EE, Kristen N. Word counts/editors

[Franny T]

FWIW, my MS (first novel) now stands at around 178,000 words, which everyone agrees is too long. I'm putting it through a professional edit, but I doubt it will end up being a whole lot less than 140-150,000. Neither my agent or the editor I'm working with seem to think that's a problem. It's a complex, nuanced story. It takes a few words to tell. Sounds like your MS is similar, and if it really is too long at 127,000 words, Gary's right, your agent or editor will tell you to pare it down, perhaps even help you do so.

I wish you the best of luck with this, and hope you can stop fretting about the length.

[Nate Newton]

Thanks, folks :-D