Set the variable result, from query

The following select statement should allow you to save the result from count(*).

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM mytable INTO some_var;

There are multiple ways to do this.

You can use a sub query:

SET @some_var = (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM mytable);

(like your original, just add parenthesis around the query)

or use the SELECT INTO syntax to assign multiple values:

SELECT COUNT(*), MAX(col)
INTO   @some_var, @some_other_var
FROM   tab;

The sub query syntax is slightly faster (I don't know why) but only works to assign a single value. The select into syntax allows you to set multiple values at once, so if you need to grab multiple values from the query you should do that rather than execute the query again and again for each variable.

Finally, if your query returns not a single row but a result set, you can use a cursor.