Comments on: Ask Daphne! About Word Count

By: Kaite

Kaite — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:46:18 +0000

Wow, am embarrassed to notice the 'their' and 'there' mistake in my post. My apologies.

By: Kaite

Kaite — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:45:18 +0000

Right, while I completely agree with what everyone has said about their not being a 'right' number for a YA novel, I will say that- having just had our query letter critiqued by Ms. Unfeasible- one of the comments we received most frequently was that 90,000 words sounded way too long. So, it seems that while there is no standard, big numbers, particularly for first time authors, are not as well received.

Good luck with your novel whatever the length!

By: Kristi

Kristi — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:27:37 +0000

I was going to give Lisa McMann as an example of a shorter YA but Stina beat me to it. My YA is 54,000 right now, but after final edits it may be a tad longer – however, I didn't try to make it a certain length. I told the story in the way that felt right to me and that's where the word count fell, so I think the advice is right that your book should be as long as it needs to be. Happy Friday!

By: Stina

Stina — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:58:44 +0000

Being a fast walker, I couldn't even begin to imagine wearing those shoes. I'd only sprain my ankle if I try.

The same word count question came up frequently during the LA SCBWI conference this past August. Actually, it came up as often as the 'sex in YA novel' question. In other words, frequently. Jennifer Hunt (senior editor with Little Brown)said it best. Your book should be as long as it needs to be. There are a lot of great YA books that are greater than 70,000 words (Sarah Dessen and Sarah Ockler, for starters). SD's more recent books are in the 100,000+ range (though definitely not recommended for new writers). And Lisa McMann's book Wake, is around the 40,000 mark.

By: Stephanie W.

Stephanie W. — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:09:13 +0000

Thanks so much for answering my question, Daphne!

By: Rissa Watkins

Rissa Watkins — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:45:51 +0000

I'm sorry, I couldn't read the actual post because I couldn't tear my eyes away from those gorgeous shoes. I want them. Sure I work from home and would be wearing them to pick up the kid from school but dangit, I would have the cutest shoes of all the moms!