Regarding short story writers and their validity as 'real writers'...

... I can't say as I've encountered people who have had attitudes like that, let alone myself. Some of the best writers, imho, are those who involve themselves in short stories. Stephen King, for example, was a terrible bore in many of his books, but his short story 'Strawberry Spring' made me believe he was brilliant.

But maybe it's because the general populace is only a shoe's throw away from troglydite breeding. We're all knuckle-draggers.