Make your word(s) count.

What do you do when your story is significantly longer that the word count limit, or in rarer cases, when you can’t write enough to make the minimum word count? You call in a word countess to give an objective assessment of what to leave out, what to leave to interpretation, and how to layer the purposes of the remaining prose to meet your word count.

Do you need a word countess?

Hiring a word countess is a great option when you’ve cut everything you can without losing the meaning of the story. Or when you don’t know how to increase the story’s complexity enough to justify more words.

What does a word countess do?

Equipped with your answers to a barrage of questions about your vision for the piece, I examine the following elements of the story, looking for ways to condense and focus or complexify and expand the text.

Development. Plotlines, plot events, character arcs, POV, choice of setting, and world-building techniques.
Structure. Form, genre, story and scene structure, timeline, and pacing techniques.
Style. Choice and use of narrative modes, layering techniques, and methods of expressing tone, mood, theme, voice, and style.
Copy. Sentence mechanics and structures, word choice, and use of punctuation.

What do you get?

Editorial report. A summary of my findings outlining options for reducing or increasing your word count followed by guidance on how to integrate feedback.
Markup. Comments in the margins of the manuscript detailing specific examples of my suggestions.
Discounted coaching calls to work through revisions together.