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Topic: How bad is it to exceed the word limit?
| Author | Message |
| Colette | Posted – 4/4/2008 2:00:13 PM | show profile I submitted an article that exceeded the 2000 requested word limit by a few hundred words. It went through a couple back and forths with the editor and she kept wanting more included, so the piece started to swell. She hasn't said anything yet, but just how egregious is this? I'm normally a stickler for such things. I would love to keep this as a steady contract job and don't want to irritate the editor by her having to cut it down. Any thoughts? |
| WritingEd | Posted – 4/4/2008 4:26:57 PM | show profile If you submitted around 2,000 and it was subsequent edits that brought it over, I wouldn't worry about it. If you're submitting a few hundred over on your first draft, that may be considered a bit much by some editors. Personally I don't mind having to cut a few hundred words because I find the most writers' copy can be made less wordy. |
| WordyBird | Posted – 4/4/2008 7:23:38 PM | show profile I would just remind her of the word count she originally asked for. Sometimes editors forget about word count. I've seen it happen. I'd just say, "Okay, but just to be up front, to answer this query is going to add another 300 words to the story. Are you okay with that?" Usually they say, "Why, what are we at now?" "2,500." "Yikes! Okay, never mind." |
| Metro Writer | Posted – 4/4/2008 11:11:43 PM | show profile More important than the actual word count is the content. Is everything that's pertinent in the article? Is everything in the article pertinent. Say what you will about writing advertorials, but it teaches you to write tight. Writing isn't just about knocking out an article with all the notes in it. What does the reader need to know? What will make the reader want to read your entire article? How quickly do you get to the point? Usually, three sources will suffice to back up what you write and to give more than one perspective. |
| bones | Posted – 4/5/2008 8:47:21 AM | show profile depends on the mag In my experience, at design-heavy magazines where you're writing to an approved layout, you should stay tight to the word count. But if the text is leading the process, you're good with about 10 to 15 percent overage on the initial manuscript. If editors ask for extensive addition, you could ask if they want you to cut other text to make space. Generally, they prefer to do the cutting themselves, and may already know what's going... If the published piece winds up being far over your assigned count, you might ask for an additional fee. |
| chucho | Posted – 4/5/2008 9:23:07 AM | show profile WritingEd makes a good point. Your working with the editor, so the editor is aware that the word count is increasing. You might simply check with him or her to ask if s/he wants you to pare it down to 2,000. In general, however, editors don't like overflow, especially on first drafts. I recall Mari Curie (I think it was her) once wrote a long letter to her lover and apologized that she didn't have time to make it shorter. |
| Colette | Posted – 4/5/2008 1:53:44 PM | show profile Thanks all... very good information and insight. |
| sophiesMOM | Posted – 4/5/2008 3:52:03 PM | show profile chucho, a correction....that quote is attributed alternately to mark twain and rudyard kipling. |
| chucho | Posted – 4/7/2008 5:52:43 AM | show profile @sophiesMOM: lol. I had to poke on the web and found this: http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?TimeToMakeItShort Does this make it a cliché? |
| DHernandez | Posted – 4/7/2008 3:00:26 PM | show profile How bad to exceed the word limit? Honestly I believe it depends on how much it bothers you to have an editor cut your copy. |
