If you're a new writer and your debut novel is tipping over 100,000 words, you might want to tap the brakes—especially if you're aiming for traditional publishing. Publishers tend to follow a word count formula for debut novels, like a literary version of Goldilocks: not too short, not too long, but juuust right. For genres like contemporary fiction, romance, or thrillers, that “just right” range is typically between 70,000 and 90,000 words. Anything beyond this can make your manuscript more difficult to market because longer books are more expensive to produce and require more time to edit and polish.
Longer manuscripts also pose challenges for pacing and storytelling. As a new writer, it’s essential to demonstrate a tight, focused narrative. Exceeding 100,000 words often indicates that the story might include unnecessary subplots or scenes that could be trimmed to keep the reader engaged. Concise writing, where every word and scene serves a purpose, is usually more compelling, and editors will look for evidence that a new writer has mastered this skill.
From a practical standpoint, agents and publishers are already drowning in submissions, so a lengthy debut novel may be less appealing to them. They want to see that a writer can handle the basics of storytelling—character development, plot structure, and pacing—within a standard word count. Longer manuscripts, especially from untested writers, are riskier because they demand more upfront investment, and there's no guarantee that readers will embrace such a lengthy book from an unknown author.
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