Too Many Words

Every once in a while, I get feedback from others with respect to this blog and its content or its writing.  For the most part, I appreciate that feedback.  Even if it is a comment that is - for lack of better words - feels misinformed or misplaced, I can still learn from it by considering where it is coming from and what might have motivated the feedback in the first place.

For example, I received a comment in regard to a Postal History Sunday I shared a few months ago.  Essentially, they suggested that the blog was too long - but they liked it.  At least they offered a solution.  They suggested I start by writing a summary that outlined everything at the top.

My first uncharitable thought was, "Yep, add more words because the blog is too long.  That makes sense."

But, let me be fair here.  I've heard something like this before.  A couple years ago there was a blog post that got far more attention than most of mine get.  A person I did not know commented that it was a very thoughtful and worthwhile read but.... it was really long.  Almost as if that overshadowed all else.

When I write for PAN, we try to keep entries in the 600 to 900 word range.  Periodically, we'll let one get longer or we'll split something into multiple parts.  You see, research regarding people's online tendencies tells us if something is longer than that, they will lose patience - or simply just not start to read in the first place.

It is at this point that I could start to tell you how upsetting it is that people can't manage to read more than a page worth of material.  It is here that I can tell you how frustrated I am that when I start to read things online I am frustrated by the lack of detail and information.  I find so many articles I try to read stop before they even start.

Because they are afraid of having too many words.

Instead, I need to remember.  Some people don't read as fast as I do.  Some people don't feel like they can allow themselves the time and concentration to read much more than a few hundred words at a time before they must move on to something else.  Many people want me to get to the point as soon as possible so they can see the conclusion and move on.

I get that.

I also get that there is a time and a place to be brief.  There is also a time and a place to have too many words.  The trick is figuring out how many is the right number for a given moment and a given subject.  Today, 469 words is about right.