Quote:
Originally Posted by Teresa Edgerton  But don't try to inflate the word count with rationalizations about the amount of dialogue and the number of printed pages. When an agent or an editor realizes that you've fudged the word count by something on the order of 13,000 words, he or she is not going to be favorably impressed. |
"Inflate the word count?" Who said anything about "inflating" the word count? There are two methods that are both discussed in respectable circles, both of which give a different word count. The one you all are recommending, Word's count, gives one, and the 250 method, which is recommended by books such as
Writer's Market, gives another. Last time I checked, that was a respectable publication.
"Rationalizations about the amount of dialogue"? The fact is that if I have more dialogue, there will be more pages than with less. That's a fact.
I don't need to pad my work or give any rationalization. In my opinion, it is a complete story at its current length. My questions were not in regard to any self-doubt about the quality of my novel, but rather the rules of the industry one needs to follow.
If I only said my novel was 106,000 words (which comes from a respected method, if done correctly), I wouldn't be hearing that my novel might be too short. This is my point. I don't think it's too short, but if it has less of a chance to get in the door because of word count rules, then that would kind of stink.
I'm just going to go with Word's count per the opinions on this forum, but I am trying not to be insulted by the insinuation that I'm somehow trying to pull a fast one. Please read my posts more carefully. I used the word "facetious" for a reason.
This one issue aside, I appreciate the advice to use Word's count. It's really nice to have a forum dedicated to SFF. Although this hasn't started out well for me, getting off on the wrong foot with one of the regulars! No offense intended by my remarks, just defending myself.
