Manuscript pages vs. published book length

[Linda B]

Hello, all. I'm working on my first book. Any general guesses as to the ratio of manuscript pages/published book pages one can expect? Or, does the publisher choose a font size and page size for the book that will give the author a bit of self esteem?

My manuscript is being done on 8 1/2 x 11 paper, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins. I'm using size 12 Times New Roman font.

I would be so disappointed if a thick-looking manuscript ended up disappearing between other books on the shelves. I would like to know if I may need to expand or trim some parts of the manuscript.
Thanks.

 

[WriterJohnB]

Here's how I set up my manuscripts. (I'm assuming you're using ms word.)

Use Courier (non-proportional font)
1 inch margins
Go to format, paragraph, indents and spacing and set line spacing at exactly 25
Also in format, paragraph, go to line and page breaks and turn off widows and orphan control
Count the number of pages in your ms.
Personally, I also count the number of chapters, divide by 2 and subtract this no. of pages. (last pages of chapters will average 1/2 page.)
For word count, multiply by 250. This is what publishers want to know.

My first novel, Friends in Dark Paces was 420 pp. ms. (ms. doc word count, 96,000 words) - published in trade paperback,
6" x 9", it was 204 pages

Second novel, The Prisoners of Gender, was 294 pp. ms (ms. doc word count, 65,000 words) - published in trade paperback, 5 1/2" x 8", was 206 pages.

The difference? The second publisher used larger font.

My advice is to go around to writing sites (I like Ralan's Webstravaganza) and go to the writing advice sections.

Take care,

JohnB

 

[Linda B]

Thanks very much, John.

I envy the imagination and perseverance of writers, and I see by your web site that you're doing something right!

Seeing that it took you four painstaking years to write "Remember That I am a Man" leaves me wanting to have my book finished right now. I can't imagine struggling through this for who knows how long.

My book is non-fiction, and I'm writing it on behalf of cult-abuse survivors who can't do it for themselves. It's emotionally draining, and considering I've never written before...

It's hard for me to judge my own writing, and jumping from chapter to chapter as things come to mind is a pain. As my writing progresses, I question whether some passages should be in a different chapter, but then it would interrupt the flow.

I have two people willing to critique my writing, but I feel strange about hoping that anyone will take me seriously and actually want to read what I write.

But then again, I've read some pretty crappy writing that managed to get published. Maybe there's hope.

Thanks again,

Linda

 

[Peder]

Linda B,
I am far from being a writer, mainly just a reader. But I see that you have a well-defined focus and purpose for your book, so my reaction is that if you just keep at it you will get there. By all means do not give up just because you may feel you have nothing to say. You do have something to say. Believe it, and believe in it.
Please
Peder

 

[WriterJohnB]

I may be "doing something right," but it's awfully hard to break into the public's awareness. Established agents and publishers can make plenty of money off "cash cow" writers and celebrity writers like Madonna and Ted Kennedy, Hilary Clinton, etc. who write childeren's books or sleazeball sex-scandal participants who write exposes, or politicians who put out memoirs written by ghost writers. Query letters are trashcanned or rejected without ever looking at a sample of the writer's work.

My latest novel is getting nothing but rejections with no requests for any more information. Yet everyone who's read it, including my writers' group who are not given to unwarranted praise, said they were captivated by the story and touched to the point of tears at the ending. Yet two writers I know who are doing Y/A romance/adventure, have done quite well with their query letters. Sigh.

I'm seriously considering self-publishing. But, either way, if I'm shopping the ms around or trying to promote, I'm not able to find enough time to write.

Good luck with your book. Non-fiction is often so stilted that it's hard to read, that's why I took a (pretty much boring) narrative and fictionalized it to make a very interesting life SEEM interesting.

Take care,

JohnB