both sides of the fence. Yes, I hate it when an editor cuts things I don’t want cut, but I also know how it feels to be the one doing the cutting, who says, ‘You don’t need that. It’s not helping your story. Don’t be so precious about it!’ Yes, I can be tough when I’m editing, but tough love can be a good thing.
Are you a writer? Did your editor make you cut your book by more than you liked? Did they help your book or did you feel they went too far? Are you an editor? What is your pet peeve when it comes to authors? Are you a reader? Is there a writer out there who you think could do with a more brutal editor?
Let me know what you think.
Congratulations on cutting The Heir down from 125 000 to 75 000. That’s a huge cut. Sometimes it’s hard to say goodbye to something, even a scene, when you’ve put the work into it. But I like to think that nothing’s wasted. I think I remember hearing that Thomas Edison tried lots of things that didn’t work before he invented the light bulb. All of those early experiments helped him to narrow down what would work. If you have to cut something you really like, even if it’s just a choice sentence or paragraph, you can always save them up in an ideas file and use them in another piece. Good luck with editing your new novel.
That’s true, Nola. I may be able to use those scenes at other times.
Hi Lynne – yes understand exactly what you are talking about above. My first manuscript was 119,600 words long when I presented it to my assessor. She recommended I cut it to 70,000 and showed me how to do it in the first two chapters. The rest was up to me. A friend and I went away for 6 days and worked for hours and hours on it and got it down to about 80,000. Then when it was accepted for publication my editor and I worked together and it ended up around 75,000. Learned lots in the process so the 2nd book didn’t need cutting, just a few changes which was pleasing to me. I decided at the outset that I would not get precious about my work. My editors were amazing and so helpful.
Yes, it helps not to be too precious, doesn’t it Lesley? Although I don’t think it hurts to have a few non-negotiables if they are important to the heart of the story.