Hello there. I just have a question about word counts. I sent a query to a literary agent who told me to increase my word count and send it back to them. They didn't give me an exact number for how many words I should have. I wrote a YA fantasy novel and it was originally at 66,000 words, and today I just hit 80,000. I'm planning to keep adding to it and eventually reach 90,000. Does that seem reasonable for a YA fantasy book? I looked up some articles and it seems like most books in the genre are between 90-110 thousand, but then there are also books like The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe which has like 36,000, and I'm just trying to figure out where I should be before I resend my novel to the agent.
80k is the standard for new writers. Even Rowling with Harry Potter book 1 kept it to 77k. Not saying you can't blow past that and get away with it, but shooting for 80k will keep you safe.
Thanks! This is really helpful. I didn't realize there was a difference between what is expected of new writers and individuals who have already published.
This article on Career authors should help you. The list expected word counts by genre. https://careerauthors.com/genre-book-length/
