---
title: "1 Reader Heart Quotes By Gordon Lish"
description: "1 Reader Heart quotes by Gordon Lish. Plus more from Gordon Lish and more Reader Heart sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/955/gordon-lish-47070_books_it-s-not-what-happens-to-people-on-the-p_2431140.png"
---

> [“It’s not what happens to people on the page; it’s about what happens to a reader in his heart and mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-lish/it-s-not-what-happens-to-people-on-the-page-it-s-about-what-happens/)

[Gordon Lish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-lish/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/955/gordon-lish-47070_books_it-s-not-what-happens-to-people-on-the-p_2431140.png)

## More by Gordon Lish

> [“He came to chat with me the day of my being discharged, advising that I not stay at the dog fight until the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-lish/he-came-to-chat-with-me-the-day-of-my-being-discharged-advising-that/)

[Gordon Lish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-lish/)

> [The secret of good writing is telling the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-lish/the-secret-of-good-writing-is-telling-the-truth/)

[Gordon Lish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-lish/)

> [Writing is not about self-expression; it is about putting words on paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-lish/writing-is-not-about-self-expression-it-is-about-putting-words-on/)

[Gordon Lish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-lish/)

> [“...I have come to be convinced that it is only the unbending observance of custom that sustains life in an urban circumstance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-lish/i-have-come-to-be-convinced-that-it-is-only-the-unbending-observance/)

[Gordon Lish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-lish/)

> [Never be sincere - sincerity is the death of writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-lish/never-be-sincere-sincerity-is-the-death-of-writing/)

[Gordon Lish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-lish/)

> [I see the notion of talent as quite irrelevant. I see instead perseverance, application, industry, assiduity, will, will, will, desire, desire, desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-lish/i-see-the-notion-of-talent-as-quite-irrelevant-i-see-instead/)

[Gordon Lish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-lish/)

> [“It’s not what happens to people on the page; it’s about what happens to a reader in his heart and mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-lish/it-s-not-what-happens-to-people-on-the-page-it-s-about-what-happens/)

[Gordon Lish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-lish/)

> [Don't have stories; have sentences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-lish/don-t-have-stories-have-sentences/)

[Gordon Lish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-lish/)

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