Cutting Word Count During Editing

Sapphire135 · Jul 21, 2014

Just curious how many other romance authors write the story without regard for word count and then cut it down during the editing? (their personal editing & rewrites, not the kind that happen once it goes off to the publisher)

On my last two books, the first drafts were pretty close to 95k each (give or take) and so I did not need to do much, but my current book still has a chunk of the story left to tell and I am already at 86k.

My instinct is to just write it as it is meant to be and then pare it down afterward, but it is not normally the way I work. Thing is, I cannot imagine cramming everything that needs to happen into the next 10,000 words in order to not go over my target word count.

What do you guys do? I have heard a lot of people say that their first draft is a skeleton and they flesh it out in the rewrites. Do any of you start with a huge, fat manuscript and substantially cut it down afterward?

Hildegarde · Jul 21, 2014

I'm facing this now on a smaller scale. The novella I'm writing is over word-count and I have at least a chapter left. I'm writing it out (with stern lectures to myself to GET IT FINISHED).

To be clear, I didn't start with a disregard for word-count, it is just taking a little longer than I expected to wrap it up. I'm a pantser, so I really need the finished product before I can go back and decide what can be trimmed.

Good luck to us both!

Elly_Green · Jul 21, 2014

Surprisingly, between the time I finish the story and after editing, my word count has bounced around quite a bit, but still ends up in the same ballpark. I find I get rid of the god awful stuff and then after editing and betas are done reading, I've ended up back near where I was originally, though it is far better than before. Done it five times now and it seems to be a pattern, at least in my own writing.

LJD · Jul 21, 2014

I love slash and burn when editing. I wish I got to cut down my manuscripts.

Unfortunately, I have serious difficulty getting beyond 40k. Everything I write turns into a novella. I often have to flesh out certain parts when editing, but still, usually my manuscripts shrink a little when I edit because I love cutting things down so much. I find it easier than trying to add words, and there is just something so satisfying about it...

Beachgirl · Jul 21, 2014

I have yet to have a word count go down during editing. My word counts tend to go up anywhere between 3k - 10k.

VoireyLinger · Jul 21, 2014

Cutting is so much easier for me... but unfortunately, I write scant and need to add most of the time. I can add as much as 20K on to a full manuscript when I hit that first revision.

That said, I know a lot of people who write fat and trim later. How you do it is up to you. If your tendency is to write fat, I say go with it. Get your story out and don't worry too much about word count until it's time to trim.

jorodo · Jul 21, 2014

I'm all over the place with my editing. My first draft has way too much info in area's and is a skeleton in others. I go through and flesh out the skeleton and build on that, on my first pass I believe I added almost 20K to my last MS. Then the second and third round of edits I pulled it down from 89K to 74K. After beta input and several more rounds of edits it ended at 77K.

slicing_angel2003 · Jul 22, 2014

I have a tendency to read through what I've already got down a few times before I finish a story. My stories change as I write them though. If I waited until it was finished I might forget the new twists that I scribbled down in a random notebooks. During that time is when I end up deleting or adding the most.

If you normally finish the story before reading through I'd say finish it up and then try to trim it up to fit your word count needs. That way you don't have to worry about doing a read through and finishing that last chapter.

Sapphire135 · Jul 22, 2014

On my last book I read it through multiple times as I wrote it. Not so much for word count reasons, but it helped to consistently have the flow and arc of the story fresh in my mind as I wrote. I have done the same with my current wip, to an extent, but it still is threatening to go over word count.

I know I will have to cut it down substantially in the rewrites. Some scenes, though I love them, will just have to happen off the page. For example, when the heroine meets the hero's father it would be great to show the introductions and the first conversation, etc, but instead I have to show the introduction only and then later reference how it all went without actually showing the scene.

I hate to get rid of great scenes, but since my word count is in danger of going over I am finding that I have to look really shrewdly at every scene and determine how necessary it is to advancing the story and how many purposes it serves (Does it reveal anything important? Does it show character development? Does it set up the action for a later scene? Give clues? etc.).

Slaying your darlings is certainly the right expression for cutting out some of what, as a writer, seems like the best stuff, but as a reader may be sort of superfluous

Evangeline · Jul 25, 2014

My word count always grows. A lot. :gone:

Hopefully WLCT · Jul 26, 2014

I don't worry about a high word count. If you feel your WIP is worth 100,000 words, then so be it. I'm in the editing process now and my 1st chapter has close to 3500 words. My whole WIP has about 36 chapters...you can do the math. But like I said,I'm not too worried. I've personally read romances that have been 30,000 and 100,000 and they both have just.. taken me away.

Kitty27 · Jul 26, 2014

Don't mind me! I'm just lurking for tips!

I can't seem to write below 100k in anything I write. Then when I try to self edit,I add more words.

Sigh.

I think I just need a ruthless editor.

