Non-fiction writing is broken.

The aim of most non-fiction is not to recount facts or tell a story but to convince. The average work on economic theory, or international relations, or the environmental crisis, does not need to be 300 pages long. Authors typically spend reams of text fastidiously laying out a cornucopia of evidence in support of a handful of arguments, when most readers would be content with just a sample – after all, they have already expressed confidence in the author by buying his book. Asking readers to wade through hundreds of pages in order to prove a few points is like making software users read source code.

Here’s a solution. Non-fiction content should, like reference works, come in a selection of formats. For example, Thomas Piketty’s doorstop Capital in the 21st Century could be be published in parallel as a long-form article and even a video, for example. Experts could continue to slog through the original, just as programmers examine source code. But newcomers and other laypeople would have other options. More people would be reached and convinced.

Of course, back in the real world there is a problem. The model for financing short-form content has been broken by the internet. Authors publish overweight books for a reason. But that problem is for another day.