100 Quotes About Publishing

When it comes to publishing, there are many aspects to consider when creating a book, including the content of the book, the design of the cover, and marketing. But you’ll have trouble finding a guide on how to publish a children’s book. Well, this guide will help you with that! Learn about what it takes to get a children’s book published and find out all the steps from writing to marketing. Websites:

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If you have a dream, don’t just sit there. Gather courage to believe that you can succeed and leave no stone unturned to make it a reality. Roopleen
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It was only after two years' work that it occurred to me that I was a writer. I had no particular expectation that the novel would ever be published, because it was sort of a mess. It was only when I found myself writing things I didn't realise I knew that I said, 'I'm a writer now.' The novel had become an incentive to deeper thinking. That's really what writing is–an intense form of thought. Don DeLillo
If you write in the Old World, and against it,...
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If you write in the Old World, and against it, your work must die, go missing, be veiled, before it can live the life for which it was destined in the New World. Patrick NowellSmith
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I ran across an excerpt today (in English translation) of some dialogue/narration from the modern popular writer, Paulo Coelho in his book: Aleph.(Note: bracketed text is mine.).. 'I spoke to three scholars, ' [the character says 'at last.']. .two of them said that, after death, the [sic (misprint, fault of the publisher)] just go to Paradise. The third one, though, told me to consult some verses from the Koran. [end quote]'. .I can see that he's excited. [narrator]'. .Now I have many positive things to say about Coelho: He is respectable, inspiring as a man, a truth-seeker, and an appealing writer; but one should hesitate to call him a 'literary' writer based on this quote. A 'literary' author knows that a character's excitement should be 'shown' in his or her dialogue and not in the narrator's commentary on it. Advice for Coelho: Remove the 'I can see that he's excited' sentence and show his excitement in the phrasing of his quote.( Now, in defense of Coelho, I am firmly of the opinion, having myself written plenty of prose that is flawed, that a novelist should be forgiven for slipping here and there.) Lastly, it appears that a belief in reincarnation is of great interest to Mr. Coelho. . Just think! He is a man who has achieved, (as Leonard Cohen would call it), 'a remote human possibility.' He has won lots of fame and tons of money. And yet, how his preoccupation with reincarnation–none other than an interest in being born again as somebody else–suggests that he is not happy!. Roman Payne
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Don’t let mental blocks control you. Set yourself free. Confront your fear and turn the mental blocks into building blocks. Roopleen
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The world’s greatest achievers have been those who have always stayed focussed on their goals and have been consistent in their efforts. Roopleen
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I wrote a book. It sucked. I wrote nine more books. They sucked, too. Meanwhile, I read every single thing I could find on publishing and writing, went to conferences, joined professional organizations, hooked up with fellow writers in critique groups, and didn’t give up. Then I wrote one more book. Beth Revis
You can't judge a book by it's cover but you...
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You can't judge a book by it's cover but you can sure sell a bunch of books if you have a good one. Jayce ONeal
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Who is better off? The one who writes to revel in the voluptuousness of the life that surrounds them? Or the one who writes to escape the tediousness of that which awaits them outside? Whose flame will last longer? Roman Payne
Magazines all too frequently lead to books and should be...
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Magazines all too frequently lead to books and should be regarded by the prudent as the heavy petting of literature. Fran Lebowitz
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I still encourage anyone who feels at all compelled to write to do so. I just try to warn people who hope to get published that publication is not all it is cracked up to be. But writing is. Writing has so much to give, so much to teach, so many surprises. That thing you had to force yourself to do---the actual act of writing---turns out to be the best part. It's like discovering that while you thought you needed the tea ceremony for the caffeine, what you really needed was the tea ceremony. The act of writing turns out to be its own reward. . Anne Lamott
It wouldn't happen... There hasn't been one publication by a...
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It wouldn't happen... There hasn't been one publication by a monkey Karl Pilkington
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It can be depressing when no one takes interest, and a lack of response makes the writer question why they’re writing at all. To have one’s writing rejected is like you, yourself, are being rejected. Elizabeth Clements
If the novel is dead, I'm a necrophiliac.
