Should novels generally be 600 pages? No, they should not. Half of writing, maybe 3/4 of writing, is editing. This seems to be a thing that has not gotten through to them. It's my impression that you could get rid of half of most of these books. These people are not good enough to be this long, but they're apparently also not good enough to be shorter.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Many books are too long because authors lack the skill to edit them down. Good writing requires cutting, not just adding pages.
- In plain terms
- Books are often too long because writers can't edit well.
- What can you take from it?
- Good writing means cutting out the fluff.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Why do so many authors struggle to edit their work?
Another view
Many books are padded because writers can't edit effectively.
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