Excuse me if I quote my own tweet:
Let's start using number of words, instead of number of pages, to say how long a contract is. Reading 1,500 words won't go any faster because it's on 3 pages instead of 4. In fact, it might take longer, if you use gimmicks like shrinking the font to fit it on one fewer pages.
— Ken Adams (@AdamsDrafting) July 28, 2021
Besides shrinking the font, you could use columns. (Two! Three!) Or you could reduce the margins. Or for greatest effect, you could deploy all three gimmicks, all to the detriment of the reader.
Another factor that’s irrelevant is saving trees by reducing the number of pages to be printed. We don’t print contracts like we used to, presumably because better hardware means it’s easier to read screens, and because esigning means we don’t need hard copies to sign.
So I encourage you to join me in counting words, not pages.
