A Man of Few Words

A rite of passage that all writers eventually experience

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Last year I wrote a 360-page book that attracted the attention of one of the world’s most celebrated literary agents. He was so moved by my writing that he immediately took me on as a client and, one week later, sold my book to one of New York’s leading publishing houses.

My editor there absolutely loved the book, but felt that I had “gone on too long” in several places and requested that I tighten up the writing before publication, which, I am pleased to say, I did without much complaint, leaving me with a much leaner and meaner 272-page manuscript.

The publisher’s focus group, however, a vital part of the editorial process, noted that one of the chapters — the longest one — seemed better suited for the sequel — an observation, I thought, that was actually quite astute and also inspiring, as I had not, until that time, thought my book was good enough to merit a sequel.

So I got to work, excised the too-long chapter, tweaked a few segues and, in just a matter of days, was the proud papa of a still-very-commanding 189-page tome, “destined”, my publisher declared, for the New York Times Best Seller List.

My publicist, an industry heavyweight since 1973 and an upstanding member of the American Academy of Arts and…