Is 70'000 words too much a first novel? Or not enough?

Louvaine,

It's not too long at all. It can be over 100,000 or more words depending on how long it takes you to tell the story.

Here’s everything you’ll need to know in order to get your foot into the door of a literary agent and give yourself a chance. It’s not a guarantee, but it will help you in a lot of ways.

Remember that if you are a minor you can’t get into a binding contract without your parents or legal guardians consent. Literary agents and publishers will remind you of this.

Writing a book takes more than just sitting down and putting your idea into words. There are a lot of things that you have to consider.

Keep an eye out for spelling and grammar errors. When typing fast with fresh ideas in our heads, we tend to forget ourselves. Check and recheck your work. Editors are very expensive these days. When checking your work over, try not to put too much trust into Spell Check if you’re using MS-Word or any other writing program. Words can be spelled correctly but used in the wrong context. Spell Check will not find those as being an error.

You’ll need to know how to write an effective ‘query letter’ to a literary agent. The letter will also include a synopsis that will hold the interest of the agent, and want to make him or her ask for the first three chapters of your work. Never send a manuscript to a publisher or literary agent without querying first. There ‘are’ some publishers who will allow this, but you have to make sure you follow the guidelines for submitting to a Tee.

You’ll need to know how to format your manuscript. This includes the fonts (size and type) that most agents, editors, and publishers want. These are usually Courier New and Times New Roman (12 pt). Short stories and novels are formatted differently. You will need to follow submission guidelines just as they are laid down for your submissions. Anything less will result in your manuscript sent back or destroyed unread.

You will need to know what Point of View (POV) is. Know how to write in First Person Point of View. You’ll need to know the can and can not of each.

Do you know how to write dialogue? How to format dialogue? This is very important and allows the author and his/her characters to communicate with the reader. Remember dialect as well. Dialect is how a person speaks. Your characters may be highly educated or dumber than dishwater. ‘Ain’t got none’ is highly acceptable when used properly by a character who is even less than street smart. Keep in mind that it’s not a good idea to have two or more people speaking in the same paragraph. Each person speaking should have their own paragraph. Some may argue this point, but to be plain and simple, it’s not the right format. It’s confusing and it’s very amateurish looking.

It’s a good idea to know some of the publishing laws. The use of names and places.

These include:

o Delivery Of Satisfactory Copy

o Permission for Copyrighted Material

o Proofreading and Author's Corrections

Learn how to get a ‘word count of your work. Some novels have a prologue and an epilogue. You’ll need to know how to write them and why they’re used.

One of the most important issues in manuscript submitting is the proper ‘page set up’ for your work. This includes margins, indents, and paragraphs. Most editors will want to see your manuscript double spaced. This allows the editor to use his/her proofreaders marks between the lines. Most margins will be one inch all around with a ragged right margin and an even left.

Are you prepared to do a lot of ‘research’ involving your work? Remember that many professionals such as, doctors, lawyers, nurses, public accountants, judges, architects, bricklayers, engineers, and police officers read, too.

Do you know what a sub-plot is? This is a plot that comes ‘under’ the main plot. The hero may be after the vampire, but the mob may be after the hero as well. This is a sub-plot.

Can you take rejection and constructive criticism? If you’re easily hurt in the feelings department, then writing may not be your forte. Critics will tear you apart or build you up. The best writers in the world “King, Patterson, Koontz, J.K. Rowling, and many others” have been torn up one side and down the other. You can’t please everyone.

You’ll need to get a copy of Writer’s Market for the current year. This has literary agents whom you can send out query letters to. Some of them allow email queries. They also have a website. Google: Writer’s Market.

I wish you the best of luck!

PJ M

My aim is not to discourage but to prepare you.

I suppose you have heard the phrase, "Life is hard and then you die."

Well this applies to the world of writing in all its aspects.

People will try to steal your work so be careful who you show all of it to.

70K is enough for a short novel, some publishers prefer 80 - 120 but if it blows them away, they'll take it.

If its YA, which I assume it is, then 70K is okay.

