Kevin Burton Smith wrote:
> Hmmm... Parker isn't generally considered a long
writer, though his
> publishers like to make it look like he is. Large
print (12, even 14
> pt.), super-wide margins, tons of white space. Some
even have graphic
> logos in their headers. With all those typographical
tricks, I'd bet
> even his 200 pagers are actually far less than that,
really.
It's been said here that publishers seem to want larger
books, that they can get more money for them. I'm not quite
sure of the economics of that. Costs more to print more pages
too, and who knows if profits might be greater through
publishing more, smaller books from the same writers?
Maybe fat books simply sell more copies of each title. Maybe
readers want to extend the experience, or maybe there isn't a
popular market that really likes to read, but buyers are
rewarded with intellectual bragging rights when the one book
a year they purchase has 600 pages while their friends only
book came in at a mere 450. Quality hardly matters when
you're comparing size, does it?
Like others on this list, I teach some creative writing
classes, and I've tried to impart what I think most
instructors would consider the basics of good style: show
don't tell, be direct, concise, develop character, etc. I
can't help but feel, sometimes, that this may be good
writing, but lousy job training, that there are bigger and
more markets for the longer yarns that stuff with fluff and
repeat in pages of exposition. As for developing voice or
individual style, bland is far easier to market to a broad
audience. It's true with macaroni and it's true with
books.
Have we agreed on this list that we prefer a good short book
to a long lousy one? Then we can hardly complain if Parker
has found a way to write short and sell long. Better to have
white space than textual fill. Makes it easier for old eyes
to read, too, which may be another marketing/demographic
consideration.
Kerry
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