Whit Burnett: I got an eye. I can spot talent coming a mile away. Saroyan, Cheever, Caldwell, I discovered them all. Of course, it would be nice if somebody discovered me.
Jerry Salinger: Hey, come on, you've been published.
Whit Burnett: I not only discovered them, I shaped them, I challenged them.
[Pointing at his flat]
Whit Burnett: This is me.
[On the stairs]
Whit Burnett: You should continue to write about Holden, but not as a short story.
Jerry Salinger: Well, hang on, wait, wait, wait, wait. What do you mean?
Whit Burnett: I think Holden Caulfield is a novel.
Jerry Salinger: No, no, I couldn't write a whole novel. I'm a dash man, not a miler.
Whit Burnett: You only say that because you're lazy. Holden Caulfield deserves an entire book all on his own.
Jerry Salinger: A novel's a lot of words.
Whit Burnett: It's just more words. Imagine the book that you would want to read and then go write it.
