At the Globe and Mail Craig Boyko broaches the delicate subject of size.
I am not writing a novel.
The pressure to do so has been subtle but pervasive. It usually takes the form of the question, “So, are you working on a novel?” (The “yet” is implicit.)
This attitude is understandable coming from a publisher or agent, who after all wants to sell lots of your books (and short stories do not sell well), but it is surprising to hear it from other writers. Even the editor of a periodical that was publishing a story of mine once gushed, “You should write a novel!” It was meant as praise, I think.