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Personally, I try to keep all the articles
I write (and publish in our Newsletters) under that magic number.
If I let my fingers get away from me, and have exceeded that magic
number, I take a long hard look at the article. Nine times out of
ten, it can either be shortened or made into two articles.
Most modern word processors have a
word count feature. As you are developing your article, if you check
this on a regular basis, you can achieve the desired size without
having to go back and rewrite it.
The second, and equally important "trick"
is to word wrap at 65 characters per line. If you don't, people
may receive your article in a format that is very difficult to read.
Many mail packages default to 65 characters per line, while others
default to a higher number.
If they receive an email that is wrapped
at 80 characters, and they are set for 65, they will get 65 characters
on the first line and 15 on the next. The entire article will be
presented like this - very distracting.
Almost all mail clients (readers) will
display 65 characters per line correctly. There is also less eye
movement required using the shorter line, making it easier to read.
If this is the case, why would anyone consider using a longer line.
If you do not have a sophisticated
word processor, "Word Pad" will serve the purpose. First - set your
margins using "Page Setup" under the "Files" Tab to .25 inches on
the left and 1.5 inches on the right. Select the "Courier New (Western)"
font with a font size of 12. This will give you exactly 65 characters
per line. Other margins and font sizes will work, but be sure you
are getting the correct number of characters per line.
Now, you can estimate your word count.
Figure an average of 9 words per line. There will be short lines
and blank lines between paragraphs. If your article is around 80
lines long or less, you should be in the ballpark. This article,
for example is 56 lines. The actual word count is 506 - close enough?
You may vary a bit on the actual count, but at least you'll have
an idea of the length of the article and be close to that "magic
number".
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