--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I mean, first, almost all writers these…" description: "\"I mean, first, almost all writers these days teach because they don't make enough money publishing to live on, to support themselves - people like Tobi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3a/chad-harbach-3109_amy_i-mean-first-almost-all-writers-these-da_2545227.jpg" --- # I mean, first, almost all writers these days teach because… ![“I mean, first, almost all writers these days teach because they don't make enough money publishing to live on, to support themselves - people like Tobias Wolff, Anne Beattie, Amy Hempel, Stuart Dybek; a lot of short story writers, for one thing.” quote by Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3a/chad-harbach-3109_amy_i-mean-first-almost-all-writers-these-da_2545227.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3a/chad-harbach-3109_amy_i-mean-first-almost-all-writers-these-da_2545227.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3a/chad-harbach-3109_amy_i-mean-first-almost-all-writers-these-da_2545227.jpg) > “I mean, first, almost all writers these days teach because they don't make enough money publishing to live on, to support themselves - people like Tobias Wolff, Anne Beattie, Amy Hempel, Stuart Dybek; a lot of short story writers, for one thing.” [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Many writers teach because writing alone doesn't provide a livable income, so they supplement with academia. **In simple terms:** Writers teach to earn a living. Key Takeaway Consider teaching as a practical supplement. Themes economics career creativity Mood pragmatic reflective Type advice observational When to use this quote - teaching writing courses - seeking grants - balancing creative work - career planning Key Concepts financial stability artistic compromise Questions to Reflect On - How does teaching influence your own writing? - Can financial pressure shape artistic choices? A Different Perspective Teaching may limit time for personal writing projects. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amy/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Mean Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean-writers-1469575/) [One thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-thing/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/publishing/) [Short story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-story/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-writers/) [Support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/support/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [These days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/these-days/) [Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tobias/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writers Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-thing-1469576/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Editing is the same as quarrelling with writers - same thing exactly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-ross/editing-is-the-same-as-quarrelling-with-writers-same-thing-exactly/) [Harold Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-ross/) > [On the other hand, I mean, that is what writers have always been supposed to do, was to rely on their own devices and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/on-the-other-hand-i-mean-that-is-what-writers-have-always-been/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Getting your foot in the door with some publishing people can be important when you're starting out as a writer, but it's also not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/getting-your-foot-in-the-door-with-some-publishing-people-can-be/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [“I'd like to give these detective story writers a course of routine work. They'd soon learn how most things are untraceable and nobody ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/i-d-like-to-give-these-detective-story-writers-a-course-of-routine/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [Poetry died as a commercial form and then it died as a serious art form. No one serious touches it. It used to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/poetry-died-as-a-commercial-form-and-then-it-died-as-a-serious-art/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [If you write one story, it may be bad; if you write a hundred, you have the odds in your favor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/if-you-write-one-story-it-may-be-bad-if-you-write-a-hundred-you-have/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [You learn by writing short stories. Keep writing short stories. The money's in novels, but writing short stories keeps your writing lean and pointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-niven/you-learn-by-writing-short-stories-keep-writing-short-stories-the/) [Larry Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-niven/) > [One of my favorite writers is short story writer/essayist Jorge Luis Borges, who was blind. I'm not claiming to be anything remotely resembling a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-howes/one-of-my-favorite-writers-is-short-story-writer-essayist-jorge-luis/) [Larry Howes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-howes/) > [I write very raw, ugly, illiterate first drafts very quickly (novels are always in first draft in under a year) and then I spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/porochista-khakpour/i-write-very-raw-ugly-illiterate-first-drafts-very-quickly-novels-are/) [Porochista Khakpour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/porochista-khakpour/) > [Well, as a short-story writer, I don't think there are any weaknesses to the genre itself. I guess I would say that the difficulty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zz-packer-64818/well-as-a-short-story-writer-i-don-t-think-there-are-any-weaknesses/) [ZZ Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zz-packer-64818/) > [All