--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you're going to publish a book, you…" description: "\"If you're going to publish a book, you probably are going to make a fool of yourself.\" — Annie Dillard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/annie-dillard-509_book_if-you-re-going-to-publish-a-book-you-pr_1397622.jpg" --- # If you're going to publish a book, you probably are going… ![“If you're going to publish a book, you probably are going to make a fool of yourself.” quote by Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/annie-dillard-509_book_if-you-re-going-to-publish-a-book-you-pr_1397622.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/annie-dillard-509_book_if-you-re-going-to-publish-a-book-you-pr_1397622.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/annie-dillard-509_book_if-you-re-going-to-publish-a-book-you-pr_1397622.jpg) > “If you're going to publish a book, you probably are going to make a fool of yourself.” [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Publishing often exposes personal flaws and invites criticism, making the author appear foolish to some. **In simple terms:** Publishing can feel exposing. Key Takeaway Embrace vulnerability in sharing work. Themes writing publishing vulnerability Mood candid encouraging Type advice motivational When to use this quote - book launch - blog posts - academic papers - social media Key Concepts creative risk authenticity Questions to Reflect On - What does “foolishness” teach you about authenticity? - How can you protect your confidence when publishing? A Different Perspective Fear of judgment can hinder authentic expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Probably](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-probably-2506566/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going/) [Going Publish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-publish-1017519/) [Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make/) [Make Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-fool/) [Publish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/publish/) [Publish Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/publish-book-368085/) [Yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yourself/) ## Related quotes > [One of these days, I'm going to publish a book of all the pictures I did not take.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-burri/one-of-these-days-i-m-going-to-publish-a-book-of-all-the-pictures-i/) [Rene Burri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-burri/) > [If someone's going to publish a book about addiction, it has to say something new and different. It has to be something we haven't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-adams/if-someone-s-going-to-publish-a-book-about-addiction-it-has-to-say/) [Charles Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-adams/) > [If you want to write, write it. That's the first rule. And send it in, and send it in to someone who can publish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/if-you-want-to-write-write-it-that-s-the-first-rule-and-send-it-in/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [That and the fact that I knew that nobody was going to publish my work at Dark Horse or DC or anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-walton/that-and-the-fact-that-i-knew-that-nobody-was-going-to-publish-my/) [Rob Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-walton/) > [That is the person you want publishing your book. To be in it, you really have to believe in books and love whatever it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clancy-martin/that-is-the-person-you-want-publishing-your-book-to-be-in-it-you/) [Clancy Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clancy-martin/) > [Three publishers came to me at the White House after George lost and said, 'We would like to publish your book.' I said, 'Well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bush/three-publishers-came-to-me-at-the-white-house-after-george-lost-and/) [Barbara Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bush/) > [I was a book editor for nine years. I'm familiar with the opposite experience, bracing myself for the likelihood that no one would want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/i-was-a-book-editor-for-nine-years-i-m-familiar-with-the-opposite/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [But once you publish a book, doesn’t it by definition become the realm of public discourse? Otherwise, wouldn’t we just write books and print…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-evison/but-once-you-publish-a-book-doesn-t-it-by-definition-become-the-realm/) [Jonathan Evison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-evison/) > [It takes a long time to publish a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/it-takes-a-long-time-to-publish-a-book/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [After you publish a book, you become a writer and you're supposed to take it very seriously. You're supposed to show up at your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/after-you-publish-a-book-you-become-a-writer-and-you-re-supposed-to/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [Just because everyone CAN publish a book these days, doesn't mean everyone SHOULD. The world doesn't need 1000 knock-offs of 50 Shades of Grey.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-gaspirtz/just-because-everyone-can-publish-a-book-these-days-doesn-t-mean/) [Oliver Gaspirtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-gaspirtz/) > [When you publish a book, you do so in part to end the silence. All censorship is silence. I would never, as an author,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/when-you-publish-a-book-you-do-so-in-part-to-end-the-silence-all/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [Nothing is a matter of age. It's really in the person because you can publish book after book after book and still want that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-tillman/nothing-is-a-matter-of-age-it-s-really-in-the-person-because-you-can/) [Lynne Tillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-tillman/) > [I began writing seriously in my mid-20s and didn't publish my first book until I was 41.