Stephen King and why sermons go long

Bob FranquizChurch

Stephen king says that when he was first writing, his editor would tell him, “The second draft is the first draft minus 10%.”

I have found this to be true as well.

– When I wrote Zero to Sixty, it was 55,000 words. After the editing process, it was 50,000 words 🙂

– I have to ruthlessly cut my message back by at least 10% to keep them within my allotted timeframe.

– When I do copywriting projects, a 4 page sales letter becomes a 3 1/2 page sales letter after the second draft.

Here’s the point: when you cut, you rarely lose the essence of what you’re saying. Instead, you’re simply reducing it down like a stew. 

It’s like that quote by Winston Churchill, “Give me a week to prepare and I’ll speak for an hour. Give me an hour to prepare and I’ll speak f or a week.”

Editing is the hardest thing to do because it feels like cutting off one of your toes. But it is absolutely necessary is we want to communicate with excellence.