Those authors who appear sometimes to forget they are writers, and remember they are men, will be our favorites. — Benjamin Disraeli Copy Share Image
To write about business one should be in business, just as in writing about Tasmania one should visit Tasmania. — James Cook Copy Share Image
I think you get so wrapped up in the book you're currently writing, it's hard to think about anything else. But I… — Meg Cabot Copy Share Image
Only towards the end of this process are any of the chapters in fully readable condition, a state of affairs that used… — Fred Saberhagen Copy Share Image
The Long Goodbye' is one book I like to read over and over again, and it was an enormous inspiration for 'All… — Daniel Handler Copy Share Image
If writers, like comedians or singers, could only hear themselves bombing as they worked, it's likely that certain books would be cut… — Walter Kirn Copy Share Image
Whatever's good about your book should be good on page 1, or very few editors are going to get to page 2. — Chris Pavone Copy Share Image
Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose or paint can manage to… — Graham Greene Copy Share Image
“Zaid's finest moment, however, comes in his second paragraph, when he says that "the truly cultured are capable of owning thousands of… — Nick Hornby Copy Share Image
Writers need to learn their trade, and how to negotiate the increasingly difficult marketplace. The trade can be taught and learned just… — Ursula K. Le Guin Copy Share Image
Books are pleasant, but if by being over-studious we impair our health and spoil our good humour, two of the best things… — Michel de Montaigne Copy Share Image
“I scrubbed the filth from my keyboard, and placed a coffee coaster strategically on the desk. My schedule was relatively clear, and… — Hannah Kent Copy Share Image
We start out talking about the story, trying to figure out who is who and what should happen, taking notes the whole… — Phil Foglio Copy Share Image
The words you can't find, you borrow. We read to know we're not alone. We read because we are alone. We read… — Gabrielle Zevin Copy Share Image
I have never written a book about my life, despite being offered purses of gold. I made 'Boxes' because I wanted to… — Jane Birkin Copy Share Image
“In your modesty you seem to consider that writers are of different blood and bone from yourselves; that they know more of… — Virginia Woolf Copy Share Image
In brief, I spend half my time trying to learn the secrets of other writers - to apply them to the expression… — Shirley Ann Grau Copy Share Image
I like writing better. Because I don't have to wear makeup, I don't have to be thin, and I don't have to… — Fran Drescher Copy Share Image
Dostoyevsky was an influence - what's his name, the saintly priest in 'The Brothers Karamazov,' Father Zossima... 'Kiss the earth,' he'd say.… — David Dellinger Copy Share Image
In the case of good books, the point is not how many of them you can get through, but rather how many… — Mortimer Adler Copy Share Image
Libraries never let us forget who we are, for their worth stands by the knowledge they keep and save for us. — Virginia Hamilton Copy Share Image
“If you find books boring, probably the problem is that you haven't picked a good one. ... You are not searching cliche… — Deyth Banger Copy Share Image
The successful editor is one who is constantly finding newwriters, nurturing their talents, and publishing them with critical and financial success. — A. Scott Berg Copy Share Image
As a traveler, I should probably count myself fortunate to be living in the jet age, and as an author, I know… — Amor Towles Copy Share Image
“Olga sits on the carpet in front of her shelves with stacks of books scattered around her, struggling to pick between her… — Sarah Miller Copy Share Image
Fiction is not a dream. Nor is it guesswork. It is imagining based on facts, and the facts must be accurate or… — Margaret Culkin Banning Copy Share Image
I am a writer... I am a genius of a writer; I have it in me. I am writing the best poems… — Sylvia Plath Copy Share Image
And I've always worked on the principle that if it interests me enough to write about it, then it must interest a… — Morris West Copy Share Image
“Negotiating the Goodreads interface is like returning a giraffe's eyelashes to their follicles after a Napalm attack using only a rolling pin… — Steve Whitmore Copy Share Image
Understand that writing is like an athletic activity. To play tennis well, you expect to keep practicing, but for some reason with… — Natalie Goldberg Copy Share Image
I don't know where I would place myself in the literary landscape. I really just write the book that I would want… — Dan Brown Copy Share Image
I've always written - about music, art, things going on around the world. The danger is that it becomes too personal. I… — Stephen Hough Copy Share Image
You know what it's like: you don't want to read your old books again. All you can see are the flaws, what… — Irvine Welsh Copy Share Image
“No thinking – that comes later. You write your first draft with your heart. You rewrite with your head. The first key… — Anonymous Copy Share Image
I write very, very slowly, and for me, I have to summon all sorts of resources to make one of these pieces… — Junot Diaz Copy Share Image
When asked what I'd be if I weren't a writer, I'm tempted to respond with one of father's favorite phrases, one I… — Cate Marvin Copy Share Image
A book is like carrying a garden in your pocket. It always is full of life, new smells, and new things to… — Curly Copy Share Image
Over the years, people I've met have often asked me what I'm working on, and I've usually replied that the main thing… — Kurt Vonnegut Copy Share Image
I can always track my career by the children - I started writing right after the 14-year-old was born, and sold my… — Heather Graham Pozzessere Copy Share Image
[On writing:] What a difficult kind of work to choose! But of course one did not choose it. There was no choice. — Ivy Compton-Burnett Copy Share Image
![“[On writing:] What a difficult kind of work to choose! But of course one did not choose it. There was no choice.” quote by Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cd/ivy-compton-burnett-10491_choice_on-writing-what-a-difficult-kind-of-work_2881842.jpg)
