Word Count Lessening?

[95jean1801]

As I am continuing to edit my novel, I am starting to notice that the word count is dropping gradually. I'm not sure if this is a good or a bad sign? I started at about 74,000 words and now I'm down to about 66,000 words (so far). Any advice?

[Nathan Bransford]

My feeling about word count is that unless you're writing in a genre where word counts are more fixed/customary, within reason it's way more important to get the story right. So I wouldn't worry if the word count is shrinking in the revision process.