--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Being an editor has been a source of…" description: "\"Being an editor has been a source of great satisfaction, but writing is the thing I truly love.\" — Bill Keller" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fa/bill-keller-13202_editors_being-an-editor-has-been-a-source-of-gre_1862308.jpg" --- # Being an editor has been a source of great satisfaction… ![“Being an editor has been a source of great satisfaction, but writing is the thing I truly love.” quote by Bill Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fa/bill-keller-13202_editors_being-an-editor-has-been-a-source-of-gre_1862308.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fa/bill-keller-13202_editors_being-an-editor-has-been-a-source-of-gre_1862308.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fa/bill-keller-13202_editors_being-an-editor-has-been-a-source-of-gre_1862308.jpg) > “Being an editor has been a source of great satisfaction, but writing is the thing I truly love.” [Bill Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-keller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The editor finds professional fulfillment, yet true passion lies in writing, indicating a distinction between duty and love. **In simple terms:** Editing is satisfying; writing is love. Key Takeaway Pursue the work you love. Themes career passion writing Mood reflective inspirational Type career personal growth When to use this quote - journalism - book publishing - personal development - career transition Key Concepts professional fulfillment creative calling Questions to Reflect On - What steps can you take to write more? - Can you integrate editing and writing? A Different Perspective Balancing duty and passion can be challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Satisfaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfaction/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [There's always a personal satisfaction in writing a song by yourself. You get the inspiration, and see it through, and you're done. It's focused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-oates/there-s-always-a-personal-satisfaction-in-writing-a-song-by-yourself/) [John Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-oates/) > [The editor needs to put his own life on hold for the better of the magazine, the crew, and the readers. And to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-jerrman/the-editor-needs-to-put-his-own-life-on-hold-for-the-better-of-the/) [Toni Jerrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-jerrman/) > [A good novel editor is invisible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/a-good-novel-editor-is-invisible/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [I have been blessed to have the same editor and work for a great publishing house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-flynn/i-have-been-blessed-to-have-the-same-editor-and-work-for-a-great/) [Vince Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-flynn/) > [An editor has to be selfless, and yet has also to be strong-minded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gottlieb/an-editor-has-to-be-selfless-and-yet-has-also-to-be-strong-minded/) [Robert Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gottlieb/) > [An editor should tell the author his writing is better than it is. Not a lot better, a little better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-editor-should-tell-the-author-his-writing-is-better-than-it-is-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The successful editor is one who is constantly finding newwriters, nurturing their talents, and publishing them with critical and financial success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-scott-berg/the-successful-editor-is-one-who-is-constantly-finding-newwriters/) [A. Scott Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-scott-berg/) > [I think part of my success as an editor came from never worrying about a fact, a cause, an atmosphere. It was me—projecting to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-vreeland/i-think-part-of-my-success-as-an-editor-came-from-never-worrying/) [Diana Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-vreeland/) > [I've been a teacher at the college level, in composition mostly, and I've been an editor on magazines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-haddam/i-ve-been-a-teacher-at-the-college-level-in-composition-mostly-and-i/) [Jane Haddam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-haddam/) > [The relationship with the words someone uses is more intimate and integrated than just a quick read and a blurb can ever be. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/the-relationship-with-the-words-someone-uses-is-more-intimate-and/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [The main thing is that you have a good editor - one that believes in you and who will give you the feedback that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-darden/the-main-thing-is-that-you-have-a-good-editor-one-that-believes-in/) [Christopher Darden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-darden/) > [An editor is like a professional reader, and as I became a better reader, I also became a better writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/an-editor-is-like-a-professional-reader-and-as-i-became-a-better/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [I never wanted to be an editor. I never wanted to be a boss. I just wanted to write, and it didn't make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-deford/i-never-wanted-to-be-an-editor-i-never-wanted-to-be-a-boss-i-just/) [Frank Deford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-deford/) > [Having been an editor for more than a decade, I thought I had a good idea of how much work was involved in writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-klassen/having-been-an-editor-for-more-than-a-decade-i-thought-i-had-a-good/) [Julie Klassen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-klassen/) > [Every newspaper editor says the heart of the paper is the reporter - which is true - except for the pay!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-germond/every-newspaper-editor-says-the-heart-of-the-paper-is-the-reporter/) [Jack Germond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-germond/) ## More by Bill Keller > [It's a considerable source of tragedy in the world that people stay in powerful jobs long past the point where they're a spent force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-keller/it-s-a-considerable-source-of-tragedy-in-the-world-that-people-stay/) [Bill Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-keller/) > [If a candidate for president said he believed that space aliens dwell among us, would that affect your willingness to vote for him? Personally,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-keller/if-a-candidate-for-president-said-he-believed-that-space-aliens-dwell/) [Bill Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-keller/) > [One of the reasons that I'm a lurker on Twitter is that every time I tweet an idea, I feel like I'm delivering something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-keller/one-of-the-reasons-that-i-m-a-lurker-on-twitter-is-that-every-time-i/) [Bill Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-keller/) > [Since September 11 2001, editors in America have faced some excruciating choices, as the attempt to wage a war against a new kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-keller/since-september-11-2001-editors-in-america-have-faced-some/) [Bill Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-keller/) > [Liberation movements - prizing ends over means - are not always particular about their friends or scrupulous about their transactions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-keller/liberation-movements-prizing-ends-over-means-are-not-always/) [Bill Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-keller/) > [A vote for Mitt Romney is a vote for Satan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-keller/a-vote-for-mitt-romney-is-a-vote-for-satan/) [Bill Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-keller/) > [I don't have dating tips.