--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had written a book. For various…" description: "\"I had written a book. For various reasons, the publishing industry had decided that my book was going to be 'important.' The novel had taken me 12-and-..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/akhil-sharma-14942_after_i-had-written-a-book-for-various-reasons_3226769.png" --- # I had written a book. For various reasons, the publishing… ![“I had written a book. For various reasons, the publishing industry had decided that my book was going to be 'important.' The novel had taken me 12-and-a-half years to write, and after being with the book for so long, I had no real perspective on the merits or demerits of what I had written. I…” quote by Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/akhil-sharma-14942_after_i-had-written-a-book-for-various-reasons_3226769.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/akhil-sharma-14942_after_i-had-written-a-book-for-various-reasons_3226769.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f18/akhil-sharma-14942_after_i-had-written-a-book-for-various-reasons_3226769.png) > “I had written a book. For various reasons, the publishing industry had decided that my book was going to be 'important.' The novel had taken me 12-and-a-half years to write, and after being with the book for so long, I had no real perspective on the merits or demerits of what I had written. I hoped it was good, but feared that it wasn't.” [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer doubts the quality of his long‑written novel despite external hype, lacking objective assessment. **In simple terms:** Uncertain about his book’s value. Key Takeaway Seek honest feedback before judging. Themes self‑doubt creative process validation Mood anxious reflective Type personal creative When to use this quote - book launch - writing workshops - peer review - marketing pitch Key Concepts authorial confidence critical reception Questions to Reflect On - How can I obtain unbiased opinions? - What criteria define a good book? A Different Perspective External praise may mask flaws; personal bias hinders clarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Industry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/industry/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) [Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/publishing/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [You have to write the book that wants to be written. 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The babies have old souls and the old souls have to shrink to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/the-little-babies-are-missing-their-families-from-their-past-lives/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [Seven years into writing a novel, I started to lose my mind. My thirty-seventh birthday had just come and gone, the end of 2008…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/seven-years-into-writing-a-novel-i-started-to-lose-my-mind-my-thirty/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [It's easy when you grow up in fear to act out of fear. 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The fact that something is true in the real world should not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/novels-should-be-judged-rigorously-either-a-book-works-or-it-doesn-t/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [“We have to keep trusting God. We can’t just trust God when he’s doing what we want. We have to trust him even when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/we-have-to-keep-trusting-god-we-can-t-just-trust-god-when-he-s-doing/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [It is hard to write about physically difficult things without causing the reader to disengage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/it-is-hard-to-write-about-physically-difficult-things-without-causing/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [During my breakdown, many things, tiny things I had not even registered before, had begun to torment me with guilt. I used to steal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/during-my-breakdown-many-things-tiny-things-i-had-not-even-registered/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [“History repeats itself and mine is full of failures, so I am not surprised.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/history-repeats-itself-and-mine-is-full-of-failures-so-i-am-not/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [It is hard to create a first-person narrator that can be a child and yet is able to take in enough information for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/it-is-hard-to-create-a-first-person-narrator-that-can-be-a-child-and/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [I need to tell the things that are important but which don't make sense in terms of the narrative, things that would destroy symmetry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/i-need-to-tell-the-things-that-are-important-but-which-don-t-make/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [As a human being living one's life, one is more open to relief when there is rain or the expectation of rain. That readiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/as-a-human-being-living-one-s-life-one-is-more-open-to-relief-when/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) [Explore all 44 Akhil Sharma quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) ## More After quotes > [At the drop of a hat, people will say there are no roles for women after 40. It's there with a bunch of other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-nicol/at-the-drop-of-a-hat-people-will-say-there-are-no-roles-for-women/) [Lesley Nicol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-nicol/) > [When my main character in 'Heat' climbs the tower, the highest diving platform, hoping to resume competitive diving after an injury, I am there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cadnum/when-my-main-character-in-heat-climbs-the-tower-the-highest-diving/) [Michael Cadnum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cadnum/) > [I was strictly after hits when it came down to the Jackson 5. That's all I was concerned with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deke-richards/i-was-strictly-after-hits-when-it-came-down-to-the-jackson-5-that-s/) Deke Richards > [It's important for American soldiers to be culturally sensitive when deployed in foreign countries. But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) > [No lusting after your neighbor's house - or wife or servant or maid or ox or donkey. Don't set your heart on anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses/no-lusting-after-your-neighbor-s-house-or-wife-or-servant-or-maid-or/) [Moses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses/) > [After I finished college, I got a job on Wall Street as a derivatives trader, but after a couple years of it, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/after-i-finished-college-i-got-a-job-on-wall-street-as-a-derivatives/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [When good media takes a bounded form, and comes once in a period of time, it begs to be consumed as a whole -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/when-good-media-takes-a-bounded-form-and-comes-once-in-a-period-of/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [Markets are designed to allow individuals to look after their private needs and to pursue profit. It's really a great invention and I wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/markets-are-designed-to-allow-individuals-to-look-after-their-private/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [I have a lot of success and make a good living, but after while, you start going 'Why? Why are you doing all this?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyra-banks/i-have-a-lot-of-success-and-make-a-good-living-but-after-while-you/) [Tyra Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyra-banks/) > [See to do good, and you will find that happiness will run after you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-freeman-clarke/see-to-do-good-and-you-will-find-that-happiness-will-run-after-you/) [James Freeman Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-freeman-clarke/) > [I went to school at night in L.A. to brush up on my engineering while I applied to the astronaut program. 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