While publishers do love a nice fat book that can justify a
$30 tag, it is not exactly true that they insist on padding
to increase the word count. Bestselling authors can do pretty
much whatever they want and that includes writing long or
short. Sometimes -- Robert Parker's and Dick Francis's books
come quickly to mind -- the book size is the result of wider
margins and bigger typeface. This is particularly apparent in
the unabridged audio versions of the books, where Parker's
come in at about seven hours while the average thriller
weighs in at twelve or thirteen. Some publishers don't bother
with the subterfuge. The Westlake/Stark series has been
presented in a compact size to compliment the compact writing
style. Elmore Leonard's are comparatively thin. Ditto books
by Larry Block, Lee Childs, Walter Mosley. My point, not that
I always have one, is that I can't think of a case where an
editor told a writer: I love the manuscript, but make it
longer. Usually, it's the writer, too much in love with his
(or her) words to edit or, worse yet, to accept anyone else's
edit, who is responsible for the fat book.
Dick Lochte
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