By Joan Whetzel
Writers frequently run into minimum or maximum word counts when dealing with print and online publishers. The inclusion of word counts into submission guidelines may seem arbitrary, but publishers have a good reason to include this aspect of the writing process. Print publishers, for instance, have limited space to include articles, pictures and advertisements. They have to plan out where everything goes in a very specific number of pages. So, having a maximum word count for each type of article or filler gives makes it easier for them to figure out where each item will be placed, since the longer an article or filler is, the more room it takes in the publication. Online publishing sites frequently have a minimum word count because of what’s called SEO – Search Engine Optimization. Search Engines look for articles that are a minimum of 500 words or longer. Anything shorter than about 250-300 words don’t even show up as a blip on their radar. Most readers, when they’re looking up information as research, can’t use anything really short because there isn’t enough information to make it worth their trouble.
What Words Count in the Word Count?
When publishers (either online or print) refer to word count, what they are talking about is the number of words in a document or in a passage of text. Word count is most important for academic writing, writing for legal proceedings, journalism and even writing for advertising. Word count is used by many transcriptionists in order to determine the price per word or costing based on words- per-minute.
Most online and print publishers only include the text in the word count. Titles, sub-titles, and section headings don’t usually count in the final word count. But check with the individual publisher first to be certain that this rule applies for their site or publication. There are a few other rules for word counts that cover the ifs, ands, and buts, contractions, hyphenated words, numbers, abbreviations and acronyms, and initials.
1. The ifs, ands, and buts. Small words like a, the, and, to take up room on the page. In fact, they tend to make up about 20% of the total words in most documents. To ignore them in the word count would be folly for a publisher. These words definitely count in the final word count.
2. Contractions. When writing the words do not, I will, or would not, they count as single words (2 words in each case). However, when they form contractions – don’t, I’ll, or wouldn’t – they are counted as one word.
3. Hyphenated Words. Some phrases may work as a single word when hyphenated or may be split into separate words and counted individually. Examples: first-class is one word whereas first class is counted as two words. There are many examples of this where the word combination can be used either as separate words or as hyphenated words. The general rule is that hyphenated words count as one word. But check with the publishers to make sure they allow hyphenated words and how many of them. An article may well be rejected if a writer uses hyphenated words too frequently just to make it fit the word count.
4. Numbers. Numbers (2012; 1,353; 23) generally count as one word. However, when written out as words, each word counts as a single word. So, the number two thousand twelve would count as three words.
5. Abbreviations and Acronyms. Abbreviations like K. H. S., which would stand for Katy High School count as individual words (3 in this case) just as if the words had been written out. Acronyms, like NASA count as one word. The clue here is the periods, or lack of them.
6. Initials. Many people use their initials as part of their names – i.e. George W. Bush. In this case the initial, like the abbreviations above, count as an individual word. So the former President’s name would count as three words.
Determining Word Counts
Most word processing programs (e.g. Word for Windows) have a “word count” function that makes this process easier. Simply highlight the passage of text and click on the “word count” function to find out how many words are in that passage. Word count can also be estimated by
counting the words in one line of each paragraph and using it as a guide to estimate how many words are in the rest of that paragraph. As a general guideline, when typing a document using Times New Roman Font, with a font size of 12, double spaced lines, and one-inch borders all around, then one page of text will contain approximately 250 words.
Generally, publishers provide the following estimated word counts for the average novel, novella, novelette and short story as follows:
· Novels = over 40,000 words
· Novellas = 17,500 to 40,000 words
· Novelettes = 7,500 to 17,500 words
· Short Stories = under 7,500 words
Minimum Word Count Articles
High school and college papers are a prime example of writing that have a minimum word count requirement. Many students find that, when they haven’t done enough research to produce an argument that fulfills the minimum word count, that they tend to fluff out what they have just to meet the requirement. Many an article writer has tried the same thing. While some publishers (and teachers) will let their writers get away with this (I have found many such fluffed up articles in print publications such as “People), others will not (e.g. academic and peer review journals). If this is your general style of writing, consider which publications (online or print) are the most likely to accept these articles. Steer clear of publishers who want a great deal of research and documentation to back up your arguments.
That being said, with the proper research and documentation, it is really quite easy to write an article or essay that meets the minimum word count. Research and documentation are the key. If you are already an expert in the field, your reputation will carry a lot of weigh as well. Of course, for articles that walk readers through a step-by-step process (i.e. how-tos and recipes) can also fill out the minimum word requirement without the need for research and resources. These of course work best with pictures or illustrations.
Maximum Word Count Articles
When writing articles with a maximum word count, writers sometimes find that their research has led to so much information that they find difficult or impossible to fit it all in and still fall under the maximum word count. The key to this scenario lies in being concise. You might just be surprised at how much you can edit down the writing and how much better it reads once the prose is tightened up. Finally, aim at editing the article down by 200 to 300 words at a time until it is under the maximum word count, asking at every stage of the writing and editing, whether the same thing restated using more concise wording. Just remember that your readers’ time is valuable (both the editor who decides whether to publish the article and the readers who purchase the print publication or read it online), that they don’t’ have the time or the wherewithal to read longwinded arguments. Get to the point.
Resources
Harrison, Greg. About.com. Why Article Directories Have Minimum Word Count Requirements.http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-Article-Directories-Have-Minimum-Word-Count-Requirements&id=5102933
Experts Column. Why it Is Important to Write Columns with Minimum Word Count.
http://expertscolumn.com/content/why-it-important-write-columns-minimum-word-count
Nichol, Mark. Daily Writing Tips. For Word Count, Make Words Count.
http://www.dailywritingtips.com/for-word-count-make-words-count/
Carden, Art. Lifehack. Improve Your Writing with Word Limits.
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/improve-your-writing-with-word-limits.html
Essay Jolt. Instant Grammar Checker.
http://www.essayjolt.com/ask0016.html
Wikipedia. Word Count.