Tracking Obsession

Submitted by Stuart on Wed, 06/02/2010 - 9:24am

Hello. My name is Stuart and I am obsessed with tracking word counts.

Well, maybe not obsessed, but since my book is in the upper ranges of what’s publishable for a first time writer, I track all my writing efforts. At first, this was to show progress. It was fun to watch the book grow to 30k, then 90k, then 120k, and (gulp) 150k, etc. Once I reached the end, I was more interested in watching the book shrink.

Here is a screen capture of my tracking spreadsheet.

As you can see, I'm on the third Draft tab with each chapter listed with original word count, goal to cut, current total, words cut, and words needing to be excised to meet 10% goal. For me, doing this chapter by chapter makes the overall task manageable and less overwhelming.

Ok, maybe I am obsessed. :) Anyone else out there equally crazy, or is it just me?

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Tracking obsession

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 4:45pm.

It's just you..........

Ha ha ha... Then I guess I'd

Submitted by Stuart on Wed, 07/07/2010 - 8:55am.

Ha ha ha... Then I guess I'd better see about getting a nice white jacket with ties in the back. ;)

how the heck do you decide

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 06/29/2010 - 1:59pm.

how the heck do you decide the amount of words to cut from each chapter?

impressive chart. Much to systematic for my process, but impressive nonetheless.

Arbitrary goal of 10%

Submitted by Stuart on Wed, 06/30/2010 - 8:35am.

For this revision pass, I'm using a blanket 10% goal for each chapter. In previous drafts I just eye balled how much bloat I thought might be in that chapter (character/plot movement versus number of pages/words) and just assigned a random number. 1000 words here, 300 there.

The average page is 350 words (12 point double spaced), so that gives you an idea of page word ratio (something my dad always asks when I talk about my manuscript in terms of word count).

I'm going to use your question as a prompt for today's blog. Thanks!

July, 22 2010

Echoes of Truth is revised and polished. I'm ready to start querying agents, the next step in seeing this novel published. In the meantime, work on the Condotierre is underway. I'm as excited to start this new book as I am to have finished my last.

September, 2 2008

SAEtter.com version 2.0, the Professional Edition is now live! Feel free to explore the new site and features.

While reading The Fellowship of the Ring at the age of twelve, Stuart A. Etter was told by his teacher that he should be reading shorter books. Undaunted, he finished the trilogy and promptly moved on to other novels ranging from fantasy/sci-fi to historical fiction to horror to thrillers.

Prologue: The Prisoner

Damion rubbed the dull ache of age from his hands. Countless years wielding a sword had strengthened his tendons and muscles, but time had worn them down, replacing power with chronic pain. Closing his eyes, Damion dreamed of his youth. Battle and victory marked most of his memories, but darker images tainted his successes, reminding him of his one great...