the words I use in my stories can be found in the dictionary-it's just a matter of arranging them into the right sentences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/all-the-words-i-use-in-my-stories-can-be-found-in-the-dictionary-it-s/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Sometimes I say working on a story in a writers' room is like saying the same word over and over and over again until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marti-noxon/sometimes-i-say-working-on-a-story-in-a-writers-room-is-like-saying/) [Marti Noxon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marti-noxon/) > [The more original a short-story writer, the odder looking the assortment of things he or she puts together for a story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-bly/the-more-original-a-short-story-writer-the-odder-looking-the/) [Carol Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-bly/) > [I was trained mainly as a short story writer and that's how I started writing, but I've also become very interested in non-fiction, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-was-trained-mainly-as-a-short-story-writer-and-that-s-how-i-started/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Before World War II, I was living a very cloistered existence, as most cartoonists do. The work I was pouring out did not come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-eisner/before-world-war-ii-i-was-living-a-very-cloistered-existence-as-most/) [Will Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-eisner/) ## More by Chad Harbach > [Other things awaited. It was good to be young and to know it for once. So much unfolding to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/other-things-awaited-it-was-good-to-be-young-and-to-know-it-for-once/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [“The problem, like most problems in life, probably had to do with his footwork.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/the-problem-like-most-problems-in-life-probably-had-to-do-with-his/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [There are no whys in a person's life, and very few hows. In the end, in search of useful wisdom, you could only come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/there-are-no-whys-in-a-person-s-life-and-very-few-hows-in-the-end-in/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [“He wished that college required you to use your body more, forced you to remember that life was lived in four dimensions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/he-wished-that-college-required-you-to-use-your-body-more-forced-you/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [“The girl-women scampered around a beach house in various states of preparative undress, wriggled into sundresses, shook out their hair…They possessed a veneer of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/the-girl-women-scampered-around-a-beach-house-in-various-states-of/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [“After those four years, he returned to the Midwest. He'd turned twenty-five, the Age of Unfolding, and it was time to write a novel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/after-those-four-years-he-returned-to-the-midwest-he-d-turned-twenty/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [“It dawned on him—as it hadn’t before; he was dense, he was slow—that his parents were five hundred miles away. They could make him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/it-dawned-on-him-as-it-hadn-t-before-he-was-dense-he-was-slow-that/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [For many years I didn't have health insurance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/for-many-years-i-didn-t-have-health-insurance/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [“Though his classmates supposedly hailed form "all fifty states, Guam, and twenty-two foreign lands," as President Affenlight said in his convocation address, they all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/though-his-classmates-supposedly-hailed-form-all-fifty-states-guam/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [A lot of my close friends had tolerantly washed their hands of the whole idea of me writing a book. They had said to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/a-lot-of-my-close-friends-had-tolerantly-washed-their-hands-of-the/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [“Ella was nineteen," Pella interrupted to say. She hated the namelessness of women in stories, as if they lived and died so that men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/ella-was-nineteen-pella-interrupted-to-say-she-hated-the-namelessness/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [“Neither had said so, but she could tell. Unless she was just paranoid, living in her head again, but you always lived in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/neither-had-said-so-but-she-could-tell-unless-she-was-just-paranoid/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [I feel like every time I start up, it's like a truck you have to get into 15th gear, so you very solely crank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/i-feel-like-every-time-i-start-up-it-s-like-a-truck-you-have-to-get/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [“It was easy enough to write a sentence, but if you were going to create a work of art, the way Melville had, each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/it-was-easy-enough-to-write-a-sentence-but-if-you-were-going-to/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [“Life was long, unless you died, and he didn’t intend to spend the next sixty years talking about the last twenty-two.