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If the novel is dead, I'm a necrophiliac. Tiffany Madison
I have always believed in the principle that immediate survival...
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I have always believed in the principle that immediate survival is more important than long-term survival. Jack McClelland
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I would not employ an author to referee a Ping-Pong match. By their very nature they are biased and bloody-minded. Better put a fox in a henhouse than to ask an author to judge his peers. (in a letter to the Governor General about the GA's Literary Awards & his issue--among others--with the judging system, 1981) Jack McClelland
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It has been our experience that American houses insist on very comprehensive editing; that English houses as a rule require little or none and are inclined to go along with the author's script almost without query. The Canadian practice is just what you would expect--a middle-of-the-road course. We think the Americans edit too heavily and interfere with the author's rights. We think that the English publishers don't take enough editorial responsibility. Naturally, then, we consider our editing to be just about perfect. There's no doubt about it, we Canadians are a superior breed! (in a letter to author Margaret Laurence, dated May, 1960) . Jack McClelland
Persistence can look a lot like stupid.
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Persistence can look a lot like stupid. Kristen Lamb
It takes great courage to write great books. Find your...
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It takes great courage to write great books. Find your courage and find your voice. Kristen Lamb
Content is King. Promotion is Queen
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Content is King. Promotion is Queen Bob Mayer
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A person who publishes a book appears willfully in public eye with his pants down. Unknown
Turning a manuscript into a book is easy getting the...
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Turning a manuscript into a book is easy getting the manuscript ready to become a book is hard. A.P. Fuchs
Publication is a marathon, not a sprint. Writing the book...
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Publication is a marathon, not a sprint. Writing the book is only the start. Jo Linsdell
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I often think publishing a book is like doing a poo. Once it's ready for the world, you have to relinquish that control and let nature take its course. A few will be impressed by your creation, others will be disgusted. Plus, no one will enjoy your success and achievement in producing it as much as you did. H.O. Charles
If you wrote something for which someone sent you a...
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If you wrote something for which someone sent you a cheque, if you cashed the cheque and it didn't bounce, and if you then paid the light bill with the money, I consider you talented. Stephen King
Online review sites are the slushpiles of feedback.
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Online review sites are the slushpiles of feedback. S. Kelley Harrell
Bad writing, it is easily verified, has never kept scholarship...
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Bad writing, it is easily verified, has never kept scholarship from being published. Jacques Barzun
Write from the heart. A book without a pulse is...
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Write from the heart. A book without a pulse is like a person without a spirit." Linda Radke, President of Five Star Publications Linda F. Radke
Dream up a book on Monday, publish it on Friday.
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Dream up a book on Monday, publish it on Friday. Jill Novak
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In the end, what makes a book valuable is not the paper it’s printed on, but the thousands of hours of work by dozens of people who are dedicated to creating the best possible reading experience for you. John Green
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It began to falter not when the book publishers who loved books gave way to those who preferred profits to reading. It happened when publishers and editors cut back on their drinking. If there is one national flower in book publishing, it is the martini. Al Silverman
You can’t give what you don’t have. To write, you...
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You can’t give what you don’t have. To write, you must read. To write well, read well. Israelmore Ayivor
You don’t become a good writer overnight. It takes persistence...
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You don’t become a good writer overnight. It takes persistence and repetition to gain mastery. Israelmore Ayivor
You may receive a pie, eat it and forget. You...
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You may receive a pie, eat it and forget. You may receive champagne, drink it and forget. But when you receive a book, you can open it again and again. Israelmore Ayivor
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Now, Max, I have told you many times that you are my publisher, and permanently, as far as one can fling about the word in this too mutable world.... The idea of leaving you has never for one single moment entered my head. F. Scott Fitzgerald
Publishing is definitely something you do because you enjoy educating...
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Publishing is definitely something you do because you enjoy educating or entertaining people. Steven Magee
Canada is the place where maple syrup is its own...
