--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had a writing professor at Brandeis who…" description: "\"I had a writing professor at Brandeis who told me I'd never make it - and when I sold my first novel a few years later, I sent him a copy!\" — Caroline ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/caroline-leavitt-11280_books_i-had-a-writing-professor-at-brandeis-wh_2273363.png" --- # I had a writing professor at Brandeis who told me I'd… ![“I had a writing professor at Brandeis who told me I'd never make it - and when I sold my first novel a few years later, I sent him a copy!” quote by Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/caroline-leavitt-11280_books_i-had-a-writing-professor-at-brandeis-wh_2273363.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/caroline-leavitt-11280_books_i-had-a-writing-professor-at-brandeis-wh_2273363.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/caroline-leavitt-11280_books_i-had-a-writing-professor-at-brandeis-wh_2273363.png) > “I had a writing professor at Brandeis who told me I'd never make it - and when I sold my first novel a few years later, I sent him a copy!” [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A doubter’s skepticism can be overcome by tangible success, proving critics wrong. **In simple terms:** Success silences doubters. Key Takeaway Turn doubt into motivation. Themes perseverance validation success criticism Mood determined hopeful Type inspirational personal When to use this quote - writing workshops - publishing - career setbacks Key Concepts psychology of motivation career development Questions to Reflect On - How did you respond to the professor’s doubt? - What fuels your perseverance? A Different Perspective Success may not change the critic’s view. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Brandeis Told](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brandeis-told-5277875/) [Copy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copy/) [Few](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/few/) [First](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [Him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/him/) [Later](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/later/) [Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Professor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professor/) [Professor Brandeis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professor-brandeis-5277877/) [Sent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sent/) [Sold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sold/) [Sold Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sold-novel-249254/) [Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Professor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-professor-5277876/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [I sold my very first novel when I was 24 or 25 years old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-j-anderson/i-sold-my-very-first-novel-when-i-was-24-or-25-years-old/) [Kevin J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-j-anderson/) > [Believe it or not, I sold my first novel, 'Crank,' with only seventy-five pages complete. It was in verse then, and it was hard-hitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/believe-it-or-not-i-sold-my-first-novel-crank-with-only-seventy-five/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) > [I started blogging in 2006 when I had sold my first novel but it had not yet been published, in those anxious months in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/i-started-blogging-in-2006-when-i-had-sold-my-first-novel-but-it-had/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [Once the travel guide came out and won an award, once I got an MFA in creative writing, once I sold my next novel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bernard-frost/once-the-travel-guide-came-out-and-won-an-award-once-i-got-an-mfa-in/) [James Bernard Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bernard-frost/) > [My first job was to run a concessions cart. Later, I found a position at the Pacific Film Archive. Thus began a long series…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/my-first-job-was-to-run-a-concessions-cart-later-i-found-a-position/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [If I can give a young author any advice, whatsoever, never let anyone announce the film sale of your first novel. Film rights are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/if-i-can-give-a-young-author-any-advice-whatsoever-never-let-anyone/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [I sold my first short story while I was home on maternity leave, then began working on novels. Since I was reading and enjoying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/i-sold-my-first-short-story-while-i-was-home-on-maternity-leave-then/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [I never had a single female professor throughout my whole education, from the beginning of university to the end. Even all the books were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-geller/i-never-had-a-single-female-professor-throughout-my-whole-education/) [Margaret Geller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-geller/) > [I remember when I was a freshman in college, I was still somewhat bothered by... worried... about religion. I remember going to this professor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/i-remember-when-i-was-a-freshman-in-college-i-was-still-somewhat/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [If nothing else came out of all of this debacle over Obamacare, one thing that should is a class-action lawsuit against the University of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-gohmert/if-nothing-else-came-out-of-all-of-this-debacle-over-obamacare-one/) [Louie Gohmert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-gohmert/) > [You get kicked around long enough, you become a professor of pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-borgnine/you-get-kicked-around-long-enough-you-become-a-professor-of-pain/) [Ernest Borgnine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-borgnine/) > [Most people have an aversion to risk, my college economics professor told me. Which means they have to be rewarded to take on that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arrington/most-people-have-an-aversion-to-risk-my-college-economics-professor/) [Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) > [“There's no difference between a madman and a professor...it should be clear to you in the way they dress, act and think.