
Industry Truth 15 of 30
The "Word Count" Obsession: Arbitrary Constraints
Tales From A Harrogate Caravan
The Full Story
Word count requirements are purely logistical. Publishing houses categorize books by size to standardize their production and distribution costs. While this makes sense for a corporation, it is a nightmare for an artist. Some of the greatest works in literature would fail a modern "submission guidelines" check. By forcing writers to pad their work or strip it bare to meet arbitrary numbers, the industry actively sabotages the natural rhythm of your prose. We care about the story's integrity, not the efficiency of the printing press.
Publish On Your Terms
No query letters. No eight-week silence. Just your story, read and answered.