V.J. Allison · Jul 27, 2014

The first two MSs I wrote, I didn't care about word count. I just wrote and well, I found out I have a tendency to be wordy if I'm not watching what I'm doing, and I tend to add a lot of passive stuff that bogs down the feel and flow of the story itself. The first one is over 200k, and the second is over 250K. Yeah, ultra long and both need a LOT of compressing! :e2thud:

The third and most recent first draft I finished went in a different direction. I was so scared of adding junk and other things that I went so bare boned that one of my Alphas complained I forgot to add a description of the LF and another main character. Oops.... *facepalm!*

By the way I will be chopping the other two down to under 150K each if I can. The first one will be under 100K in time if I can do it though....

Becky Black · Aug 5, 2014

I'm an outliner, so I know going in roughly how long it's going to be. (I know the number of scenes, and I know how long on average my scenes are, so I just multiply the two together.) I cut plenty in the edit, as I'd rather put too much in while in the zone in drafting and then cut out what I don't need later. Sometimes that brings the word count down by several thousand. But sometimes I might add in whole new scenes and end up back around the original word count of the draft. Depends on the story and often on how well I outlined it. All drafts will deviate a bit from the outline, but if I've done a good job of that it won't stray too far and my editing will be reasonably straightforward!

I also find when editing that more comes out at the start of the story. So don't worry about going over your word count target and don't skimp on the ending. Because if you're anything like me, the start is where you'll snip out more stuff to balance it out. It's common to start the story a bit too early, and to put in more back story than the reader needs at the start. That's okay in the first draft when you're still figuring out the story, but a lot of it can go in the editing.

PenTeller · Aug 10, 2014

I tend to write roughly to my goal word count, add about 10k in first edits, then lose about another 10k in subsequent edits. I usually end up slightly short of what I was hoping for, but I am assured that in this day and age that this is no bad thing!

snc84 · Aug 11, 2014

I'm in the same boat. My word count came in around 130k. Crazy long!! I have cut some subplots that were not necessary and am trying to weed out some of the set-up and get my couple to meet sooner. You just have to take a step back and be objective when cutting. I cut stuff but keep it in a separate document because I hate deleting my hard work, but not every thing needs to stay.

If I was you, I would just finish. Then go back and evaluate which scenes are actually moving your plot along. Anything that is just character building can be taken out and you can sneak character traits into the action. Just remember you can keep the original copy for yourself but detach yourself from the edited copy. You have to cut for your audience if you want to publish.

Cathy C · Aug 11, 2014

I write long. I try hard to stay within 100K, but I usually wind up at 115K or 120K. Sometimes, even that's not long enough...

Once I tried hard on a single-title to come in right at 100K and did. But when the editor got it, she asked "What happened to the ending? It just drops!" I explained the word count issue and she told me, "You let me worry about the word count! Just write the story." I did so. It wound up at 132K!

She didn't cut a word. She ordered special cover stock to keep it as is. :Hug2:

IMO, write the story. Better to have an editor cut than expand. It's so much harder to expand an otherwise concise (albeit long) novel.

Becky Black · Aug 12, 2014

I'm editing at the moment and in 13 chapters (around halfway) I've gone from nearly 93k to a bit over 86k. Eeep! A big chunk of that was an entire chapter I cut. (Which I'm still mourning, but it had to go.)

I'm into the second half of the story now. Let's see if this works out the usual way that I don't lose nearly as much word count as at the start.

Sapphire135 · Aug 12, 2014

Cathy C said:
I write long. I try hard to stay within 100K, but I usually wind up at 115K or 120K. Sometimes, even that's not long enough...

Once I tried hard on a single-title to come in right at 100K and did. But when the editor got it, she asked "What happened to the ending? It just drops!" I explained the word count issue and she told me, "You let me worry about the word count! Just write the story." I did so. It wound up at 132K! She didn't cut a word. She ordered special cover stock to keep it as is.

IMO, write the story. Better to have an editor cut than expand. It's so much harder to expand an otherwise concise (albeit long) novel.

Thanks Cathy - and everyone!

I tried to cut down the word count and managed to edit out about 2000 words, but when I re-read it, it was as if I had edited the voice right out of it. At this stage it is going to be a 110,000 historical romance novel. I have a chapter to go to wrap it up - all the action is over and all the problems have been solved. After that, I will look at it again and see what's what.

Cutting Word Count During Editing

Sapphire135

Hildegarde

A newb in the fog

Elly_Green

Daydreamer or Living Nightmare

LJD

Beachgirl

Not easily managed

VoireyLinger

Angel Wing Fetish

jorodo

slicing_angel2003

Sapphire135

Evangeline

Twirling in a glass of champagne

Hopefully WLCT

Kitty27

So Goth That I Was Born Black

V.J. Allison

Sunny with a Side of Evilness

Becky Black

Writing my way off the B Ark

PenTeller

snc84

Cathy C

Ooo! Shiny new cover!

Becky Black

Writing my way off the B Ark

Sapphire135