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/there-s-no-difference-between-a-madman-and-a-professor-it-should-be/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [If the professor doesn't show up to class in the first 15 minutes, you get to leave. Somebody make that a law, please.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-the-professor-doesn-t-show-up-to-class-in-the-first-15-minutes-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Every professor worth his PhD should have a fireplace in his study.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/every-professor-worth-his-phd-should-have-a-fireplace-in-his-study/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) ## More by Caroline Leavitt > [A lot of people hurl themselves into relationships to lose themselves, but I think the best relationships help us to be more ourselves, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/a-lot-of-people-hurl-themselves-into-relationships-to-lose-themselves/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [I've always had a clear sense that time is short and we need to live as fully as we can in every moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/i-ve-always-had-a-clear-sense-that-time-is-short-and-we-need-to-live/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [“Sometimes, to live your life, you had to protect yourself against what other people might take from you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/sometimes-to-live-your-life-you-had-to-protect-yourself-against-what/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [I had a nervous breakdown at 17 when my first love left me, and he was a typical bad boy, albeit a charismatic one,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/i-had-a-nervous-breakdown-at-17-when-my-first-love-left-me-and-he-was/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [When you love what you do, it stops seeming like work and instead becomes necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/when-you-love-what-you-do-it-stops-seeming-like-work-and-instead/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [I cried to my mother that I wanted to go to Hebrew school; I wanted Jewish friends. But when my mother took me, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/i-cried-to-my-mother-that-i-wanted-to-go-to-hebrew-school-i-wanted/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [Writers are magpies, and we collect details about people and we use them for fictional characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/writers-are-magpies-and-we-collect-details-about-people-and-we-use/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [I have to admit that many of the relationships I write about are destructive, but that's the yin to the yang of a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/i-have-to-admit-that-many-of-the-relationships-i-write-about-are/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [I am an indifferent cook, but I can make pie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/i-am-an-indifferent-cook-but-i-can-make-pie/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [“Never. Ever. Give. Up. No doesn't always mean no. Sometimes it's just takes a little work to find the yes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/never-ever-give-up-no-doesn-t-always-mean-no-sometimes-it-s-just/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [I love rewriting because that is where and how you discover the story. Its like you have this skeleton, and you get to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/i-love-rewriting-because-that-is-where-and-how-you-discover-the-story/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [I think I became a writer because of my love of stories and an inability to stop asking, 'What if?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/i-think-i-became-a-writer-because-of-my-love-of-stories-and-an/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [While some of the big publishers might give out 200,000 advances, if your book does not hit some of the lists in the second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/while-some-of-the-big-publishers-might-give-out-200-000-advances-if/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [A haunting, harrowing punch to the heart, Among the Missing is flat-out brilliant. About the secrets we keep, the lives we are desperate to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/a-haunting-harrowing-punch-to-the-heart-among-the-missing-is-flat-out/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [Literature can allow us to experience the best side of humankind, where instead of giving up, we struggle desperately in the ruins for love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/literature-can-allow-us-to-experience-the-best-side-of-humankind/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) [Explore all 59 Caroline Leavitt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "I had a writing professor at Brandeis who told me I'd never make it - and when I sold my first novel a few years later, I sent him a copy!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Caroline Leavitt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/i-had-a-writing-professor-at-brandeis-who-told-me-i-d-never-make-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/i-had-a-writing-professor-at-brandeis-who-told-me-i-d-never-make-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/caroline-leavitt-11280_books_i-had-a-writing-professor-at-brandeis-wh_2273363.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/caroline-leavitt-11280_books_i-had-a-writing-professor-at-brandeis-wh_2273363.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/caroline-leavitt-11280_books_i-had-a-writing-professor-at-brandeis-wh_2273363.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I had a writing professor at Brandeis who told me I'd never make it - and when I sold my first novel a few…” — Caroline Leavitt", "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": "Caroline Leavitt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I had a writing professor at...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/i-had-a-writing-professor-at-brandeis-who-told-me-i-d-never-make-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/i-had-a-writing-professor-at-brandeis-who-told-me-i-d-never-make-it/#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 } } ] } ```