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Topic: Word Count
| Author | Message |
| pholiday | Posted – 11/19/2007 2:55:37 PM | show profile How much does word count actually count. I know it needs to be right around the assigned count - to fit into design space. So, for a magazine, is it OK to go over by 5 words, 50 words, none? I work really hard to get it to the exact number, which also tightens my writing. Just wondering how much editors out there care about an extra 50? |
| writesonwater | Posted – 11/19/2007 3:03:57 PM | show profile My experience -- the bigger the article, the less of a deal 50 words is. I have one editor I do 300-word pieces for who is really detail-oriented (anal?)and I seek to be meticulous on wordcount for him. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 11/19/2007 3:43:37 PM | show profile Generally, I try to stay within 5 percent of the assigned length. So if an article is assigned at 1,500 words, I'll turn in 1450 or 1550. For most pieces, it's pretty easy to find something to add or something to trim, so it's not that hard to make the word count. But I wouldn't worry about an extra 50 words on a long piece. |
| cah7 | Posted – 12/12/2007 4:25:01 PM | show profile Best Method for Word Count I'm new to writing magazine articles. What words do you count--are words liek "a", ""of", "the", etc. included or are they omitted? Thank you. |
| WritingEd | Posted – 12/12/2007 4:31:21 PM | show profile I have never expected writers to come in at exactly the word count. Drastically more or less (a few hundred) and I may get annoyed, particularly if the writer doesn't give me a heads up about it. We assign stories of 2,000-3,000 words and give a flat fee, so more writing doesn't mean more pay. I have a related issue. Has anyone else ever run into problems where the word count on your word processing application is different from the word count on your editor's computer? I get paid by the word from one client and we noticed a discrepancy recently. For instance, I believe every time I used a bullet point my Microsoft Word was counting that as an additional word, my editor's Microsoft Word was not. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 12/12/2007 8:23:57 PM | show profile I had the word count discrepancy with one client. On another note, it seems strange to have the same fee for a 2000 or 3000 word article, which is a pretty big difference. If it were me, I'd probably always submit work on the lower end of the word count, rather than do the extra work for no extra fee. --I have never expected writers to come in at exactly the word count. Drastically more or less (a few hundred) and I may get annoyed, particularly if the writer doesn't give me a heads up about it. We assign stories of 2,000-3,000 words and give a flat fee, so more writing doesn't mean more pay. I have a related issue. Has anyone else ever run into problems where the word count on your word processing application is different from the word count on your editor's computer? I get paid by the word from one client and we noticed a discrepancy recently. For instance, I believe every time I used a bullet point my Microsoft Word was counting that as an additional word, my editor's Microsoft Word was not.-- |
| WritingEd | Posted – 12/12/2007 8:33:17 PM | show profile dribbledrive, when I said we assign 2,000-3,000 words, what I meant was that some story assignments are for the shorter end of that range, others for the longer end. The fees are adjusted accordingly (we pay a flat fee based on a per word rate for the assigned word count) |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 12/12/2007 8:51:55 PM | show profile My bad! --dribbledrive, when I said we assign 2,000-3,000 words, what I meant was that some story assignments are for the shorter end of that range, others for the longer end. The fees are adjusted accordingly (we pay a flat fee based on a per word rate for the assigned word count)-- |
| jazspin | Posted – 12/12/2007 9:04:31 PM | show profile Dribbledrive - could it be different versions of Word (e.g. XP versus an older version) are the reason for the discrepancy? More on topic, I try to stick pretty close to the set amount of words, especially for print (I've found that web writing has more leeway as far as space, and my assignments tend to have broader paramenters - for example, something between 500-700 words as opposed to a strict 500 word limit for print). |
| JerzyGirl | Posted – 12/13/2007 12:59:31 PM | show profile Also, don't forget the word count will include your title, page headers and footers (if any), subheads, etc. So sometimes it's worth the time to do a word count on the text only ( do a quick copy of it into another document, sans headers/footers, etc.). |
| Thabit | Posted – 12/13/2007 6:51:38 PM | show profile my guideline (suggested by an editor friend) is usually 10% of agreed on -- so if the editor has commissioned 500 words, 50 words more (a couple of sentences or short paragraph) is fine. If it looks like I need more than that, I go back to editor and discuss... |
| bjoconnorfla | Posted – 12/14/2007 10:20:39 AM | show profile As a freelancer, it's obvious that you want to submit a bit over the word count so that if/when the story is cut, you still have enough words to be paid at the highest word count. For example, most of my assignments give a max. length only @ $2 per word, so if edits leave me 50 words short, I'm out 100 bucks! You don't want to go to far over, no more than 10 percent but my personal finance assignments often can cover a lot of territory. If there is something I want to include but puts the story over the limit, I sometimes break it out as a suggested sidebar. At other times, if I feel part of story is important but not essential, I leave it in even if it puts my well over the word count, to give the editor the option of expanding the piece of s/he has room. I always mark that material as OPTIONAL in the copy, showing exactly what can be cut so that the story stays to the assigned length and still flows. And I make sure to mention that in my email when I submit the story. My editors don't complain because they can easily cut the extra material, but sometimes they'll use it and up my fee as a result. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 12/18/2007 8:54:14 AM | show profile cah7, if you have a Word document open, go to the menu bar and to Tools. Then scroll down to word count and it will give you a count on how many words in that document -- or in the portion you've highlighted. It counts all of them. |
| Metro Writer | Posted – 12/18/2007 10:26:23 AM | show profile More important that the exact number of words is the precision with which you're writing. That's why advertising copy should not be scoffed at because people who have experience at that know that everything pertinent must be in it and everything in it must be pertinent. If an editor is deleting something you wrote, there may be a good reason for it, other than space. That's something to examine because you can learn from that. That said, I will sometimes put an note in my e-mail when I submit a piece. I'll write that X is important because _____. For example, once I wrote a story about a community cookbook and included two sample recipes. I told the fledgling editor that it was important to include the one-line history of each recipe because readers really like that. Another time I asked the editor to keep the part in about someone's going to a synagogue in Prague and reading the names because he found his ancestors' names there and it made the trip more meaningful for him. I hate to say it, but some editors are so desk-bound that they are out of touch with what's important to readers. |
| WritingEd | Posted – 12/19/2007 1:34:01 PM | show profile MetroWriter, you wrote: <<>> Did you really use language like "keep this because readers really like that"? If I got a note to that effect, I'd be pretty annoyed at the writer. It sounds like you're saying you know my readers better than I do. I find it hard to believe that you would have a better understanding of readership compared to someone who works at the publication, even if it is a "fledging editor" who's "desk-bound." Maybe you have some sort of expertise with that readership, but still it makes sense to be careful about how you word things. Maybe you already are. Just thought I'd point out how it could look from the other end. |
| pentup | Posted – 12/21/2007 4:07:38 PM | show profile It seems like most magazines for which I freelance give me a word count and a set fee (based on that word count), meaning if I go over that word count, I will not get paid any more. So it doesn't "benefit" me to write more, though sometimes I'll go a bit over (never under). As an editor (my day job), I actually don't mind if freelancers (particularly for the FOB) go a bit over the word count. Since we do the same thing as above (a set fee), I don't have to pay them more. And sometimes I find that it's better to have more material to work with than not have enough. That said, it's annoying if a writer is just going on and on and is not focused. |
