I know that there is a difference between actual word count and "manuscript" word count, and I know that there is a method for figuring out how many words one is submitting based on that a measurement of a sample page from that manuscript.

I assume that this varies from author to author and even book to book depending on style. For example 100 pages of a more recent OSC "Alvin Maker" book would, because of the way dialogue is handled (lots of short sentences), would show a different word count than 100 pages of, say, "Speaker For the Dead."

That being said, has anyone ever figured out an average number of pages for authors to shoot for; that is, if I'd like to write a story with a 100,000 manuscript-word count, approximately how many double-spaced pages can I expect, just as a rough guideline?

-- Courier, font size 12
-- Double spaced
-- One-inch margins

This yeilds about 250 words per page.

The actual word count doesn't matter. Why? Because a page of dialogue and complete page of prose takes up the same amount of space: one page. That's what editors are looking for in a word count -- not how many words there are, but, rather, how much space it will take up.

By the way, a 100,000-word novel is about 280 pages in trade paperback form.