“I worry for people whose first book is a wild success. What happens when you have a book that doesn't receive that attention? When you're suddenly not the belle of the ball? It's hard to fall from grace. You've got to be realistic + love the writing + know it's not all you.”— Delilah S. Dawson, twitter.com
“If writing sucks years out of your life, why are you doing it? Writing doesn't suck anything out of my life; it adds depth and meaning and gives me something to hope for, something to gnaw on, something to dream about, a way to connect with people. Writing refills my soul.”— Delilah S. Dawson, twitter.com
“The really important point here is that your debut book/series/year DOES NOT PREDICT YOUR CAREER. It's not any indicator of future success. Publishers know and understand this. Just keep writing the best books you can. Keep innovating without fear. Keep that hope.”— Delilah S. Dawson, twitter.com
“Writing has ALWAYS been hard for me, both when I had all the time in the world and none at all. That doesn't change. Never want to do it, but always happy that I did.”— Sarah Dessen, twitter.com
“Everyone gets rejected. From a story idea that gets quashed to the pitch that doesn’t resonate to the deal that falls apart. Thing is, successful/established creators shrug it off. A creative career is a marathon, not a sprint.”— J.T. Ellison, twitter.com
“Also for the love of all things good, in case it’s not obvious, READING IS SUBJECTIVE. Think whatever you want. But don’t put it on the creator. We have enough to deal with.”— V.E. Schwab, twitter.com
“Also for the love of all things good, in case it’s not obvious, READING IS SUBJECTIVE. Think whatever you want. But don’t put it on the creator. We have enough to deal with.”— V.E. Schwab, twitter.com
“When I'm working on a book, I become so tangled up in it, I can't focus on anything else. But when I'm NOT working on a book, my thoughts get tangled up all on their own.”— V.E. Schwab, twitter.com
“I’m hearing from lots of aspiring writers, and I just want to remind you that what you see is oftentimes a highlight reel. What someone reveals on social media can still be sincere, but it is curated. Nothing is overnight. Nothing is guaranteed. I 100% understand how the dream of being a bestseller,…”— Roshani Chokshi, twitter.com
“Don’t worry about pleasing others. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. Be the writer you wanted to read but never found. Develop a strong core that you can return to again and again, something that isn’t predicated on external validation.”— Jenny Zhang, twitter.com
“This descent to the dark powers, this unbinding of spirits by nature bound, dubious embraces and whatever else may go on below, of which one no longer knows anything above ground. . . . It is the vanity and the craving for enjoyment, which is forever whirring around oneself or even around someone el…”— Franz Kafka, amazon.com
“My talent for portraying my dreamlike inner life has thrust all other matters into the background; my life has dwindled dreadfully, nor will it cease to dwindle. Nothing else will ever satisfy me.”— Franz Kafka, amazon.com
“My happiness, my abilities, and every possibility of being useful in any way have always been in the literary field.”— Franz Kafka, amazon.com
“I have little sympathy for people who start dating writers and then complain about them constantly overthinking everything.”— James Hamblin, twitter.com
“When I read someone say that every writer dreams of their work being adapted for Film or TV, I roll my eyes. Writers dreams of being published, of finding readers and keeping them, of being given the space to write the books they want... everything else is just icing.”— John Boyne, twitter.com
“It can be hard, during the solitary years of writing a book, to imagine it might ever find its way into in the lives & hearts of others.”— Robert Macfarlane, twitter.com
“Writing advice I give, but did not use today: never stare at the screen all day.”— Alexis Coe, twitter.com
“Tonight I sat down to write and found nothing happening. This has happened to me ten thousand times before and no time has it ever been helped by berating myself, yet that's immediately what I did. It's weird how this job induces selective amnesia.”— Sam Sykes, twitter.com
“It's weird when someone leaves a review that's 90% composed of how much they hated a character and you know that's incorrect. If they really hated them, they wouldn't have spent that much time talking about them.”— Sam Sykes, twitter.com
“- some writers have day jobs - some don't - some writers have a lot of money - some struggle to stay afloat - some writers get huge advances or can live off royalties - some writers aren't there yet Money doesn't make a writer a good or bad person or a good or bad writer.”— Delilah S. Dawson, twitter.com