Writers' Kit NUTS & BOLTS Words, words, words HOW MANY WORDS? Average no. of words on an A4 manuscript page: 280-330 using a common font, (e.g. Times Roman), 12 pts, double spaced Average no. of words on a paperback novel page = 400 (ranging from 250 in a large-print book to 600 in an academic tome). Minus 15-20% white space = average of 350 words per page Average length of a novel = 300 pages Average number of words in a literary novel = 100,000 (minimum of 60,000) READABILITY Typeface: For readability use serif fonts (the ones with embellishments, e.g. Times New Roman). For an avant-garde or modern look, use sans serif (e.g arial). Font size: An 11/12 point typeface is easiest to read in running text. Fog index: The Fog Index is a measure of clarity in writing – writing with a high fog index will be difficult to comprehend, 50 being unreadable. Clear writing has a fog index of between nine and 12. To calculate: Take an extract of 100 words (exclude proper nouns and count hyphenated words as one word). Fog index = (X+Y) x 0.4 Where X = average number of words per sentence, and Y = words with three or more syllables (except plurals or words in a particular tense – e.g. ‘achieving’). FAQs: > Getting an agent/publisher > Submissions & competitions > Writing groups and Teaching > Setting up in business Nuts & Bolts: > What's it all about?
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