Can an article be too long?
By tap0991
@tap0991 (2766)
United States
July 18, 2010 12:09pm CST
I wrote an article the other day and posted it on Extreme Surf Forums to try and get some feedback from them. I come back today and see they are complaining its too long. I went to look at my article and on my screen its like not even a full scroll to the bottom of the screen. I think all the length is caused by the ads, comments, and all the other items in and around my article. When I wrote this I thought it was a good size article and all I wanted was some feedback from some people but I guess all they could get from it was its too long, bet that has to do with all their short posts over there and the fact that the ones who answered were not interested in my article because it was not a topic they understood.
I would post the article so you can see it but think that might get categorized as advertising even if I was posting it as reference on this one.
My question is can an article be too long? Also have to ask would a shorter article draw more people to an article?
1 person likes this
7 responses
@Elixiress (3878)
•
18 Jul 10
Yes, an article can be too long. I write reviews for money and when I am reading and rating other peoples for them to earn more money too ... I can get bored and give a lower rating and sometimes this has to do with the length.
If the article is all relevant information then length is not so much of a problem, but I have found that when people right more, they start to "pad" (explain things that don't really need explaining like this) or they start to go off topic and loose my interest / make the reader think it is an inferior article. Finally and most commonly, I find a lot of repetition with the same point being mentioned again and again but worded slightly differently.
Finally, it depends on your audience. If I am looking for a quick overview of a topic then I won't want to read a really long article because I would get more information than I need/want. However, if I am really interested in a topic and want to know everything there is to know then I would choose a longer article as I feel a short article might be a little vague.
@Elixiress (3878)
•
19 Jul 10
I am talking about readbud, nor have I actually heard about the website readbug. I was talking about a legit website that myself and friends have received payment from.
If someone asked me directly for an opinion then I would read it and give feedback, in that feedback I would probably say that it was too long and what bits could be cut out / made briefer.
However, if it was posted on a forum then I would probably get bored and read something else.
@Jaluke (676)
• United States
18 Jul 10
Whether an article is too long depends on a number of things. One: Depending on where it's being posted, it might have to fit within a certain length...particularly if it were to be a magazine article. Also, it depends on whether or not enough information is covered. An article can often be considered too long if it goes on for longer than necessary when it could actually deliver the information you are trying to get across in a shorter span. Additionally, if the style of writing isn't overly appealing, an article could just seem like a long read because people aren't engaged with it.
Now, there's also the extremely common fact of people just being too lazy to read stuff as well, but that just has to do more with the readers rather than the writing.
@tap0991 (2766)
• United States
18 Jul 10
well it was an online article and from readers that I know actually read it and understood they seem to like it. I tried not to write too much information but I did present a good amount. I dont think it goes on longer than it should because I wrote it and I went to read it and actually was learning from it haha.
Ill message you the article so you can decide.
@barehugs (8973)
• Canada
18 Jul 10
The trick here, (as I see it) to get the best and most responses, is to be short and concise! Most Posts can be shortened to two paragraphs or less. As far as I am concerned, I don't even bother reading a long, wordy, and poorly written Post. I just move on to something shorter, and sweeter. Next time your post exceeds 2 paragraphs, edit it before you Post. I'll bet you can make it shorter, more to the point, and that you will get more responses to it, than you would have otherwise!
@SydneyHazelton (4586)
• Singapore
19 Jul 10
Hi tap,
You did not mention the number of words for your article. Recently, I wrote about how long should an online article be. Generally, I did find a general guideline. My guideline is that an online article should be between 500 and 800 words.
There is no specific hard-and-fast rule on this. The above is just a general guideline. If you are keen to know more, refer to this article link
http://writinghood.com/writing/how-long-should-an-online-article-be/
@ANIME123 (2466)
• United States
19 Jul 10
I guess articles can be to long, but hey I dont mind long articles because it has more information and that's way better.
Who knows maybe it is the website maybe they have a limit on how long it should be you know .
@webmasterzein (321)
• India
19 Jul 10
An article can be long only if the topic requires it to be, else people are going to loose their interest in reading.
" Brevity is the Soul of Wit "
