What does Abridged vs. Unabridged Really Mean?
– 21 Oct 2001 I occasionally get mail from people asking me exactly what the difference is between the “Abridged” audiotape versions of my books (produced and marketed by Bantam Audio) and the “Unabridged” versions (produced and marketed by Recorded Books, Inc. People also write to ask me which version I personally prefer. Well, the difference is just about 80% of the book, that’s what. And that little fact should answer the second question, nicely. “Abridged” means “they took stuff out.” In this case, the producers took out enough stuff that they could cram the shredded remains into the 6-9 hours they consider “commercial” (i.e., what they think the average person has sufficient patience or intelligence to listen to). “Unabridged” means “they didn’t take stuff out–what you hear on the tape is exactly what I wrote in the book.” Consequently, the unabridged versions of the Outlander novels range from approximately 33 hours (for Outlander) to approximately 45 hours (for The Fiery Cross,
