--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A downside to being a successful…" description: "\"A downside to being a successful novelist? Wow - I can't imagine one.\" — Andrew Sean Greer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/954/andrew-sean-greer-2689_being_a-downside-to-being-a-successful-novelis_229166.png" --- # A downside to being a successful novelist? Wow - I can't… ![“A downside to being a successful novelist? Wow - I can't imagine one.” quote by Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/954/andrew-sean-greer-2689_being_a-downside-to-being-a-successful-novelis_229166.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/954/andrew-sean-greer-2689_being_a-downside-to-being-a-successful-novelis_229166.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/954/andrew-sean-greer-2689_being_a-downside-to-being-a-successful-novelis_229166.png) > “A downside to being a successful novelist? Wow - I can't imagine one.” [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success brings hidden pressures and expectations that can feel burdensome. **In simple terms:** Being successful can feel isolating. Key Takeaway Balance achievement with personal well‑being. Themes success loneliness expectations Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career milestones - public scrutiny - self‑esteem challenges Key Concepts psychology of fame creative pressure Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay grounded amid acclaim? - What pressures accompany achievement? A Different Perspective Success does not guarantee happiness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) [Novelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelist/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [You need three things to become a successful novelist: talent, luck and discipline. Discipline is the one element of those three things that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/you-need-three-things-to-become-a-successful-novelist-talent-luck-and/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [I'm a successful novelist, and I've been a lucky one, so I don't want to cry the poor mouth. Writing has never been easy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/i-m-a-successful-novelist-and-i-ve-been-a-lucky-one-so-i-don-t-want/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [Really, what you should tell a novelist is, 'Keep going until you finish the draft. Don't show it to anyone.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/really-what-you-should-tell-a-novelist-is-keep-going-until-you-finish/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [Manage the downside; the upside will take care of itself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/manage-the-downside-the-upside-will-take-care-of-itself/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Being negative is easy. There will always be a downside to everything good, a hurdle to everything desirable, a con to every pro. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/being-negative-is-easy-there-will-always-be-a-downside-to-everything/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [Graham liked the idea of protection on the downside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-schloss/graham-liked-the-idea-of-protection-on-the-downside/) [Walter Schloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-schloss/) > [On the downside, to paraphrase Thom Yorke talking about the music business, we're still having to deal with the stench of the last fart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-norton/on-the-downside-to-paraphrase-thom-yorke-talking-about-the-music/) [Edward Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-norton/) > [If we take all this actions and if it turns out not be true, we have reduced pollution and have better ways to live,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/if-we-take-all-this-actions-and-if-it-turns-out-not-be-true-we-have/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [As I have found out, recognition has its upside, its downside and – you may say – its backside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pippa-middleton/as-i-have-found-out-recognition-has-its-upside-its-downside-and-you/) [Pippa Middleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pippa-middleton/) > [It may part of a one way evolution... or it may be we are currently on the downside of an innocence cycle where one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-knight/it-may-part-of-a-one-way-evolution-or-it-may-be-we-are-currently-on/) [Christopher Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-knight/) > [Photography ruins marriages, and I've been married three times - so there's a downside to it as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welpott/photography-ruins-marriages-and-i-ve-been-married-three-times-so/) [Jack Welpott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welpott/) > [“That’s the downside to San Diego. Once you live here, you never want to live anywhere else. Unfortunately everyone else already lives here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/that-s-the-downside-to-san-diego-once-you-live-here-you-never-want-to/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [I can't think of a single downside to motherhood now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-can-t-think-of-a-single-downside-to-motherhood-now/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [I'm a complete addict of The 'X Factor,' so I can see why everyone gets so inspired. But there's a downside to celebrity: your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-quick/i-m-a-complete-addict-of-the-x-factor-so-i-can-see-why-everyone-gets/) [Diana Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-quick/) > [I remember the early 1980s, when I first got one of these fabulous film critic jobs. The downside was sitting through 'Splatteria III: The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hunter/i-remember-the-early-1980s-when-i-first-got-one-of-these-fabulous/) [Stephen Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hunter/) ## More by Andrew Sean Greer > [It takes too much imagination to see the sorrows of people we take for happy. Their real battles take place, like those