Word Count Explained

In the writers guidelines distributed by publishers they often request a specific word count for the work you send in to them.

If you’re submitting a book the difference between the minimum and maximum maybe 20,000 words which allows a wide leeway. However in the case of an article or short story which usually has to fit within a magazine template, the leeway may be down to only 50 words. This requires not only more exact writing but also precise counting.

Thankfully most word processing software have an option for this kind of counting. Gone are the days of manually counting each word.

I hate to think of how many hours I used to spend counting the amount of words in three lines, dividing it by three then multiplying it by the amount of lines I had typed. There are so many more fun things to do with writing than trying to calculate word usage.


How?
To use the Microsoft Word word count option:
• Highlight the words to be counted. (If you’re unsure how to do this it’s all explained in the article on line spacing on this site.)
• Click on the TOOLS drop-down menu at the top of your window.
• Select ‘Word count’. In the window that appears you will find a list of statistics about the piece of work you are currently working on, this includes an exact length.

It’s also possible to put the word count icon on the toolbar at the top of your window. A great idea if needing a regular tally of words is necessary.

How to add an icon to your toolbar.
• Click on the TOOLS drop down menu.
• Click on ‘Customise’.
• In the window that appears there are two columns, click on TOOLS in the left one.
• In the column on the right, scroll down until you find the appropriate icon.
• Click on it with your mouse button, and with your finger still down drag the icon to the top of your MS Word window, next to the other icons on your screen. Make sure that when you take your finger off the mouse button that the cursor is within the toolbar frame. If you let go whilst you outside the toolbar the icon will return to the CUSTOMIZE window.


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