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/life-was-long-unless-you-died-and-he-didn-t-intend-to-spend-the-next/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) [Explore all 138 Chad Harbach quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) ## More Amy quotes > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [You should climb around inside my brain, Dan. It's like this dark room surrounded by quicksand." "I know what you mean," her brother said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lerangis/you-should-climb-around-inside-my-brain-dan-it-s-like-this-dark-room/) [Peter Lerangis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lerangis/) > [Ridley Pearson also plays bass guitar and sings with the Rock Bottom Remainders, a band made up of such successful authors as Amy Tan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-penzler/ridley-pearson-also-plays-bass-guitar-and-sings-with-the-rock-bottom/) [Otto Penzler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-penzler/) > [I don't talk about Amy Winehouse as a 'singer.' She's a pioneer. I listened to her endlessly when I started writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mvula/i-don-t-talk-about-amy-winehouse-as-a-singer-she-s-a-pioneer-i/) [Laura Mvula](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mvula/) > [I'm so hungry," Amy said sleepily. "Hey, you stole my line," Dan said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-so-hungry-amy-said-sleepily-hey-you-stole-my-line-dan-said/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Amy Winehouse and Paul Weller are examples of poets, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jools-holland/amy-winehouse-and-paul-weller-are-examples-of-poets-i-think/) [Jools Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jools-holland/) > [I think Amy is a really difficult example. With any artist, none of us understands what it's like having the world's media scrutinising everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicki-chapman/i-think-amy-is-a-really-difficult-example-with-any-artist-none-of-us/) [Nicki Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicki-chapman/) > [Former Sony CEO Amy Pascal - they threw her out of the headquarters, but they gave her a new office on the lot. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sagal/former-sony-ceo-amy-pascal-they-threw-her-out-of-the-headquarters-but/) [Peter Sagal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sagal/) > [ The Doctor: This is bad, I don't like this. \[kicks console and yells in pain\] Never use force, you just embarrass yourself. Unless you're… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-moffat/the-doctor-this-is-bad-i-don-t-like-this-kicks-console-and-yells-in/) [Steven Moffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-moffat/) > [I will always have a very deep love for Amy Winehouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/i-will-always-have-a-very-deep-love-for-amy-winehouse/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [Amy Adams is the wish your heart makes…she’s wicked good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-travers/amy-adams-is-the-wish-your-heart-makes-she-s-wicked-good/) [Peter Travers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-travers/) > [“Take care of yourself, okay?” Sophie whispered. Her sister nodded. “And you keep . . . saving the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-messenger/take-care-of-yourself-okay-sophie-whispered-her-sister-nodded-and-you/) [Shannon Messenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-messenger/) > [River Song? Amy Pond? Hardly weak women. It's the exact opposite. You could accuse me of having a fetish for powerful, sexy women who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-moffat/river-song-amy-pond-hardly-weak-women-it-s-the-exact-opposite-you/) [Steven Moffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-moffat/) > [Once a quarter, Amy and I go off the grid and totally disconnect. It's totally doable and it will change your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-feld/once-a-quarter-amy-and-i-go-off-the-grid-and-totally-disconnect-it-s/) [Brad Feld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-feld/) > [There’s a lot I don’t tell my father when he calls asking after Amy. He wouldn’t understand that she has no interest in getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/there-s-a-lot-i-don-t-tell-my-father-when-he-calls-asking-after-amy/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) [Browse all 264 Amy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I mean, first, almost all writers these days teach because they don't make enough money publishing to live on, to support themselves - people like Tobias Wolff, Anne Beattie, Amy Hempel, Stuart Dybek; a lot of short story writers, for one thing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chad Harbach" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/i-mean-first-almost-all-writers-these-days-teach-because-they-don-t/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Amy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/i-mean-first-almost-all-writers-these-days-teach-because-they-don-t/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3a/chad-harbach-3109_amy_i-mean-first-almost-all-writers-these-da_2545227.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3a/chad-harbach-3109_amy_i-mean-first-almost-all-writers-these-da_2545227.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3a/chad-harbach-3109_amy_i-mean-first-almost-all-writers-these-da_2545227.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I mean, first, almost all writers these days teach because they don't make enough money publishing to live…” — Chad Harbach", "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": "Chad Harbach", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I mean, first, almost all writers...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/i-mean-first-almost-all-writers-these-days-teach-because-they-don-t/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/i-mean-first-almost-all-writers-these-days-teach-because-they-don-t/#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 } } ] } ```