Rebel in the Rye

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.