On the eve of Memorial Day Weekend, I find myself busily preparing for my teaching gig at the Philadelphia Writers’ Conference (here), in between packing my son for an overseas trip, and packing for this long weekend away. Phew! No wonder I feel scattered, though I really do want to post. In all my busywork, I miss the blog community.
First of all, I want to belatedly thank the gracious C. Lee McKenzie for giving me a Stylish Blog Award! Go take a peek at her awesome TheWriteGame here and check out her interview on CBS Bay Sunday!
Secondly, as I put a final polish my longish 96K manuscript draft, and try to cut extraneous words, I can report that there is no such thing as exact word count! My draft in Garamond comes out to a different count than in Courier, than in Times New Roman. In doing subsequent research online, I discovered that many authors have this experience, and their counts vary as much as 10,000 words! Just a heads up for anyone freaking over his or her word count. Have you experienced this discrepancy? Which font provides the most accurate count?
Today, in preparing for the hot weather, I planted my portulacas and fed my climbing yellow roses and my hubby's okra seedlings. I've got a rocking chair and a table with an umbrella. An inner-city deck sure takes the edge off of the big city.
So, I wish you all a fun and restful holiday weekend. Anyone traveling to an exciting location? Sneaking in some work time? Throwing a party? Heading to the beach before the crowds set in? How do you take the edge off? Dish here!
That is so interesting that your word count comes out differently depending on the font you're using. Huh?? I'll have to check this out. Word count is so frustrating. :)
ReplyDeleteI've become a word count junkie! I hope something comes from this addiction.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a wonderful teaching experience at the writers' conference. Will look forward to hearing about what happens.
Thanks for the link that is always such a kind gesture for bloggers to take the time to do.
What? Word count is different in each font? I knew the amount of words per page was different but how can overall word count be different?
ReplyDeleteYeah, that was my reaction! I thought I was so tired that my eyes were playing tricks on me, but no...
ReplyDeleteCatherine, I think that's why Times New Roman is still the standard in publishing. The strange part is, you end up with about 300 words per page when the standard is still considered 250..... It's all a dream anyway on a certain level, isn't it? Happy weekend! Stacey Donovan
ReplyDeleteThanks for that, Stacey. On one site last night, though, I read that Courier was thought to be most accurate. The kind of confusion that makes you want to scream, right?
ReplyDeleteIf you write haiku, you could change a poem to a different font and end up with no words per hour. Kind of Zen...
ReplyDeleteHey good luck on that word cut! I'm trying to do the same right now. Spent the weekend at the beach and saw some of the best FLA sunsets ever. Such a wonderful weekend! Hope yours is just as good!
ReplyDeleteAh, the beach, nice! I'm out in Indiana, soaking in the Hoosier spirit and swimming.
ReplyDeleteHey Catherine...I'm in Canada so our long weekend was last weekend. But. LOL on the sneak in some work. Yep on that one. Enjoy the rest of your week!
ReplyDeleteComing late to the post, but happy I found your blog over at SHEWRITES. Enjoyed a quiet weekend writing at home. Still recovering from the epic first hike of the season.
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