[Vijaya Posts: 7,337 Status: Offline Encourage WWW]

Hi Yaara, without seeing your story I can't say anything meaningful about it but a story needs to be as long or as short as you need to tell it. With word counts, I always approximate when I submit to the nearest 10 for a PB, so I'd say 450 words. And yes, I count all words in the story except for title and art notes, if they happen to be there.

[dkshumaker Posts: 1,510 Status: Offline WWW]

Yaara, I agree with what Vijaya said. Word counts are important, but story is most important. Have you had a critique group read the story? Do they feel the story is long, short, or just right?

[erika-romero Posts: 7 Status: Offline I write picture books! WWW]

It's not that new. At an SCBWI session I attended, the New York editor said, "Five hundred words!" In the sense of "that is your limit if you want a crack at a sale." That was 10 years ago. I've heard that 200-300 is closer to the norm now. However, some publishers outside the Big 5 will do them longer. Peachtree is/was one, though I don't know if that's changed. Your book does sound like it's aimed toward a niche market, and you may find a publisher there who will do them longer.

Glad to hear my 275 word manuscript will not be considered too short. It’s so much shorter than my others (ranging from 450-650), which made me a bit nervous.