[1] Modern web browsers support word counting via extensions, via a JavaScript bookmarklet, or a script that is hosted in a website.
Unix-like systems include a program, wc, specifically for word counting.
Different word counting programs may give varying results, depending on the text segmentation rule details.
There are no firm rules: for example, the boundary between a novella and a novel is arbitrary and a literary work may be difficult to categorise.
[7] The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America specifies word lengths for each category of its Nebula Award categories:[8] The acceptable length of an academic dissertation varies greatly, dependent predominantly on the subject.