Sweet Spot

If you are a first time author, increase your chances of getting an agent by crafting your book so that it falls into the so-called “sweet spot”. So you ask, “What is this ‘sweet spot’?” For most adult manuscripts, the ideal length is 80,000 to 90,000 words, although some will say 70,000 to 110,000 words are acceptable. Chick lit tends to be shorter, so 70,000 to 75,000 may be fine. Science fiction and fantasy tend to be longer, with word counts up to 120,000 needed in order to create an alternate world.