Finding an agent will be your hardest task.

DO NOT PAY AN AGENT OR A PUBLISHER ANY MONEY FOR ANYTHING, HAVE YOU GOT THAT?

Good.

After you find an agent, he has to find you a publisher, this could happen quickly or could "take some time".

After you and your agent "cut a deal" it will take between two to five years before your book is published.

Not everyone will see your book, it will, if it isn't a best seller, be taken off the bookshop bookshelf after six months and sold at a loss.

Your royalties will be between 10 and 15%.

If you decide to self-publish your book as an e-book on Kindle at no cost, you will receive, each time your book is sold, 70% royalties, and this is still while you are looking for an agent.

No, I do not work for amazon, but I have my books in their e-library.

So, you are not the only author looking to publish her work as there are many millions of english speaking authors in the world, most of them write fiction and some of them self publish there own e-books and all of them are seeking an agent.

Do you still want to be a writer?

Then go for it and the best of luck.

Dear Louvaine,

With literature, there is no mandatory length to be met. So long as you feel that you have done your story the justice it deserves - that all the necessary pieces have been considered and dealt with - then the piece is completed. It is often said that books belong to readers, not writers. And while I, as a writer, do agree this, I find that while a book is still in my possession (which is to say unpublished), then the rule does not apply. Keep this in mind: the book, as it exists now, is yours. Do with it what you will.

Lastly, in regards to the not-so-fun industry of writing, I think you'll likely encounter minor difficulties in securing a publisher for your piece. Unfortunately, as the publishing world is indeed a business, not many youth writers get their works out there. If you find this to be the case, then you may wish to seek an independent publishing agency. It will be a bit costly, and your book won't be *in stores everywhere*, but it'll get a nice jacket and show up in local bookshops and libraries. Profit may not come into play if you take this route, but if you're writing for the sake of writing, it shouldn't be too much of a burden, barring financial complications.

Good luck, my dear! I would surely love to read the final product. I am,

Sincerely yours,

-Nick

The average novel is approximately 75,000 words. Rather than focusing so much on word count, just try and make sure the story itself ties up nicely. And if a publishing company does want to use your work, they have editors who can assist with trimming it down if required.

You're very young, and please don't think I'm being harsh, but you should prepare yourself for a lot of rejection. Its extremely rare that people get their work accepted by the first publisher, so you need be ready for that, and not give up. It may also take some time, if it happens at all.

My advice is to have look at your favourite authors, and see who their publishers are. Or go online and find publishers who work in the genre that your book is. Find out what their submission procedures are. You may also need to look at getting an agent, since many publishers wont accept work from people who are represented...

Whatever happens, remember you're writing because you love it...So don't give up...keep doing what you love and hopefully your work will be picked up...

PS: I'm in the same position as you, I've almost finished my first novel, but its 196,000 words (and growing lol) I think I'll have to cut it and make a trilogy all on its own...

Good luck :)

If you need any help or advice just ask...

Depends on what genre this is. It's a bit long for YA but fine if it's an adult. Your chances of being published are the same as any other newbie author's. If it's well written and interesting, you'll be fine. But before thinking about being published you'll need to finish it, then edit it. Heavily. Be brutal. If something doesn't add anything to the story, get rid of it. If it doesn't push the plot forward, get rid of it. Make every word count. Good luck

When writing a novel, I usually go back over it at least 4 times to check grammer, punctuation and clarity of expression. Sometimes I add a few words for style sake and sometimes I cut out a few lines to reduce wordiness. To succeesd as a writer we must be exacting and self-sritical in our editorial attitude. Make sure you are really saying something that holds the reader's interest from beginning to the end.

I'm sure 70'000 words is enough. I have something myself on 30'000 and that's about 50 pages in A4. Remember, real books aren't in A4, so it would fill a lot more when published.

If I was you, I would clearly try to make something about it. Just keep on, and try different places. If it's good enough, I'm sure you will hit the spot somewhere :D

you could use about 30,000 words. make a cliff hanger at the end. then we can't wait to buy the next book!