Here is my reply to your query:
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Lynn Price
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73-year-old, war-hero-business tycoon-politician and a Midwestern high school girl survive the scrutiny of spotlights, and build a loving father-daughter relationship.
All his life, Scott Damian was imprisoned by the terror of being unable to utter a single word, until he transformed into a highly successful actor and writer. Scott speaks to the heart and soul of a stutterer, and addresses healing, help, and hope for the millions who are similarly afflicted.
Heidi’s horrific accident burned over 53% of her body, claimed both her legs, and killed her best friend. Her year of countless surgeries, surviving, pain management, fighting, and loss is incomplete until she finally faces the driver, and Heidi realizes she has one last hurdle; forgiveness.
Amanda Adams' passionate and riveting story of what it means to be a Heart Mom for her son, Liam, whose 12 surgeries marked the first 8 years of his life.
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My reaction to that is: Can’t you break it up?
I think my link suggests exactly how to break it up.
Question: aren’t there genres in which a higher word count would be considered the norm, or is at least more acceptable? I know you probably don’t represent those genres, so this person had no business querying you, but still, what are the exceptions?
Sure. SF and fantasy come to mind. But any author is pushing the limits when writing something over 150,000 words in those genres. Anytime an author calls his/her book a “fiction novel,” I know I’m not dealing with someone who understands the business. That they wrote 250k words is further proof that the author needs more educating.
I generally argue that for most genres, 80-100k is about right. 100-120k is good for either epic fantasy or epic sci-fi. (YA, of course, can be and often is shorter).