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This article is from the rec.arts.sf.composition FAQ, by Geoffrey Wiseman loki@mgl.ca with numerous contributions by others.

3.6 How do I specify the word count on my manuscript? (Science Fiction Composition)

Your word processor very likely can give you the 'exact' word
count of your docment; besides the fact that different word
processors will give you different results, you should know that
editors don't want to know how many 'words' you have, but want
to estimate the amount of space that would be required by your
text.

Given the above, the word count should be given in an estimated
form, rather than the exact form. The editors don't want to
see the exact number, it makes a very small amount of extra work
for them, and it marks the writer as an amateur. A common
practice is to round off short story counts to the nearest
hundred, and novels to the nearest thousand.

 

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