--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With the first novel, I had to tell…" description: "\"With the first novel, I had to tell myself, 'No one is ever going to read it, so you might as well just write it.' With the second, I was pretty sure s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a97/celeste-ng-1718_books_with-the-first-novel-i-had-to-tell-mysel_2027852.jpg" --- # With the first novel, I had to tell myself, 'No one is… ![“With the first novel, I had to tell myself, 'No one is ever going to read it, so you might as well just write it.' With the second, I was pretty sure someone was going to read it.” quote by Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a97/celeste-ng-1718_books_with-the-first-novel-i-had-to-tell-mysel_2027852.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a97/celeste-ng-1718_books_with-the-first-novel-i-had-to-tell-mysel_2027852.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a97/celeste-ng-1718_books_with-the-first-novel-i-had-to-tell-mysel_2027852.jpg) > “With the first novel, I had to tell myself, 'No one is ever going to read it, so you might as well just write it.' With the second, I was pretty sure someone was going to read it.” [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing can be motivated by doubt; the first work may be a private experiment, while later works carry confidence of audience reception. **In simple terms:** First writing is private; later writing expects readers. Key Takeaway Embrace writing regardless of expected readership. Themes creativity confidence audience self‑efficacy growth Mood inspirational reflective Type personal motivational When to use this quote - novel drafting - self‑publishing - marketing - reader engagement Key Concepts authorial voice motivation expectation literary success Questions to Reflect On - What drives you to write without an audience? - How does expectation change your creative process? A Different Perspective Confidence may lead to over‑confidence and neglect of revision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [First](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first/) [Going Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-read/) [Just Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-write/) [Myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myself/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novel Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel-tell-390953/) [Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read/) [Well](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/well/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Write Second](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-second-1046150/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“I have from the first felt sure that the writer, when he sits down to commence his novel, should do so, not because he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/i-have-from-the-first-felt-sure-that-the-writer-when-he-sits-down-to/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [The script in many ways is limiting and novel is liberating. You get to go into the heads of your characters and their background…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliet-asante/the-script-in-many-ways-is-limiting-and-novel-is-liberating-you-get/) [Juliet Asante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliet-asante/) > [A novel should tell a story, be a pleasure to read, and at the same time it should be thought-provoking, even a bit instructive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olga-tokarczuk/a-novel-should-tell-a-story-be-a-pleasure-to-read-and-at-the-same/) [Olga Tokarczuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olga-tokarczuk/) > [Of course, you can't legislate for how people are going to read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-muldoon/of-course-you-can-t-legislate-for-how-people-are-going-to-read/) [Paul Muldoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-muldoon/) > [Whenever you have two characters in a book, whether it's a novel or nonfiction, you run the risk that the reader is going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/whenever-you-have-two-characters-in-a-book-whether-it-s-a-novel-or/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [In my twenties, it was so important for me to show people I had all these other books and these other sorts of writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-lau/in-my-twenties-it-was-so-important-for-me-to-show-people-i-had-all/) [Evelyn Lau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-lau/) > [There are two voices: the first says write; the second hardly speaks, but I know what he wants. 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Most of us go on to greater things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-knight/all-of-us-learn-to-write-in-the-second-grade-most-of-us-go-on-to/) [Bobby Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-knight/) > [I realized that my book readings were boring me. I was going to go up there and read a passage and sleepwalk through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/i-realized-that-my-book-readings-were-boring-me-i-was-going-to-go-up/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [You know, I've always been really interested in this stuff, and I'm going to read this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/you-know-i-ve-always-been-really-interested-in-this-stuff-and-i-m/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) ## More by Celeste Ng > [When you mention to people growing up in Cleveland they bring up the river catching on fire, or LeBron James leaving, they have these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/when-you-mention-to-people-growing-up-in-cleveland-they-bring-up-the/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [It's so easy, as a writer, to get stuck in your own head, to live in the little worlds you create. To forget that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/it-s-so-easy-as-a-writer-to-get-stuck-in-your-own-head-to-live-in-the/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [“All up and down the street the houses looked like any others—but inside them were people who might be happy, or taking refuge, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/all-up-and-down-the-street-the-houses-looked-like-any-others-but/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [No reader wants to sit through the same scene four times in a row, unless they're radically different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/no-reader-wants-to-sit-through-the-same-scene-four-times-in-a-row/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [Debut novels are difficult because nobody knows you... they just don't find a huge audience, because that's how the market works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/debut-novels-are-difficult-because-nobody-knows-you-they-just-don-t/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [We have to figure out why we see the world in different ways and then how are we going to adjust so that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/we-have-to-figure-out-why-we-see-the-world-in-different-ways-and-then/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [“I have measured my life with coffee spoons and do I dare to eat a peach?' 'DO I DARE DISTURB THE UNIVERSE?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/i-have-measured-my-life-with-coffee-spoons-and-do-i-dare-to-eat-a/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [“No one, she had learned from experience, could stand such silence for long. If you waited long enough, someone would start talking, and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/no-one-she-had-learned-from-experience-could-stand-such-silence-for/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [“Most of the time, everyone deserves more than one chance. We all do things we regret now and then. You just have to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/most-of-the-time-everyone-deserves-more-than-one-chance-we-all-do/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [“Though she would never quite articulate it this way, resentment began to sheathe concern. ANGER IS FEAR'S BODYGUARD, a poster in the hospital hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/though-she-would-never-quite-articulate-it-this-way-resentment-began/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [Spend too much time alone with your own words, and your writing grows anemic, in dire need of a transfusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/spend-too-much-time-alone-with-your-own-words-and-your-writing-grows/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [“Everyone sees race, Lex," said Moody. "The only difference is who pretends not to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/everyone-sees-race-lex-said-moody-the-only-difference-is-who-pretends/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [Writers, most of them, don't have a lot of resources.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/writers-most-of-them-don-t-have-a-lot-of-resources/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [Browse Amazon reviews, and you'll see a surprising number of readers who believe one novel can summarize a country, its culture, and its people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/browse-amazon-reviews-and-you-ll-see-a-surprising-number-of-readers/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [Short of the dishonest, the illegal, and the cruel, there's only one thing my son could do that would really disappoint me: not liking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/short-of-the-dishonest-the-illegal-and-the-cruel-there-s-only-one/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) [Explore all 212 Celeste Ng quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) ## 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. 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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": "With the first novel, I had to tell myself, 'No one is ever going to read it, so you might as well just write it.' 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