Word Length

“How long is the article supposed to be?” Janet asked. “650 words? 700?”

It was a sunny Wednesday afternoon, and Janet (a freelancer writer working on an article for a publication I edit) and I were standing in the middle of a quiet street in Northeast Portland.

Behind me, bearded blue iris bloomed in the front yard of the house we’d just left, where Janet had interviewed the homeowner, a local artist, while I took a few photos. We were outside now and returning to our cars.

“I trust your judgment,” I said, while brushing orange cat hairs off my shirt (hairs shed by the artist’s friendly 15-pound English tabby named Eddie).

Before driving off, Janet told me what a journalism professor once told her about how long an article should be:

“Long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to be of interest.”