I'm only very conscious of word counts because I write fiction and the length matters in fiction. When I post a story for my blog, I try to keep it under 1,000 words which I guess it's a number I'm comfortable with but don't ask me why that is. But most of my stories are on the long side, over 800 words. I try to cut them down but I always seems to end up with a longer piece. If a story is rather long, I try to post it in parts (as in breaking them into three or four posts as oppose to just one long post). And if don't want to break it up into more than one posts, I would put in breaks lines or break the story up so it wouldn't just be one long block of text.
With all that, my posts are still on the long side. I don't expect people to read every word. It's okay if you want to skim a long post. I do it too but most of the times it's because I have no interest in certain things. It's normal to skim the parts you're not interested in right?
What about you? If you're a blogger, do word counts matter? If you're a reader, do you mind long post or does it make a difference to you the length of a post?
Note: This post is 299 words without counting the post title or this notice.
It depends on the subject. I will happily read some long posts in their entireity. Others not so much. I try and keep my word count down but often post toooo many photos.
ReplyDeleteElephant's Child: I like long posts too and long posts with photos are more fun I think.
DeleteThank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.
I never counted my words (only for challenges) but I try to keep my own posts at a reasonable length. But I love reading long posts ;)
ReplyDelete... that is unless I do not like the subject, then even 10 words can be too much ;)
DeleteCharlotte: I guess it really depends on the subject then. But you're right, if it's not something you're not interested in reading, the length didn't matter.
DeleteThank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.
Hi Lissa,
ReplyDeleteI think if a person is interested they will read a post.... maybe even pages long. But from my experience people barely read, so I keep it super short. As in a few sentences. But I am not a short story writer. I think it is about finding your audience and what they are willing to or wanting to read. I would think we can tell by the comments that are left for us.
I also find fewer photos is better too. Attention spans seem to be getting shorter.
Tammie Lee: Yes, I think with social media, our attention span is getting way too short.
DeleteThank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.
I don't think you have to count your words, it is your blog to post what you like long or short.
ReplyDeleteChristine: You are right. I can make my post whatever length I want but if I want people to read it, I guess it would be better to keep it as short as possible.
DeleteThank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.
I've never even considered word counts. And I don't think about word counts on blogs I visit either. I only think about the content, and if I'm interested in it or not. However, now that you've brought it up, I'll be thinking about it now!
ReplyDeleteWendyW: I guess only people who write novels and short stories have to worry about length. You're right, content matters more than word count.
DeleteThank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.
Interesting. I do try to keep posts fairly short, more or less. And I do ski occasionally but not often. If someone posts something hugeeee I might. Or if I already know I want to read a book and the review is long- I like to just get their gist on it but maybe not every detail. Anywho- I do have a certain length I go for in my stories too, but it's like winging it kinda :)
ReplyDeleteGreg: I guess it depends on what you're interested in reading. I occasionally skim through long posts just because I have no patience for it. Is length a reason why you only have one or two posts at a time at your blog? I sometimes notice there is only one post at the front end of your blog and the other times, there are two and then when go to older posts, it lists one post at a time. I often find that a bit odd but not a bad thing.
DeleteI do notice your stories are particularly shorter than mine but they do seem almost the same length each time.
Thank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.
I don't love reading super long blog posts, and I certainly don't like writing them. My posts are always short...maybe sometimes even too short. But that's how I roll. ;)
ReplyDeleteLark: I've noticed your posts are particularly short, that is, when compare to mine and others but I like that. I also liked your haiku reviews a lot as they are epitome of conciseness.
DeleteThank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.
I tend to write a lot...can't help it. I guess most people skim those posts, but that's how I'm wired!
ReplyDeleteRoberta: I'm wired that same way. But it's okay if people don't want to read long posts since they get a different audience, I think.
DeleteThank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.
I often worry that my blog posts and reviews are too long. I'm just wordy, I can't help it! Lol. I try to keep them as short as possible, but I also don't want to entirely sacrifice my voice, and sometimes there's just a lot to say. At this point, I figure there's all kinds of people in the world, and some will skip my posts because they're too long (which I understand), but some people will like them!
ReplyDeleteKit @ Metaphors and Moonlight: I think the same thing. I often try to make my posts short but it always ends up long. I'm sure there are people do skip long posts and that's okay because there also people who reads long posts so it's not bad to have long posts.
DeleteThank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.
I think word count really depends though I think I tend to be on the shorter side on average at least for reviews. There are times when I definitely go over 1K words (or once even 2K), but that's super rare for me to do and I usually have a lot to say about the book. Just cutting it short doesn't work. For those I make sure I break it up either with headings or occasional photos/gifs when appropriate.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I don't usually expect people to read it entirely, although if I'm interested I'll usually read it in its entirety.
Sophia @ Bookwyrming Thoughts: I know what you mean. I try to keep it short when I write reviews but sometimes you really do need to say more.
DeletePeople will read what they want to read and that's totally fine.
Thank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.