So you’ve written 100,000 words and don’t know what to do with it…

Most wannabe authors I talk to can’t fathom writing enough to be worth a book. I mention a 30,000-word minimum, and it sounds like a lot, but it’s doable.

Then you have the folks who’ve written here and there with the idea that they might someday turn it into a book, and they don’t even know how much they’ve written in total.

I came across one of these people who became a publicity client in 2024. She said she had about a 100,000-word manuscript and wanted to publish a book sometime. I was ready to start editing and getting that baby out there. But it’s not a priority for her right now.

Then you have Sarma Melngailis (for whom I did a very small project) who published her 652-page memoir, The Girl with the Duck Tattoo, in one shot (which was 300,000 words when we initially spoke—and may have changed) instead of splitting it up into a trilogy.

For all those folks with a 100K+ manuscript thinking you’ve written too much, this is for you.

First, it is possible to publish a long book. It’s just not common. We see them in autobiographies and some mainstream fiction romance, thriller, and horror books. You know, the mass market book. But these folks have earned the pages because their books are a guaranteed sale. (Some are saying this format will soon be dead.)

The average length for books for everyone else is now around 50,000 words.

Option 1: Get feedback

I always recommend writers read their work aloud. You’ll fix awkward phrases and sentences and perhaps even find content you know is irrelevant or superfluous. Be ruthless with yourself and keep what’s important. Maybe don’t do this when you’ve just finished your manuscript; take a week or two-week break and then come back to it with a fresh mind.

Also, software and beta readers are your friends. Writing software is getting better and may have features that highlight extraneous content I haven’t tried yet. If you ask your beta readers to help you identify sections or chapters that are superfluous, this may help you cut down the word length.

Option 2: Split up the book

If you want to be a multi-book author, you’re on your way. Split your manuscript into two or three separate books; you’ll likely need to add content to each so that it has some closure but also teases the next book.

There are pros and cons to this option. I always recommend a one-year marketing period for each book, so if you wanted to release them a year apart, that means you’d be marketing the first book while working on getting the second ready for sale. You may also want to stagger the release of the formats. Just know it’s going to be a busy 3 years (even more) of marketing for each book when you do this.

Option 3: Edit down

If you get a book deal and promised a 50K-word book but you over-wrote, it’s gonna get edited down. Maybe not exactly to 50K, but that’s what you promised your publisher.

If you’ve got chapters that got cut, you could use them as bonus content for social media, blogs, and emails. Use it for marketing!

When you self-publish, you have more flexibility with this. It’s up to you what gets cut. Just know if you leave it as a long book, people might not get through it. If they don’t get through it, you might not get as many reviews as you were hoping (just be sure to ask them for reviews!).

Need a ghostwriter, editor, or formatter to help you publish your book so you can get it in the hands of readers? Read more about my services here and contact me if you’re ready to begin!

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