I’m not sure how I missed this word count post by Jennifer Laughran, what with me pouncing on her blog like a cat on a clueless mouse. But there you have it, I did. Maybe you did, too.

So here’s what I love about her discussion of word counts:

1. She includes books in each category, books that are mostly classics and make me say, “Wow. I have not read that yet. Perhaps I should.”

2. She gives word count ranges. Ranges give me breathing room. Ahhhhh….

3. And then, just in case I was still freaking out, she shared this super bit of advice…

 “Remember, this list is by no means exhaustive and should not be considered law. Don’t get too freaked out about it… just find the average word count for books similar to your own, and try to be somewhere vaguely in the ballpark. “

And before I could pull my hair out and scream, “What? How do I find these golden word counts?”, she took my freaked-out hand and directed me to the AR Bookfinder to click upon. Which I think was really swell of her and why when I dream of really swell agents, I dream of Jennifer Laughran.