of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/it-takes-too-much-imagination-to-see-the-sorrows-of-people-we-take/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [They say you hit your stride as a writer at about 50. I'm hoping to do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/they-say-you-hit-your-stride-as-a-writer-at-about-50-i-m-hoping-to-do/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [“Then I traveled. Quite a bit, in fact. You have to stockpile a few beautiful vistas in your memory, Pearlie. In case we're rationed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/then-i-traveled-quite-a-bit-in-fact-you-have-to-stockpile-a-few/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [Writing fiction is an act of imaginative empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/writing-fiction-is-an-act-of-imaginative-empathy/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [“To give up a marriage - someone unmarried might imagine it's like giving up a seat in a theater, or sacrificing a trick in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/to-give-up-a-marriage-someone-unmarried-might-imagine-it-s-like/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [“Standing on the deck of a San Francisco ferryboat, in a gray suit so precisely the same colour as the fog that he seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/standing-on-the-deck-of-a-san-francisco-ferryboat-in-a-gray-suit-so/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [“We're too old to think we'll meet again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/we-re-too-old-to-think-we-ll-meet-again/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [“A rosewater smell from the box summoned, instantly, a dictatorial woman with a tight bun, hectoring him with questions. The cut, the buttons, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/a-rosewater-smell-from-the-box-summoned-instantly-a-dictatorial-woman/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [Does love always form, like a pearl, around the hardened bits of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/does-love-always-form-like-a-pearl-around-the-hardened-bits-of-life/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [I was raised Unitarian, and my mother said she took us to church so that we wouldn't get religious later in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/i-was-raised-unitarian-and-my-mother-said-she-took-us-to-church-so/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [My country is nothing if not diverse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/my-country-is-nothing-if-not-diverse/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [Any gay man in America redeals a deck at some point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/any-gay-man-in-america-redeals-a-deck-at-some-point/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [“We kept each other's stare a long time, for we had each done a startling thing, dodged time for an instant - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/we-kept-each-other-s-stare-a-long-time-for-we-had-each-done-a/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [My grandmother was not a great storyteller.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/my-grandmother-was-not-a-great-storyteller/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [I have to get three pages done every day, and there's usually a point about 150 pages in where everything falls apart, where all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/i-have-to-get-three-pages-done-every-day-and-there-s-usually-a-point/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) [Explore all 154 Andrew Sean Greer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) ## More Being quotes > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/) [Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/) > [I love being in Malibu. It's so cool there, and the water is just, it's nice and, and I love the beach. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-evancho/i-love-being-in-malibu-it-s-so-cool-there-and-the-water-is-just-it-s/) [Jackie Evancho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-evancho/) > [I talk to my mates about our kids, being too tired and being worn out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-willoughby/i-talk-to-my-mates-about-our-kids-being-too-tired-and-being-worn-out/) [Holly Willoughby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-willoughby/) > [I love to fish. I love the peacefulness of being around the water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evonne-goolagong-cawley/i-love-to-fish-i-love-the-peacefulness-of-being-around-the-water/) [Evonne Goolagong Cawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evonne-goolagong-cawley/) > [When you're in your twenties and starting out, the problem is that you care about being cool. Being older, I can care less about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-righton/when-you-re-in-your-twenties-and-starting-out-the-problem-is-that-you/) [James Righton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-righton/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [Being a new mother is a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phaedra-parks/being-a-new-mother-is-a-blessing/) [Phaedra Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phaedra-parks/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Having small children and being an investigative reporter would seem like a difficult mix, but it worked well for me. I was often working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-abramson/having-small-children-and-being-an-investigative-reporter-would-seem/) [Jill Abramson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-abramson/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [We should not live in fear, we should all enjoy being able to express our views freely and openly, challenge each other on issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tan-cheng-bock/we-should-not-live-in-fear-we-should-all-enjoy-being-able-to-express/) [Tan Cheng Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tan-cheng-bock/) [Browse all 18,139 Being quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A downside to being a successful novelist? 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