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Canada is the place where maple syrup is its own food group. Jenny McWha
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Try being an indie author, a minority author, a woman, and a person with health issues in the world of traditional - that's where you are clearly 'different' and marginalized. I am all of that, yet I am still here and smiling. Life is good! Kailin Gow
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As long as your work remains unwritten in your head, it has no effect on anyone. Except you. And not in a good way. Once you let your idea out of the hermetically sealed vault of your brain and out into the fresh air, it will immediately start to evolve. The minute you get it down on a piece of paper, it will change. And once you let it out of the house – once someone else gets to experience it – everything is changed. You are changed. The project is changed. The audience is changed. That’s the alchemy of art. . Sam Bennett
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What has seven editions (the book had already gone into no less) got to do with the value of it? Was not writing poetry a secret transaction, a voice answering a voice? So that all this chatter and praise and blame and meeting people who admired one and meeting people who did not admire one was as ill suited as could be to the thing itself – a voice answering a voice. Virginia Woolf
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F(r)iction is the best of everything we’ve ever loved. F(r)iction is experimental. F(r)iction is strange. F(r)iction pokes the soft spots, touches nerves most would rather remain protected. F(r)iction is secrets and truths and most importantly–stories. F(r)iction is weird, in every respect. Tethered By Letters
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The pain of an unpublished manuscript is akin to the trauma of bearing an unborn. Anurag Shourie
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Publishers are notoriously slothful about numbers, unless they're attached to dollar signs - unlike journalists, quarterbacks, and felony criminal defendants who tend to be keenly aware of numbers at all times. Hunter S. Thompson
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He wondered fleetingly how many people who sat alone for hours as they scribbled their stories practiced talking about their work during their coffee breaks.... Robert Galbraith
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If I send all the books that I faithfully wrote overseas, would that, for any chance, be considered work-shipping?? Ana Claudia Antunes
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Teams that spend a lot of time learning the tricks of the trade will probably never really learn the trade. Yuri Boganov
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The self-addressed stamped envelope. The representation of everything that was wrong with the old publishing industry. Alexei Maxim Russell
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I've always felt that good writing does not have to be literary. Sara Sheridan
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Beautiful publishers say beautiful things and then We're sorry, but no.. and then more beautiful things. It's a shit sandwich with branston pickle and melted gouda. I read it out loud to the kids. I stick it to the fridge with the others. Some writers do that because it turns their crank to have a Wall of Publishers Who Passed And Will Someday Regret It. I don't. Each one is, really and truly, a gift. We look at them and the boys and I talk about rejection, all kinds of it. Creative, karmic, romantic. Nothing works out until something does. Kate Inglis
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Some writers aren't writers, they are mere escapees' and refugees' on an exile from the jungle of thoughts. Michael Bassey Johnson
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A vision of the little house in Soho flickered across his mind’s eye, his mother at a desk, writing in her journal, with hazy sunlight streaming through the morning windows. The woman inhabited a world he had once thought his own — a world of publishers and reliable suppliers. A London that was confident and competent amid its grey, puddle-strewn streets. Sara Sheridan
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Technically, you cannot really own a book you bought; you can only own the sheets of paper your copy is printed on; unless, of course, you are the book’s publisher. Mokokoma Mokhonoana
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Publishers are businesses and I don’t blame them for that. If they didn’t make money by publishing books, there wouldn’t be any books. Johnny Rich
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A good book is not the same as a successful one. Johnny Rich
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But just understand the difference between a man like Reardon and a man like me. He is the old type of unpractical artist; I am the literary man of 1882. He won't make concessions, or rather, he can't make them; he can't supply the market. I--well, you may say that at present, I do nothing; but that's a great mistake, I am learning my business. Literature nowadays is a trade. Putting aside men of genius, who may succeed by mere cosmic force, your successful man of letters is your skilful tradesman. He thinks first and foremost of the markets; when one kind of goods begins to go off slackly, he is ready with something new and appetising. He knows perfectly all the possible sources of income. Whatever he has to sell, he'll get payment for it from all sorts of various quarters; none of your unpractical selling for a lump sum to a middleman who will make six distinct profits. George Gissing
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By their very nature, idiots do not have the intellectual capacity to identify genius. All that idiots are mentally equipped to recognize are other idiots. Dermot Davis
