Minimum Word Count Before A Post Can Be Made Pending Review

by

Those transition post hooks run after the post is saved. You will have to interrupt the process earlier. I would hook to wp_insert_post_data.

function minWord($data){
  if (current_user_can('contributor')) {
    $num = 150; //set this to the minimum number of words
    if (str_word_count($data['post_content']) <  $num) {
      $data['post_status'] = 'draft';
    }
  }
  return $data;
}
add_action('wp_insert_post_data','minWord');

Seems to work when I test it. Following your code, this only effects the “Contributor” role. It does not interrupt status changes for other roles.

Leave a Comment