---
title: "1 Really Painful Quotes By Maria Semple"
description: "1 Really Painful quotes by Maria Semple. Plus more from Maria Semple and more Really Painful sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a26/maria-semple-2954_books_my-first-novel-didn-t-sell-well-it-was-r_1767037.png"
---

> [My first novel didn't sell well. It was really painful and humiliating and shocking to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/my-first-novel-didn-t-sell-well-it-was-really-painful-and-humiliating/)

[Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a26/maria-semple-2954_books_my-first-novel-didn-t-sell-well-it-was-r_1767037.png)

## More by Maria Semple

> [“The drivers here are horrible. And by horrible, I mean they don't realize I have someplace to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/the-drivers-here-are-horrible-and-by-horrible-i-mean-they-don-t/)

[Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/)

> [“Just because it's complicated, just because you think you can't ever know everything about another person, it doesn't mean you can't try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/just-because-it-s-complicated-just-because-you-think-you-can-t-ever/)

[Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/)

> [You come out into the world after a season of TV and you're just swearing and saying mean things to people and they're looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/you-come-out-into-the-world-after-a-season-of-tv-and-you-re-just/)

[Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/)

> [“Here’s something about Mom: she’s bad with annoyances, but great in a crisis. If a waiter doesn’t refill her water after she’s asked three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/here-s-something-about-mom-she-s-bad-with-annoyances-but-great-in-a/)

[Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/)

> [“Parking in Seattle is an eight-step process. Step one, find a place to park (gooood luuuuck!). Step two, back into the angled parking space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/parking-in-seattle-is-an-eight-step-process-step-one-find-a-place-to/)

[Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/)

> [“Eleanor's heart giggled with mad abundance: so much to share, so much goodwill, so many notes to compare, so many ways to help and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/eleanor-s-heart-giggled-with-mad-abundance-so-much-to-share-so-much/)

[Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/)

> [After decades spent in rewrite rooms surrounded by other shouting writers, I discovered that I work best alone. I like being in charge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/after-decades-spent-in-rewrite-rooms-surrounded-by-other-shouting/)

[Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/)

> [“Ten years ago I saw a documentary on the siege of that Moscow theater. After just forty-eight hours of the terrorists confining the hostages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/ten-years-ago-i-saw-a-documentary-on-the-siege-of-that-moscow-theater/)

[Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/)

> [When I'm sitting at my computer writing, I really have this fiendish smile on my face. I am not thinking about the past or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/when-i-m-sitting-at-my-computer-writing-i-really-have-this-fiendish/)

[Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/)

> [“Every single iceberg filled me with feelings of sadness and wonder. Not thoughts of sadness and wonder, mind you, because thoughts require a thinker,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/every-single-iceberg-filled-me-with-feelings-of-sadness-and-wonder/)

[Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/)

> [“The sight of Elgie flat on the slimy dock, groaning "My wife, my wife", with a gun pointed at him, and me jumping up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/the-sight-of-elgie-flat-on-the-slimy-dock-groaning-my-wife-my-wife/)

[Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/)

> [Maggie Shipstead's prose is so graceful and muscular, so dazzling, so sure-handed and fearless, that at times I had to remind myself to breathe.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/maggie-shipstead-s-prose-is-so-graceful-and-muscular-so-dazzling-so/)

[Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/)

> [When your eyes are softly focused on the horizon for sustained periods, your brain releases endorphins. It's the same as a runner's high. These…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/when-your-eyes-are-softly-focused-on-the-horizon-for-sustained/)

[Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/)

> [My strength as a TV writer was my total lack of interest in television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/my-strength-as-a-tv-writer-was-my-total-lack-of-interest-in-television/)

[Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/)

> [Breezy, sophisticated, hilarious, rude and aching with sweetness: LOVE, NINA might be the most charming book I've ever read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/breezy-sophisticated-hilarious-rude-and-aching-with-sweetness-love/)

[Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/)

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