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I am completely unflustered by whichever medium people choose to read my words. I'm just delighted they're reading them at all! Sara Sheridan
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Three carefully stringed words are worth more than a book of gibberish. It's not the word count but the impact of those words that counts. Richelle E. Goodrich
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Every line we succeed in publishing today - no matter how uncertain the future to which we entrust it - is a victory wrenched from the powers of darkness. Walter Benjamin
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It takes a village to build success in publishing a book - it takes friends that are willing to help - it takes hours upon hours of no's to get to a yes, it takes many twists and turns with seemingly no end to the detours, it takes courage to face the unknowns - it takes and it takes and it takes - But then, like a flower opening its blossom - it gives......... Rich Okun
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Note to the wise: whenever someone insists that he wants to buy something from you, but tells you there’s no real value in it yet, two things are happening: he’s lying, and you’re being taken. Mike Stackpole
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An author who gives a manager or publisher any rights in his work except those immediately and specifically required for its publication or performance is for business purposes an imbecile. George Bernard Shaw
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Publishing is a business and writing is an art. The two have to be crammed together despite the clearly different motivations behind them. Michelle M. Pillow
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Contract law is essentially a defensive scorched-earth battleground where the constant question is, “if my business partner was possessed by a brain-eating monster from beyond spacetime tomorrow, what is the worst thing they could do to me? Charles Stross
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Don't simply dream, create. Don't simply create, ship. Don't simply ship, dream. Ryan Lilly
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Before Gutenberg, libraries were small -- the Cambridge University library had only 122 volumes in 1424, for instance; after Gutenberg literacy became widespread. Larry Stone
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One alphabet at a time, you can write an encyclopaedia. One word at a time, you can publish an entire library. Israelmore Ayivor
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A person who wrote badly did better than a person who does not write at all. A bad writing can be corrected. An empty page remains an empty page. Israelmore Ayivor
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Confidence is going after Moby Dick in a rowboat and taking the tartar sauce with you. Zig Ziglar
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It is bound to be a failure, every book is a failure, but I do know with some clarity what kind of book I want to write. George Orwell
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It is proper Netiquette to post pictures with status updates to make them more engaging. NetworkEtiquette.net David Chiles
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NEWSPAPER: What great paper is the Earth; what a typeface is the Day; what ink is the Night! — Everyone prints, everyone reads; no one understands. Xavier Forneret
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Nowadays, the Internet decides if you're good, not the big man in the big office. No matter how important that man thinks he is, everyone else knows that he's not important anymore, and the Internet decides these things, here in the modern age. Alexei Maxim Russell
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Not everyone will like what you write but there's a certain group who'll love what you write. Keep WRITING for them. David Chuka
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I hope that, whatever happens within the publishing industry, because of the increased control writers have of their own careers, better sales information and the advent of the internet, that ultimately this change in our working environment will be a change for the better. Sara Sheridan
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Writing the same kind of material is no guarantee you'll be working from the same ethos so that writers from different fields are just as likely to have an understanding of each other's work as someone working in the same genre. Sara Sheridan
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Writing is such a solitary occupation that it takes a long time to build up a group of professional peers with whom you genuinely identify. Sara Sheridan
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To refer even in passing to unpublished or struggling authors and their problems is to put oneself at some risk, so I will say here and now that any unsolicited manuscripts or typescripts sent to me will be destroyed unread. You must make your way yourself. Why you should be so set on the nearly always disappointing profession is a puzzling question. Kingsley Amis
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Even though it’s pleasing to boast about achievements I have earned in my generation, nothing makes me more content in the world than just having the exciting opportunity to share my passion of work with the public. What is even more exhilarating, is being able (having the capability) to spend quality time with my loving wife, (Gloria) and family doing what I love most in the world -- writing. Their total well-being and health, along with my health too means everything to me. I have had my fair share of narrow escapes in my life to know how important my family, and health are to me. I will never take that for granted again — ever. Chris Mentillo
