Effort Quote by Ben Fountain

It took me seven years of writing before I published my first story. And then, the publications trickled in over the next five years.

— Rob Roberge

I started in journalism: my first magazine, I developed when I was 10. I sent it round to the neighbors. I also sent it…

— Joanna Coles

I worked at magazines for over 10 years before I even thought of writing a book.

— Dave Eggers

I only published my first novel at the age of 40. Till then, I wrote short stories.

— A. B. Yehoshua

I had a nice part at big newspapers, small newspapers, and then I went to a very big newspaper - 'The Wall Street Journal.'…

— Erik Larson

I didn't write professionally at first. It took me nine years to get anything published. At the beginning I mostly wrote picture books, which…

— Gail Carson Levine

When I was 16, I started publishing all kinds of things in school magazines.

— Margaret Atwood

I always wrote as a vehicle for expression but did not try writing for publication until my mid-thirties, at which time I started writing…

— Elizabeth Berg

I wrote my first novel-length story when I was 14 but had no idea what to do with it. Brisbane was a long way…

— Nick Earls

I didn't really start publishing books until I was 40 because I was busy being a McDonald's employee. So there's always a sense of…

— Jerry Stahl

There are stories still in existence that I wrote when I was five. However, I did not get published until I was seven.

— Tom Robbins

I've been a writer since I was 16. I didn't get published until I was 24. I know that sounds crazy.

— Markus Zusak