The word "like" in this context, is an invitation to Betteridge's law of headlines, except its like (sorry) "Betteridge's law of simile"
It invites you to step beyond the 4th wall, go meta and ask yourself "but IS IT" and usually, the answer is ..
Brown, and Rowling both got to an income level where the file notes in the publisher said: "their literary agent knows we think it's too long, but the contract says we can't tell them that, and in any case it's profitable. don't worry"
If you want a contrast, read Len Deighton's self-reflections in re-issues of his book. He really loved critique. It hurt, but it helped. He also liked being plugged into the tech scene enough to get offered early sight of some of the first word processing systems, and talks about the impact they had on his writing. I happen to like both what he writes, and how he writes. Sometimes, I find myself reading authors where I'm reading in spite of how the words resonate off the page.
It invites you to step beyond the 4th wall, go meta and ask yourself "but IS IT" and usually, the answer is ..
Brown, and Rowling both got to an income level where the file notes in the publisher said: "their literary agent knows we think it's too long, but the contract says we can't tell them that, and in any case it's profitable. don't worry"
If you want a contrast, read Len Deighton's self-reflections in re-issues of his book. He really loved critique. It hurt, but it helped. He also liked being plugged into the tech scene enough to get offered early sight of some of the first word processing systems, and talks about the impact they had on his writing. I happen to like both what he writes, and how he writes. Sometimes, I find myself reading authors where I'm reading in spite of how the words resonate off the page.