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As it stands there is a very strong argument that as the book trade becomes increasingly corporate it's our literary heritage that is at risk - a vital part of our culture. Sara Sheridan
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There are two motives for writing a book: one, that you may save what you know, the other, that you may share what you know with the public. Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha
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It may take a village to raise a baby, but hell! it takes an army to produce a book. Sara Sheridan
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We have more choice than ever before about where and how we buy and read books. Sara Sheridan
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No matter how good it is, your book will not sell itself. Elinor Florence
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Almost every single thing you hope publication will do for you is a fantasy, a hologram--it's the eagle on your credit card that only seems to soar. Anne Lamott
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In the industry, trying out new genres is not always encouraged but what I've discovered is that as a writer, a jaunt outside my comfort zone generally brings new skills to the main body of my work. Sara Sheridan
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For a writer it's a genuinely interesting and hopefully profitable era that makes a variety of books available to a variety of readers, extending both what's available and who gets to read it. Sara Sheridan
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I'm a professional writer and I consider it part of my job to publicise my work and these days part of that job is done online. Sara Sheridan
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Like Elmore Leonard and Donald Westlake and Robert B. Parker and oh so many others, I want to die with my boots on, facedown on my keyboard if possible, in the middle of a sentence. Kristine Kathryn Rusch
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You were right the first time, Cathy. It was a stupid, silly story. Ridiculous! Only insane people would die for the sake of love. I'llbet you a hundred to one a woman wrote that junky romantic trash! " Just a minute ago I'd despised that author for bringing about such amiserable ending, then there I went, rushing to the defense. "T. M.Ellis could very well have been a man! Though I doubt any woman writerin the nineteenth century had much chance of being published, unlessshe used her initials, or a man's name. And why is it all men thinkeverything a woman writes is trivial or trashy-or just plain sillydrivel? Don't men have romantic notions? Don't men dream of findingthe perfect love? And it seems to me, that Raymond was far moremushy-minded than Lily!. V.C. Andrews
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Between my first book tour, in 2003, and the next one, in 2009, many of the places I visited had undergone a significant transformation or vanished: Cody’s in Berkeley, seven branch libraries in Philadelphia, twelve of the fourteen bookstores in Harvard Square, Harry W. Schwartz in Milwaukee and, in my own hometown of Washington, D.C., Olsson’s and Chapters. Azar Nafisi
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The hard fact is that writing is available to readers because of market factors as much as particular writing talent. Sara Sheridan
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It's called publishing. It's how smart people install new ideas into other peoples brains. Steven Magee
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Apparently, my hopes, dreams and aspirations were no match against my poor spelling, punctuation and grammar. Red Red Rover
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This is the cusp of an age at least as exciting and as brimful of potential as the early days of the printing press. Sara Sheridan
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Indie publishing lets me feed my inner control freak. Michelle M. Pillow
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Besides, ” said Mr Norrell, “I really have no desire to write reviews of other people's books. Modern publications upon magic are the most pernicious things in the world, full of misinformation and wrong opinions.” “Then sir, you may say so. The ruder you are, the more the editors will be delighted.” “But it is my own opinions which I wish to make better known, not other people's.” “Ah, but, sir, ” said Lascelles, “it is precisely by passing judgements upon other people's work and pointing out their errors that readers can be made to understand your own opinions better. It is the easiest thing in the world to turn a review to one's own ends. One only need mention the book once or twice and for the rest of the article one may develop one's theme just as one chuses. It is, I assure you, what every body else does.” “Hmm, ” said Mr Norrell thoughtfully, “you may be right. But, no. It would seem as if I were lending support to what ought never to have been published in the first place. Susanna Clarke
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One of the greatest gifts we can give someone is our undivided attention--a thought that whispers constantly in the ear of any author who respects their readers. Ella J. Fraser
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Books are like horcruxes--without all the evil--because a piece of the author goes into each one. Ella J. Fraser
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I have to declare in all candor that no one interested in being published in our time can afford to be so naive as to believe that a book will make it merely because it's good. Richard Curtis