Sorry, got a little sensitive and now I'm not sure why. But I'm fine with having a good discussion.
Here is some more fun perspective:
HARRY POTTERS
Philosopher’s Stone....77,325
Chamber of Secrets.....84,799
Prisoner of Azkaban...106,821
Goblet of Fire........190,858
Order of the Phoenix..257,154
Half Blood Prince.....169,441
Deathly Hallows.......198,227
Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe...36,363
Anna Karenina...349,736
War and Peace...587,287
Gone with the Wind...418,053
The English Patient...82,370
A Prayer for Owen Meany...236,061
Crime and Punishment...211,591
The Brothers Karamazov...364,153
Sense and Sensibility...119,394
Great Expectations...183,349
Ender’s Game...100,609
Moby Dick...206,052
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...30,644
Emma...155,887
The Hours...54,243
The Golden Compass...112,815
The Fellowship of the Ring...177,227
The Two Towers...143,436
The Return of the King...134,462
The Lord of the Rings...455,125
The Tenth Circle...114,779
My Sister’s Keeper...119,529
A Tale of Two Cities...135,420
White Teeth...169,389
Atonement...123,378
The Mouse and the Motorcycle...22,416
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn...109,571
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer...69,066
One Hundred Years of Solitude...144,523
Memoirs of a Geisha...186,418
Snow Falling on Cedars...138,098
Cold Mountain...161,511
Midnight’s Children...208,773
A House for Mr. Biswas...198,901
All the Pretty Horses...99,277
A Suitable Boy...591,554(est.)
(Most of these come from
http://www.renlearn.com/store/quiz_advanced.asp?c=MP+30%3A45%3A9+8002%2F01%2F3. Find a title. Included in the info on the title is the word count.)
And really I don't see length as an indication of dumbing down the reader or the language. Languages are meant to evolve and people are busy. They are going to want to know your worth it before they invest a lot of time in you.
Oh, and just to keep things on topic (kind of) good luck with the editing, Silk! I actually enjoy that more than the initial writing, but then, I have a tendency to overdo it (classic over thinker over here).