Word Count is a Horrible Way of Measuring Value
2 Oct 2024
Nicolas Cole argues that word count is a terrible metric for writing quality. What matters is how effectively you communicate to your reader, not how many words you use to say it.
Nicolas Cole argues that word count is a terrible metric for writing quality. What matters is how effectively you communicate to your reader, not how many words you use to say it.
Word count is a horrible way of measuring value. I don't think that it's productive to sit there and go, well, my piece is only 800 words. Should it be longer? Because that's not really what matters. The word count isn't what the reader cares about. What the reader cares about is whether or not you successfully explained the thing that you set out to explain or whether or not you answered the reader's question. If all the piece requires is 700 words, that's what we're going to do. But if the piece requires 1500 words, that's what we're going to do. We're going to do justice to the piece. I don't care what the word count is. I want to make sure that the reader is getting what they need out of the piece. Word count is not the value. The value is whether or not you successfully communicated to the reader. So ignore word count. You can start with it broadly, like if you're picking a format. What's the average article? Well, it's probably within the ballpark of 700 to 1500 words. You can aim for that. But the specific word count is not what matters.
What Every Writer Gets Wrong About Their Audience #writing #creator #writingtips
