Word Count: The New Bane of My Writerly Existence!

A few weeks ago the bane of my writerly existence was synopses, shortly followed by query letters. Now? Well, now it is just word count. You would think that words of any sort--counted or not--would be a writer's best friend. Right? Wrong. At least, not when you are writing something that falls into the Young Adult category and have a word count that is over 70k.

Like, way over 70k. Twice that to be precise.


Yup, the current word count for my YA epic fantasy novel is 149k. What does this mean? Any agent I query to is going to see that and say "No thanks" because I am a debut author. Why else will they say no? Because book one is just that--the first book in a series. There's no real way it can serve as a standalone. Well, I guess it could but it would probably really piss people off at the end. I do that a lot with my endings.

Anyhoo! I'm hanging out (a lot!) over at WriteOnCon and the word count issue has come up quite a few times in my query critiques (speaking of which, I will post the new working query at the end). Now before you go thinking I am one of those newbie writers that scoffs at any industry/professional advice given--don't. I am incredibly grateful for all the feedback and for those warning me about high word count. They aren't wrong. Does it suck? Yes! Yes, it does! But that doesn't mean they are wrong or that I am ungrateful for the advice. I am really grateful that I found someone willing to take a peak at the manuscript and offer cut suggestions, because I have absolutely no idea how to trim it. Truthfully, it was 120k and needed fluffing and filling out, which is what got it to 149k. Maybe I could split it into two books but I don't know...Hopefully my new friend will offer some insight as to how to make this something the agents won't go "Yikes!" at when they see the word count in my query.

New friends is also another little subject I'd like to touch on. When I first decided to venture into the online writing communities, I found it to be more than a little daunting. It was flat-out intimidating. There's so much to learn and you just feel like an idiot when you don't know it (example: Having to look up active voice vs passive voice because someone told you that you were using the latter too much and you said "Huh?"). I like to write. That's why I have two books done. I've never sought out to be published, only to finish telling my story in the hopes other people might read it and like it. Hell, I'd pass out free copies on a street corner if I could. I've given out enough of them already. But my point is that it was very scary and I am very happy to say that as I settle in to my online skin, I am finding it to be very rewarding. These people are in the same boat I am. Some people know more of the ins and outs of the publishing industry, others don't. But we all want the same thing: For our story to be heard. Having that thread that links us all together is really nice and I am forming some really cool connections from my experiences with WriteOnCon and other communities like MyWANA Tribe and AbsoluteWrite. If you haven't joined and started talking, I urge you to do so. It will be so rewarding in the long run, even if you do have to get through those awkward first-day-at-a-new-school kind of moments.

And now for the revised query!

Dear (Agent),

Ariana believes herself to be the typical teenage girl, apart from her lavender eyes and the birthmark shaped like a pentacle on her wrist. She has no idea that she is the prophesized fifth of the most powerful—and magical—of all the worlds. Zelene, her twin sister, has led a life that belongs in the plot of the most tragic of Lifetime movies but her plans to start fresh take a gruesome turn when her current foster home is turned into a macabre nightmare.

As the enemies of their home world catch up to them, their luck seems to switch. Ariana is captured by the enemies that hope to take her power for themselves. Zelene, along with their three sisters in power, is taken back to the world of their birth where a loving family welcomes her with open arms. Now the four remaining girls must find a way to come into their own powers to stop the war that is raging on around them and rescue their missing sister. Their return is met with mixed emotions. When they find the good guys are proving to be not so good and the bad guys seem to have wrong methods but the right ideas, it leaves them wondering who to trust.

HEIRS OF WAR, PROPHECY ORDAINED is the first book of the HEIRS OF WAR series at 149,000 words. This series is targeted for lovers of both young adult and epic fantasy, though it has elements of suspense, action, and romance as well.

Thank you for your time and consideration with this project.