Yeah, it seems like only big name authors can get away with novellas and even then they tend to get bound in collections (like Stephen King's - Different Seasons) which is such a shame. I think a lot more published novels would be a lot better at that length.

But, you know, it's not just a problem with written fiction but with all types of commercial story telling. Movies run into this sort of problem too, where you'll be watching a movie and think - goddamn, if they just cut like 30 minutes out of this, it would be fantastic, but now I'm irritated and bored because I'm watching filler. Same thing with TV series (especially with the 22 episode format) where there are a few episodes a season of a really good show where everyone derps around because the writers are padding.