# Novel Word Count Planner

Use this worksheet to choose a provisional length, track chapters, and decide what
to revise. Copy it into any text editor. The figures in the worked example are
invented planning numbers, not publishing requirements or fixed chapter lengths.

Companion guide:
https://www.geekart.ai/en/blog/how-many-words-in-a-novel

## 1. Define the project

- Working title:
- Genre or subgenre:
- Intended readers:
- Publishing route or specific destination:
- Relevant agent, publisher, or editorial guidance URL:
- Date checked:
- Source's stated range or requirement:
- My provisional target:
- Reason this target fits the story:
- Current draft word count:
- Next review point:

Use English word counts for the reference ranges in the companion guide. Read the
actual requirements of your intended destination. Award length classifications,
editorial advice, and a publishing line's submission requirements have different
purposes.

## 2. Plan and record chapters

Duplicate rows as needed. A target is an estimate; actual length comes from your
saved draft. Add the actual counts of all included chapters to calculate the total.
Do not add the average or a subtotal to the chapter rows a second time.

| Chapter or scene | Target / actual words | What changes; next revision |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Opening | ___ / ___ | ___ |
| First complication | ___ / ___ | ___ |
| Next decision | ___ / ___ | ___ |
| ___ | ___ / ___ | ___ |
| ___ | ___ / ___ | ___ |

- Planned total:
- Actual total:
- Chapters included in the total:
- Date counted:
- Difference from provisional target:
- One story question raised by the difference:

## 3. Worked planning example

Project: an invented adult mystery about Iris and a disputed flood report.

Provisional target: 90,000 words across 30 chapters.
Planning average: 90,000 / 30 = 3,000 words per chapter.

| Chapter | Provisional words | Change by the end |
| --- | ---: | --- |
| 1 | 2,500 | Iris finds a receipt that conflicts with the repair timeline. |
| 2 | 3,200 | Her brother's explanation raises a question she cannot ask him directly. |
| 3 | 2,800 | She obtains the report and leaves a record of her interest. |
| 4 | 3,500 | A witness challenges her interpretation of the inspection date. |
| 5 | 3,000 | She chooses to pursue the discrepancy despite the family cost. |
| First five chapters | 15,000 | The investigation has a direction and a personal cost. |

Remaining plan: 90,000 - 15,000 = 75,000 words across 25 chapters.
Remaining average: 75,000 / 25 = 3,000 words.

If a chapter finishes its work at a different length, revise the plan. Do not add
material just to make each chapter reach the average.

## 4. Review a draft that runs long

- Which scenes give the reader the same information?
- What new decision, cost, discovery, or consequence does each scene add?
- Can necessary information move into a scene that already changes the story?
- Which subplot affects no later choice or outcome?
- Which explanation repeats something an action or line of dialogue makes clear?
- What context would the reader lose if I made this cut?

Proposed change:
Story work to preserve:
Estimated words before / after:
Actual words before / after:
Continuity checks needed after the change:

## 5. Review a draft that feels thin

- Where does a result arrive without showing the character's attempt?
- What makes that attempt difficult or costly?
- Which choice is currently summarized but needs to be experienced?
- What consequence should affect a later scene?
- Is a transition deliberately brief, or does the reader lack a necessary link?
- Does the story fit a shorter form better than the initial plan?

Passage to examine:
Attempt:
Resistance:
Choice:
Consequence:
What to add, and why the reader needs it:

## 6. Record one revision

- Passage or chapter:
- Reason for the revision:
- Change made:
- Current count after saving:
- Does the scene still make sense in context?
- What did reading it aloud reveal?
- Keep, adjust, or undo:
- Next step:

In GeekArt, the bottom status bar shows the current document's count. If each
chapter is a separate document, record those counts and add them yourself. Save
after revising. When checking revised text with Read Aloud, stop the old reading
and start a new one to hear the updated text.