New Writers:
When requesting quotes from literary professionals, offering the exact word count of the piece can help them give you a more accurate estimate.
Pages don’t mean much because a different number of words can be on any given page. It’s not going to be exactly the same throughout the entire piece.
Pages can also be formatted differently (margin size, trim size, font size, etc.), changing how many words end up on each page.
Someone can say they wrote 100 pages, but those pages could hold anywhere from 100 words (at one word per page) to 25,000 words (at 250 words per page) or even more.
Chapters are even worse when it comes to accuracy.
Imagine someone says they have “five boxes of apples.” There’s a lot of missing info in that phrase. How big are the boxes? Are they all even the same size? How big are the apples themselves? How many are actually contained in each box? The phrase “five boxes of apples” tells us next to nothing. “Five chapters” is similar.
When you tell someone you’ve written X chapters, that doesn’t give them an accurate idea of the size of your manuscript (or the amount of hard work you’ve done!).
Yes, most professionals will respond to your query by asking for a word count so that they don’t give you a number that is unrealistically low or frighteningly high. However, providing an accurate word count at the first contact saves both of you time.
You can find your word count in the bottom left corner of your Word interface when your work-in-progress (your book file) is open. Most word processors (Scrivener, Dropbox Paper, etc.) have the word count of your piece available somewhere, though it may not appear automatically. You might have to use the app or site’s menu to get your word count.
For example, in Google Docs you’d need to press the ‘CTRL,’ ‘SHIFT,’ and ‘C’ keys all at the same time to get your word count to appear. You could also use the menu to select ‘Tools’ and then click on ‘Word Count.’
If you aren’t working in a word processor that is this sophisticated (such as a memo app on your phone or an email draft), there are websites where you can copy and paste your content to get a word count. Just do a web search for “word counter” and choose the site you want to use. Open your manuscript, select all of the content (pressing ‘CTRL’ and ‘A’ at the same time will usually do this for you), copy it all (‘CTRL’ and ‘C’), go back to the word counter site you chose, and paste (‘CTRL’ and ‘V’) your content to see your word count.
Knowing your word count can help you save time and money, as well as help you track your progress in a more precise manner.
Jump to the lesson on manuscript evaluations to learn more about hiring literary professionals.