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-haruf/i-began-writing-seriously-in-my-mid-20s-and-didn-t-publish-my-first/) [Kent Haruf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-haruf/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## More by Annie Dillard > [Like everyone in his right mind, I feared Santa Claus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/like-everyone-in-his-right-mind-i-feared-santa-claus/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“This is a spendthrift economy; though nothing is lost, all is spent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/this-is-a-spendthrift-economy-though-nothing-is-lost-all-is-spent/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The creatures I seek do not want to be seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-creatures-i-seek-do-not-want-to-be-seen/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Nothing moves a woman so deeply as the boyhood of the man she loves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/nothing-moves-a-woman-so-deeply-as-the-boyhood-of-the-man-she-loves/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [We live in all we seek. The hidden shows up in too-plain sight. It lives captive on the face of the obvious - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/we-live-in-all-we-seek-the-hidden-shows-up-in-too-plain-sight-it/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“...The mockingbird took a single step into the air and dropped. His wings were still folded against his sides as though he were singing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-mockingbird-took-a-single-step-into-the-air-and-dropped-his-wings/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“Father had stretched out his long legs and was tilting back in his chair. Mother sat with her knees crossed, in blue slacks, smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/father-had-stretched-out-his-long-legs-and-was-tilting-back-in-his/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world, and I am getting along. I am aging and eaten and have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-frayed-and-nibbled-survivor-in-a-fallen-world-and-i-am-getting/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It should surprise no one that the life of the writer - such as it is - is colorless to the point of sensory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-should-surprise-no-one-that-the-life-of-the-writer-such-as-it-is/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-is-madness-to-wear-ladies-straw-hats-and-velvet-hats-to-church-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The sense impressions of one-celled animals are not edited for the brain. This is philosophically interesting in a rather mournful way, since it means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-sense-impressions-of-one-celled-animals-are-not-edited-for-the/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“What can we make of the inexpressible joy of children? It is a kind of gratitude, I think—the gratitude of the ten-year-old who wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/what-can-we-make-of-the-inexpressible-joy-of-children-it-is-a-kind-of/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“If we were to judge nature by its common sense or likelihood, we wouldn't believe the world existed. In nature, improbabilities are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/if-we-were-to-judge-nature-by-its-common-sense-or-likelihood-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [For writing a first draft requires from the writer a peculiar internal state which ordinary life does not induce. ... how to set yourself spinning?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/for-writing-a-first-draft-requires-from-the-writer-a-peculiar/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a fugitive and a vagabond, a sojourner seeking signs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-fugitive-and-a-vagabond-a-sojourner-seeking-signs/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Explore all 509 Annie Dillard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## More Book 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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you're going to publish a book, you probably are going to make a fool of yourself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Annie Dillard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/if-you-re-going-to-publish-a-book-you-probably-are-going-to-make-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/if-you-re-going-to-publish-a-book-you-probably-are-going-to-make-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/annie-dillard-509_book_if-you-re-going-to-publish-a-book-you-pr_1397622.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/annie-dillard-509_book_if-you-re-going-to-publish-a-book-you-pr_1397622.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/annie-dillard-509_book_if-you-re-going-to-publish-a-book-you-pr_1397622.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you're going to publish a book, you probably are going to make a fool of yourself.” — Annie Dillard", "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": "Annie Dillard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you're going to publish a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/if-you-re-going-to-publish-a-book-you-probably-are-going-to-make-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/if-you-re-going-to-publish-a-book-you-probably-are-going-to-make-a/#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 } } ] } ```