: What counts as a word when dealing with a word limit? I am trying to determine if it will be feasible to revise a manuscript for a journal that has a 6500 word limit. Currently, the manuscript

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First of all, you should check and see if they have any guidelines posted that will help you to be certain that you stay within their listed range. If they don't have anything listed, then you could send them an inquiry to try to find out.

Generally, the word count would not include the title page, if you
have one.
Words used in tables or graphs, including the legends,
would not normnally be included.
If you use abstracts as part of the
body of your material, then they would be included.
Citations, on the other hand, would not.
If the math equations constitute any portion of your overall content, then they would be included.
Section headings should be included.
When you mention numbers, I assume you mean numbers that are used as part of your formulas or equations, in which case they would be included.

If you make use of an appendix or a table of contents, then neither of those would be included in your word count. I would recommend creating a second copy of your document and removing the items that would NOT be included and see what your word processor comes up with for the word count. That would probably put you pretty close to where you need to be.

As far as editors,it just depends. Some may be flexible, especially if the content warrants it. Others, however, set limits as a hard and fast rule and are not willing to concede and additional space at all.

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