by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells
You have an idea, message, or story you want to share. The question is, who do you want to share your message with?
Before you begin, clarify exactly who you are speaking to. This is as important as dialing a specific number when you make a phone call.
No project – outside God’s Word – is for everyone. Who is your target audience? Who is interested in receiving your message?
Age, education level, ethnicity, faith, gender, hobbies, interests, and profession are among the considerations when you define your audience. Academics, artists, and athletes each have unique jargon and terminology as do zoning specialists, zoologists, and zoo keepers.
How specific can you be when you describe your audience?
- The Ten Best Decisions A Single Mom Can Make is practical help and tangible tips for solo parents ages 24 to 45, eager to create a healthy and successful family.
- Slavery in the Land of the Free informs intermediate and high school students about human trafficking in the United States.
- Geared for four to eight-year-olds, The Girl Who Wore Freedom is the true story of five-year-old Dany who was given Lifesavers and liberty on D-Day.
Writing to children is completely different from communicating with teens which differs from sharing with adults. Generally speaking, the vocabulary that appeals to women is not the same as the descriptions that resonate with men. While the words in a toddler’s board book are chosen as carefully as the text for a novel, the volume is exceedingly fewer. Knowing your audience guides your vocabulary level and the length of your project akin to crafting a conversation with a child or an industry professional.
Writing for children? These are the general rules for the age of your audience.
Board Books
Ages 0 – 3 are 24 pages in length, consisting of no more than 50 words
Ages 2 – 5 are 24 to 32 pages, under 200 words
Picture Books
Ages 4 – 8 (prekindergarten through second grade) 32 pages with 500 to 600 words. If you have 1000 in your picture book, I’d betcha lunch out some editing is in order.
Ages 7 – 10 (second, third, and fourth grade) 32 to 48 pages with approximately 1000 words
Ages 9 – 13 (fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade) 32 to 80 pages in the 1500 to 3000 word range. These longer projects include graphic novels, photographic nonfiction, or picture-rich fiction. Chapter books for middle grades are 20,000 to 35,000 words.
Young Adult books have a word count of 55,000 to 80,000
Full length novels for adults are traditionally 40,000 words to 90,000 with chick-lit toward the shorter end, and contemporary, mainstream, mystery, romance, suspense, thriller, and literary on the longer side.
NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month in November) aims for 50,000 words
Westerns are some 65,000
Memoirs log in around 70,000 to 80,000
Sci-Fi and Fantasy run longer at 100,000 to 115,000
Novellas range from 17,500 to 39,999 words
Novelettes average 7,500 to 17,499 words
Short stories for teens and adults land under 7,500 words
Early in the creation of your message, define your audience. Knowing who you are talking to guides you to dial in the most effective way to share your message.
TWEETABLE
Thank you for the wonderful reminders and word count by genre info Ms. Peggy Sue. I'm saving this one too. :-) God's blessings ma'am.
ReplyDeleteFor this practical writer, that is the best review. I adore sharing how-tos that make your writing happen.
DeletePeggySue,
ReplyDeleteA focus on the right reader is foundational for every book that we write. Many people read simple children's books and believe "anyone" could write them. These people have no idea of the skill and precision that goes into selecting the right words for those books. Thank you for these important lessons for every writer.
Terry
author of 10 Publishing Myths, Insights Every Author Needs to Succeed
When we are eager to share, nailing down that exact reader seems trivial. But, as you said, this laser focus is foundational. And each genre has its own rules including the limited number of words and vocabulary a children's author uses to tell a memorable story.
DeletePeggy Sue, narrowing the audience realistically has been a challenge for me with this first novel. The sentence: "Who is interested in receiving your message?" seems like a fresh angle to consider it. Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteNarrowing the audience is vital but not always easy. Who wants your message/story enough to buy your book? What are you sharing that is so important that your reader will trade their money to buy it, and their time to read it? (That just may be the topic of next month's article, by the way.)
DeleteGreat info, PeggySue! Helpful and practical for all writers.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Crystal. You are one of those talented and skilled authors who do such a masterful job that you make it look easy to write for children.
DeletePeggySue, you have given us such useful material. Thanks! I'm going to print this and keep it for future use.
ReplyDeleteHaving the important details for your project at your fingertips is a small way to help you write more and search less :)
DeleteIdentifying our audience is essential not only for marketing but also the writing process.
ReplyDeleteThe tone of a story or article changes depending who we are writing for.
Great article, PeggySue.
Ingmar, thank you for adding that knowing your audience makes it possible to market your project effectively.
DeleteThank you, PeggySue, for the reminders about genre word length. What a wonderful article.
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome, Stacy. Every good wish with your writing!
DeleteThis is great information Peggy Sue. Thank you. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou and Licky are most welcome, Melissa :)
ReplyDelete