Word count

I need some advice from any writers out there.

My current murder mystery, AN UNTIDY AFFAIR, clocks in at just under 72,000 words. Is that too short? Do I need to bump it up, somehow, to more than 75,000 words, with a target of 80,000 to 85,000.

As a journalist, I have always believed that you should write the story until it's complete. It is better, and easier, to cut it down, than to try to pad it.

The novel is the length that it is because that is the length of the story. I'm not sure what to add in order to increase the length. I see the story as complete at just over 71,500 words.

Send me a comment below or send me an e-mail with your thoughts please. Thanks.

And thanks, as always, for reading.