I have a lot on my plate and I’m trying to clear it off.

The pupper just came back from his borking day with his walker and now he’s like… PANTING HARD… because the little bastard can’t just “walk” like a normal dog.

Gus views walks as a military exercise. I’m not sure why but he always has. And he’s an old man! We’re like, take it easy. Stroll. Take your time. Enjoy the outside!

Nope… we MUST storm the beaches! I don’t know what he intends to be victorious over but there’s definitely a mission.

He also seriously needs a grooming but alas, in these trying times, his groomer isn’t working. It might come down to me taking clippers to him then a bath which I can do but I know he’s an asshole about baths. Well, he’s an asshole about a LOT of things but he does love his Auntie Jessica who comes and walks him.

The weather is warming up today and tomorrow and then back down into the cold, which has been playing havoc on my sinuses. Quarantine would be a lot easier if the storm pressure didn’t keep coming and going.

In the meantime, all the words!

Over the last couple of days, I posted about word count and a dollar. A lot of people saw it as a discussion on sales. Or about if the story was worth it. Or even if they trusted the author. Which are all good discussions. But see… this was one of my rabbit holes.

So, here’s the thing.

The story is kind of like Schrödinger’s cat. The rabbit hole in question… the how does a buck break out among word count is actually a discussion on how my Asperger’s brain works. Or where the “Quinn” part of my brain lives.

You see, it’s kind of like working a geometry proof. Or really like falling down a rabbit hole.

The discussion about word count and a dollar really doesn’t have anything to do with sales, or if the story that the reader is buying is worth the buck or even if I am taking it account the finished product or the cut Amazon or a publisher would make. Those are all very valid points and when I’m in authoring mode and doing the whole business thing, I’m there with that.

This was a worm burrowing down into my brain and I had to dig it out so I could move on and do something else. Trust me when I say, I do not ever stop what I’m doing to do perform random math equations. 😀

It’s a very tightly boxed in idea of… how much would a buck break down to an hour based on different word counts?

Nothing else mattered in that equation because it wasn’t… important? Relevant? It wasn’t a part of the rabbit hole.

Usually my Asperger’s leads me down non-math rabbit holds. I can do maths. God knows, I’ve done my share of maths and I prefer spatial math but it’s not where my left turns usually go so I found in fascinating my path went in that direction.

Then as I began breaking everything down and posted it, I realized I’d left out the most important part of the whole thing… that left turn is an Asperger’s turn. Stuff that bubbles up to the surface and my brain won’t shake it off until I go after that rabbit.

So I do thank you all for giving your input because it does help me shape how things work out.

There’s no variables often in a math left turn. Or a scientific one. Usually there’s set boxes the discussion happens in and then once it’s over, it’s wrapped up and put away. *grins* And I might forget that I even thought about it.

UNLESS it’s something really interesting in which case it burrows down into my head and lays there in wait like an alligator until I need it for something….

Like a book. *laughs*

So thank you for coming down the rabbit hole with me. Next time, I hope it’ll be something interesting. God only knows. *grins*

Word count for a chapter can vary greatly among authors but for example, the first chapter of Dirty Kiss was 5,345 words which is a little long. The first chapter of Sinner’s Gin (not including the prologue or the opening vignette) was 4,400 words which is about the high end of my average. Most of my chapters run 3,500 to 4,500 words.

But, Hair of the Dog, a freebie done for a blog tour, was 7,900 words.

And for reference: For print books, a mass-market paperback runs around 300-350 words per page. A trade paperback (6″x9″) (or hardcover) runs around 350-400. eReaders vary too much to have an average because the fonts and sizes change per user.

Prices below are averaged based on $1 USD divided by the amount of hours needed to write 10,000 words. This is based on an actual project I’m currently doing and is about average for the speed I write. This only includes the initial word count and not plotting things out, research or editing the first pass.

• 30,000 words for $1 USD / 11.5 hours: 8.7 cents an hour
• 20,000 words for $1 USD / 7.7 hours: 13 cents an hour
• 10,000 words for $1 USD / 3.83 hours: 26 cents an hour

Caveat: These are based on how I write and results vary tremendously per author. I only have myself to base numbers on so take the words per hour rate with a grain of salt the size of Lot’s wife’s head because it’s in no way a universal reference.

In reality, the project I’m basing these numbers on was begun on March 10 and stands at 30K on April 6. Each chapter took on an average of 4.5 days to complete so the 11.5 hours is scattered among that time period. That time period includes the plotting, research, light editing, a day job and various other adulting things like sleep, meals and laundry.

Now how long is a novel*?
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, on the other hand, classifies submissions for its Nebula Awards series into four categories:

• Short story: under 7,500
• Novelette: between 7,500 and 17,500
• Novella: between 17,500 and 40,000
• Novel: over 40,000

Approximate Industry Average Standard for Genres:

• Commercial and literary novels are 80,000 to 110,000 words
• Science fiction and fantasy novels are 100,000 and 115,000 words
• Romance novels are 80,000 and 100,000 words
• Mysteries and Thrillers are 70,000 to 85,000 words

There are exceptions and even within a genre those averages vary a lot. Like the difference between a cozy and a psychological thriller word count is usually about 10,000 to 20,000 words. All depends on the subject and the writer.

Honestly, I just thought it was an interesting breakdown to share and very helpful for plotting out blog tours and freebies as well as short story offerings. I fall down rabbit holes of information sometimes and get skewed off into research and then come up for air and say… huh, how does this apply? It’s good to get a reference for work and to delve down into the nuts and bolts of word count and how to make good use of time without losing your brain.

By the way, this post is about 620 words and took me half an hour to write but about an hour to research and math. *grins*

* Reference: https://blog.reedsy.com/how-many-words-in-a-novel/

Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration (Julian Baumgartner) is raising money to bulk purchase N95 masks from suppliers for donation to local hospitals, health care workers and first responders.

Direct GoFundMe Link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/n95-mask-purchase-fund/

You all be safe and be kind to one another.

And call your Mom. Or Dad.

Make sure you touch base with people.

Stuck at home and looking for something to stress bake? Have a sweet tooth and a pile of Trefoils? Here’s an easy-to-follow recipe from Junior Girl Scout Cara! Need cookies to bake this (or just to eat)? In-person sales have ended for 2020 but you still have two weeks to buy online and have them shipped to you! 

https://digitalcookie.girlscouts.org/scout/carolyn875729