TheDarkFrontier
Dreamer
Usually first drafts are longer and then the edits cut stuff out, but I think in some cases its actually the author's decision to cut something out that is final. If they think its necessary for the story then it stays in. Sometimes it can be the other way around, the editor may say something like; "Oh, I like that bit, I think you could expand on that, make it more descriptive". So it can be the other way too. Editing is a two way process, the same as most things. As an example, in my media class in my college, once we'd come up with a plan and a storyboard for a music video, our tutors suggested adding some shots, as opposed to removing, to improve the final product.
