What is the difference between the major & the minor prophets?

The Old Testament contains 17 so-called prophetic books—five considered “major” prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations [written by Jeremiah], Ezekiel, Daniel) and twelve considered “minor” prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi). Those first five books are considered “major” not because they are more important but because the books of the major prophets are lengthier and make a similarly larger impact on both Old Testament history and theology. All the prophets have one thing in common: They stood alongside priests as representatives of God on earth, communicating messages directly from God to the people of Israel. As such, none of them would have ever won any popularity contests, because God’s messages often ran contrary to the rebellious nature and desires of the people, as the prophets were God’s attempts to halt His people’s descent into sin and the wrath that was promised to follow. Whatever the content of their message, as Peter said of all of God’s prophets, [P]rophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit—II Peter 1:21.