--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After twenty years and thirty stories…" description: "\"After twenty years and thirty stories, thirteen pieces were finally selected and the collection was born. So far, the blurbs from [authors] Maxine Hong..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5b/andrew-lam-21834_books_after-twenty-years-and-thirty-stories-th_940826.jpg" --- # After twenty years and thirty stories, thirteen pieces… ![“After twenty years and thirty stories, thirteen pieces were finally selected and the collection was born. So far, the blurbs from [authors] Maxine Hong Kingston, Gish Jen, Robert Olen Butler, Oscar Hijuelos and others, have been most encouraging.” quote by Andrew Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5b/andrew-lam-21834_books_after-twenty-years-and-thirty-stories-th_940826.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5b/andrew-lam-21834_books_after-twenty-years-and-thirty-stories-th_940826.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5b/andrew-lam-21834_books_after-twenty-years-and-thirty-stories-th_940826.jpg) > “After twenty years and thirty stories, thirteen pieces were finally selected and the collection was born. So far, the blurbs from \[authors\] Maxine Hong Kingston, Gish Jen, Robert Olen Butler, Oscar Hijuelos and others, have been most encouraging.” [Andrew Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lam/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Lam reflects on the lengthy, selective process of curating a literary collection, noting the encouragement from notable authors. **In simple terms:** A long selection process led to a published collection, praised by established writers. Key Takeaway Embrace patience and seek mentorship during creative projects. Themes creativity curation literary community perseverance Mood proud hopeful Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - writing a book - building an anthology - seeking endorsements - marketing a collection Key Concepts editorial judgment authorial endorsement literary networking Questions to Reflect On - How does mentorship influence creative decisions? - What criteria guide piece selection? A Different Perspective The quote lacks specifics about the collection’s theme, making broader relevance unclear. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Butlers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/butlers/) [Most encouraging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/most-encouraging/) [Oscars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oscars/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Thirteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirteen/) [Twenties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twenties/) ## Related quotes > [“Falling thirty-three stories wasn't nearly as frightening as falling in love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-archer/falling-thirty-three-stories-wasn-t-nearly-as-frightening-as-falling/) Jill Archer ## More by Andrew Lam > [When I came to the United States in 1975 I was eleven, and within a few months my voice broke. I recited commercials like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lam/when-i-came-to-the-united-states-in-1975-i-was-eleven-and-within-a/) [Andrew Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lam/) > [The collection is a labor of love and devotion, and whenever I found free time from my journalism work, I'd work on one story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lam/the-collection-is-a-labor-of-love-and-devotion-and-whenever-i-found/) [Andrew Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lam/) > [I am hopeful that the pendulum swings toward seeing immigrants in favorable terms once more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lam/i-am-hopeful-that-the-pendulum-swings-toward-seeing-immigrants-in/) [Andrew Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lam/) > [When a well-rounded character takes over, he doesn't lecture you about his history and how he is misunderstood. He lives his life, does things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lam/when-a-well-rounded-character-takes-over-he-doesn-t-lecture-you-about/) [Andrew Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lam/) > [I am glad to see the wheels are moving at last toward comprehensive immigration reform after last year's election. I am glad that immigrants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lam/i-am-glad-to-see-the-wheels-are-moving-at-last-toward-comprehensive/) [Andrew Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lam/) > [America's story is largely an immigrant story. That hasn't changed since the Pilgrims ate their first turkey some four hundred years ago, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lam/america-s-story-is-largely-an-immigrant-story-that-hasn-t-changed/) [Andrew Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lam/) > [That experience of losing home, longing for home, that yearning for meaning and rootedness and identity in a floating world, it's what often makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lam/that-experience-of-losing-home-longing-for-home-that-yearning-for/) [Andrew Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lam/) > [Isn't the first story told in the West about the Fall? Adam and Eve were immigrants too from somewhere, a lost Eden, a paradise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lam/isn-t-the-first-story-told-in-the-west-about-the-fall-adam-and-eve/) [Andrew Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lam/) > [I thought, "Wow, English is like magic." It not only shattered my voice, it changed me physiologically. I believed this for months ... There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lam/i-thought-wow-english-is-like-magic-it-not-only-shattered-my-voice-it/) [Andrew Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lam/) > [It's unfortunate that the country of immigrants has turned its back on immigrants. The atmosphere after 9/11 is toxic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lam/it-s-unfortunate-that-the-country-of-immigrants-has-turned-its-back/) [Andrew Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lam/) > [“He knew it even before he could fully articulate it: between East and West lay a terrain that needed to be charted by stories,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lam/he-knew-it-even-before-he-could-fully-articulate-it-between-east-and/) [Andrew Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lam/) > [Today, more people are crossing various borders in order to survive, thrive, change their lives. Even if you don't cross the border, with demographic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lam/today-more-people-are-crossing-various-borders-in-order-to-survive/) [Andrew Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lam/) > [I have a funny story to tell about English and how I came to fall in love with the language. I was desperate to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lam/i-have-a-funny-story-to-tell-about-english-and-how-i-came-to-fall-in/) [Andrew Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lam/) > [I've been writing short stories for twenty years now, on and off ever since I was in the creative writing program at San Francisco…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lam/i-ve-been-writing-short-stories-for-twenty-years-now-on-and-off-ever/) [Andrew Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lam/) > [Where are the leaders who can speak to the idea that it is not alien to American interests, but very much in our socioeconomic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lam/where-are-the-leaders-who-can-speak-to-the-idea-that-it-is-not-alien/) [Andrew Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lam/) [Explore all 28 Andrew Lam quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lam/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "After twenty years and thirty stories, thirteen pieces were finally selected and the collection was born. So far, the blurbs from [authors] Maxine Hong Kingston, Gish Jen, Robert Olen Butler, Oscar Hijuelos and others, have been most encouraging.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andrew Lam" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lam/after-twenty-years-and-thirty-stories-thirteen-pieces-were-finally/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lam/after-twenty-years-and-thirty-stories-thirteen-pieces-were-finally/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5b/andrew-lam-21834_books_after-twenty-years-and-thirty-stories-th_940826.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5b/andrew-lam-21834_books_after-twenty-years-and-thirty-stories-th_940826.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5b/andrew-lam-21834_books_after-twenty-years-and-thirty-stories-th_940826.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“After twenty years and thirty stories, thirteen pieces were finally selected and the collection was born. So…” — Andrew Lam", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Andrew Lam", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lam/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "After twenty years and thirty stories,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lam/after-twenty-years-and-thirty-stories-thirteen-pieces-were-finally/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lam/after-twenty-years-and-thirty-stories-thirteen-pieces-were-finally/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```