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-keller/i-don-t-have-dating-tips/) [Bill Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-keller/) > [The most obvious drawback of social media is that they are aggressive distractions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-keller/the-most-obvious-drawback-of-social-media-is-that-they-are-aggressive/) [Bill Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-keller/) > [My view of social media is that it is a set of tools, not a religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-keller/my-view-of-social-media-is-that-it-is-a-set-of-tools-not-a-religion/) [Bill Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-keller/) > [My feeling about the Internet or anything else is that the more it tends to become a cult, the more I want to call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-keller/my-feeling-about-the-internet-or-anything-else-is-that-the-more-it/) [Bill Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-keller/) > [Whether or not Twitter makes you stupid, it certainly makes some smart people sound stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-keller/whether-or-not-twitter-makes-you-stupid-it-certainly-makes-some-smart/) [Bill Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-keller/) > [There's a lot of stuff they don't teach you in the mythical editors' school. They don't teach you that you're going to have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-keller/there-s-a-lot-of-stuff-they-don-t-teach-you-in-the-mythical-editors/) [Bill Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-keller/) > [The Democrats generally recoil from the subject of entitlements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-keller/the-democrats-generally-recoil-from-the-subject-of-entitlements/) [Bill Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-keller/) > [Maybe we're all a little too desperate these days for a simple formula to explain how our safe world came unhinged. That, as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-keller/maybe-we-re-all-a-little-too-desperate-these-days-for-a-simple/) [Bill Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-keller/) > [There is a long history of newspapers being doomed. They were doomed by radio. They were doomed by television. They were probably doomed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-keller/there-is-a-long-history-of-newspapers-being-doomed-they-were-doomed/) [Bill Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-keller/) [Explore all 51 Bill Keller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-keller/) ## More Editor quotes > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [I could give you some names of Workshop participants who are as good as many who are being published but haven't had the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gunn/i-could-give-you-some-names-of-workshop-participants-who-are-as-good/) [James Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gunn/) > [“Don't make the editor's decision for her by not submitting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-janssen/don-t-make-the-editor-s-decision-for-her-by-not-submitting/) Victoria Janssen > [Newspapers have been likened to steamships that move very slowly, in terms of their direction. And when a reporter is sent out on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rosenstiel/newspapers-have-been-likened-to-steamships-that-move-very-slowly-in/) [Tom Rosenstiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rosenstiel/) > [The best compliment came from Knopf's Sonny Mehta. We were at lunch in New York with my editor, Gary Fisketjon, it was my first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ross/the-best-compliment-came-from-knopf-s-sonny-mehta-we-were-at-lunch-in/) [Adam Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ross/) > [Every newspaper editor says the heart of the paper is the reporter - which is true - except for the pay!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-germond/every-newspaper-editor-says-the-heart-of-the-paper-is-the-reporter/) [Jack Germond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-germond/) > [Rewriting is a large part of the whole job. And get rid of stuff that's not working. Just pare it down until it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-loder/rewriting-is-a-large-part-of-the-whole-job-and-get-rid-of-stuff-that/) [Kurt Loder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-loder/) > [My job as an editor is to gently prod the attention of the audience to look at various parts of the frame. And that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-murch/my-job-as-an-editor-is-to-gently-prod-the-attention-of-the-audience/) [Walter Murch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-murch/) > [You have to live and breathe Scotland if you're 'Scotsman' editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-neil/you-have-to-live-and-breathe-scotland-if-you-re-scotsman-editor/) [Andrew Neil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-neil/) > [Having been an editor for more than a decade, I thought I had a good idea of how much work was involved in writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-klassen/having-been-an-editor-for-more-than-a-decade-i-thought-i-had-a-good/) [Julie Klassen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-klassen/) > [“One rule of the road not directly stated elsewhere in this book: 'The editor is always right.' The corollary is that no writer will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/one-rule-of-the-road-not-directly-stated-elsewhere-in-this-book-the/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It's always the paragraphs I loved most, the ones I tenderly polished and re-read with pride, that my editor will suggest cutting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liane-moriarty/it-s-always-the-paragraphs-i-loved-most-the-ones-i-tenderly-polished/) [Liane Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liane-moriarty/) > [I never wanted to be an editor. I never wanted to be a boss. I just wanted to write, and it didn't make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-deford/i-never-wanted-to-be-an-editor-i-never-wanted-to-be-a-boss-i-just/) [Frank Deford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-deford/) > [Filmmaking has always involved pairs: a director coupled with a producer, a director alongside an editor... The notion of couples is not foreign to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-dardenne/filmmaking-has-always-involved-pairs-a-director-coupled-with-a/) Luc Dardenne > [An editor is like a professional reader, and as I became a better reader, I also became a better writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/an-editor-is-like-a-professional-reader-and-as-i-became-a-better/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) Browse all 317 Editor quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Being an editor has been a source of great satisfaction, but writing is the thing I truly love.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Keller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-keller/being-an-editor-has-been-a-source-of-great-satisfaction-but-writing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Editor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-keller/being-an-editor-has-been-a-source-of-great-satisfaction-but-writing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fa/bill-keller-13202_editors_being-an-editor-has-been-a-source-of-gre_1862308.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fa/bill-keller-13202_editors_being-an-editor-has-been-a-source-of-gre_1862308.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fa/bill-keller-13202_editors_being-an-editor-has-been-a-source-of-gre_1862308.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Being an editor has been a source of great satisfaction, but writing is the thing I truly love.” — Bill Keller", "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": "Bill Keller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-keller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Being an editor has been a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-keller/being-an-editor-has-been-a-source-of-great-satisfaction-but-writing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-keller/being-an-editor-has-been-a-source-of-great-satisfaction-but-writing/#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 } } ] } ```