Are you at a point in writing your book where the 100,000-word mark is a distant memory? Is your book so long that Jesus may come before anybody can finish reading it? And maybe you've been writing on your book for years and have no idea what the word count is or how to find out. I think that perhaps now is the time to click the Tools menu in Word, select Word Count, and see where you are.
The standard word count on a typical nonfiction trade book is between 40,000 and 60,000 words. Have you written much more than this? Well, I have been known to take 100,000-word books and cut them down to 60,000 words without affecting the punch, author voice, or quality of information it contains. So let me help you meet your goal of writing a concise, well-developed nonfiction book that will keep your readers' interest and give them just the right amount of content they need to take what you have to offer and build on it themselves for their own lives.
First you will need to carefully review what you have written, chapter by chapter and point by point. Sometimes it helps to outline the book again listing each story, illustration, example, or research supporting your main points. Once you've done this, you need to ask yourself these questions:
Have I offered too much detail in expressing my points?
In other words, is there a point the reader may say, "I go it. Enough already! Geez!"? Sometimes you are saying more than you need to say. Have someone read portions of your manuscript with you for an objective perspective. Then mark places where you can thin those explanations out.
Are there certain points in my book that could do without the additional stories, examples, or personal testimonies?
Sometimes in nonfiction you can get away with telling and not showing--sometimes. I often cut the illustrative stories and just leave the author's points to stand on their own when I am trying to decrease word count.
Have I gone on too many tangents or rabbit trails?
Some ways this can be evident is you catch yourself saying, "...so back to what I was saying..." or "Let's get back to the main point." You went off on a side thought, entertained it too long, and got off course. Cut some of that out. Snip, snip!
Have I said things over and over? Are there places where I am restating things that have already been made clear enough in other places in the manuscript?
This is called redundancy. When you are reading someone else's book, it would cause you to say to them, "You said that already, man!" Make sure you are not beating a dead horse. This can happen very easily when you are passionate about something. Harness you passion, say precisely what you mean to say, and move on.
Do I have too many sources quoted or are the quotes too long?
While sourcing other authorities can help strengthen your credibility on a topic, sometimes there can just be too much from other sources that crowd your original thoughts. If you find yourself at war with meeting a certain word count, look at what you can cut from the secondary sources. Direct quotes are what I go after first here, then I see what studies or set of statistics I can cut that were really only loosely supporting the main point. There are some occasions that this kind of secondary sourcing is crucial, but you may find places in your book where they are not. Cut 'em!
Other things you can do to shorten your book:
- Delete sidebars and other add-ons that are not essential.
- Determine what from the front and back matter can be cut: preface, acknowledgments, epilogue, conclusion, resources pages, appendixes. Information from resource pages and appendixes can be included on your website as reader perks and helps.
- Cut chapter opening quotes
- If you were including questions at the end of each chapter, pull those out and make a digital study guide or workbook that can be a free download for people who join your email list or subscribe to your blog.
What are some other things you can think of to reach an acceptable word count?