The Blind Leading the Blind, Take Two:
It is common wisdom among writers that what editors really want is doorstop manuscripts. Before you commit doorstop, pause. Colleen, the Associate Director of Publicity at Del Rey, shines the light of her experience on the subject:
I think you guys have the misperception that editors ask writers to write big blocky books. I know that, at least here at Del Rey, we try to discourage it. They’re difficult to edit in a timely manner, they are hard to get reviewers to look at, they cause the price point to go up because of the cost of the paper involved and frankly, stores buy fewer of them because half as many fit in the shelf. That being said, nearly all of our authors seem to think it necessary to write enormous doorstoppers. … I think there are two culprits: one:) some authors just seem to fall in love with the sound of their own voice, and Two:) a lack of writing discipline thats something learned early on as a writer.One reason I appreciate working with folks like Stephen Baxter [with the exception of that gigantor novel EVOLUTION] , Terry Brooks, David Gemmel, and Anne McCaffrey is that they are very disciplined writers, have been at this for a very long time and know how to tell a story fast.
You may not like their kind of writing, but the sheer ability to write and tell a fun story with brevity is impressive.
I think some authors think that it’ll be taken more seriously, ie, as “big idea” writing if it’s long. Terry Brooks knows that he is writing basically for a young adult audience, who want a fast-paced adventure story, so that’s what he delivers every time.
Some writers work well at this length; some readers enjoy the extended immersion. But its not for every reader and don’t assume that it’s a requirement for every writer.
These comments first appeared on the discussion boards at s1ngularity::criticism and are reproduced here by the kind permission of their author.