--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had forgotten until I looked up old…" description: "\"I had forgotten until I looked up old notes that I sold the film rights of my first book, a life of Mary Wollstonecraft: there was a lunch, a contract,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/claire-tomalin-8837_book_i-had-forgotten-until-i-looked-up-old-no_2690197.jpg" --- # I had forgotten until I looked up old notes that I sold… ![“I had forgotten until I looked up old notes that I sold the film rights of my first book, a life of Mary Wollstonecraft: there was a lunch, a contract, a small sum of money, then nothing.” quote by Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/claire-tomalin-8837_book_i-had-forgotten-until-i-looked-up-old-no_2690197.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/claire-tomalin-8837_book_i-had-forgotten-until-i-looked-up-old-no_2690197.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/claire-tomalin-8837_book_i-had-forgotten-until-i-looked-up-old-no_2690197.jpg) > “I had forgotten until I looked up old notes that I sold the film rights of my first book, a life of Mary Wollstonecraft: there was a lunch, a contract, a small sum of money, then nothing.” [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Selling film rights can be fleeting and underwhelming, leaving creators with minimal reward and lingering regret. **In simple terms:** Film deals may bring little payoff and fade quickly. Key Takeaway Negotiate clearly and protect creative interests. Themes publishing film rights regret contracts creative control Mood cautious reflective Type practical inspirational When to use this quote - Book publishing - film negotiations - author contracts - literary estates Key Concepts Intellectual property law authorial agency media adaptation Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards can authors use when selling rights? - How can creators ensure fair compensation? A Different Perspective Authors may lack bargaining power, leading to unfavorable terms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothing/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) ## Related quotes > [When I wrote about Mary Wollstonecraft, I found that here she was, in the late 18th century, going to work for the 'Analytical Review.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/when-i-wrote-about-mary-wollstonecraft-i-found-that-here-she-was-in/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [The things I have sold to film, I've sold because I was happy to rent out the right to adapt those works. Some things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/the-things-i-have-sold-to-film-i-ve-sold-because-i-was-happy-to-rent/) [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) > [If you have sold the film rights to somebody, take your money and leave. If the producers need you, they will call you. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-subramanian/if-you-have-sold-the-film-rights-to-somebody-take-your-money-and/) [Ravi Subramanian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-subramanian/) > [We did the original 'Stargate' as an independent movie. It was a surprise success. Shortly before the movie came out, the financiers who were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-devlin/we-did-the-original-stargate-as-an-independent-movie-it-was-a/) [Dean Devlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-devlin/) > [ “Mary Wollstonecraft \[said\] 225 years ago, ‘I do not wish women to have power over men, but over themselves.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-rodham-clinton/mary-wollstonecraft-said-225-years-ago-i-do-not-wish-women-to-have/) [Hillary Rodham Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-rodham-clinton/) > [“...I learned the power of identity--the idea that even an uneducated woman, like myself, who hadn't read Mary Wollstonecraft or bell hooks, could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-dawn/i-learned-the-power-of-identity-the-idea-that-even-an-uneducated/) [Amber Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-dawn/) > [“When you arrive in the afterlife, you find that Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley sits on a throne. 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I'm thinking not only of Mary Wollstonecraft and her daughter Mary Shelley, but of Anais…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/the-greatest-feminists-have-also-been-the-greatest-lovers-i-m/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“While we’re defining things, let’s take a moment for feminism: “the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the political, economic, and social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-rodham-clinton/while-we-re-defining-things-let-s-take-a-moment-for-feminism-the/) [Hillary Rodham Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-rodham-clinton/) > [“Jacky, who had read and admired Mary Wollstonecraft, and despised the fashion of fluttery helplessness in women, felt, to her own annoyance, close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-powers/jacky-who-had-read-and-admired-mary-wollstonecraft-and-despised-the/) [Tim Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-powers/) > [“The atomic bomb which we dropped on the people of Hiroshima was first envisioned by a woman, not a man. She was, of course,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-atomic-bomb-which-we-dropped-on-the-people-of-hiroshima-was-first/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“...Puritanism has made life itself impossible. More than art, more than estheticism, life represents beauty in a thousand variations; it is indeed, a gigantic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/puritanism-has-made-life-itself-impossible-more-than-art-more-than/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [I'm a pretty avid reader, but I missed feminism in college. I did take an intro course where I read Mary Wollstonecraft, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norbert-leo-butz/i-m-a-pretty-avid-reader-but-i-missed-feminism-in-college-i-did-take/) [Norbert Leo Butz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norbert-leo-butz/) > [“Whatever science has done to destroy the world, it has unquestionably saved the lives of women and their babies. Nature is not gentle with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/whatever-science-has-done-to-destroy-the-world-it-has-unquestionably/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (whose mother died ten days after she was born) wrote a novel that anticipates Semmelweis's discovery and serves as a parable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mullen/mary-wollstonecraft-shelley-whose-mother-died-ten-days-after-she-was/) [Laura Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mullen/) ## More by Claire Tomalin > [“Poor Nelly, she was not to know that fashions in sin change as much as other fashions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/poor-nelly-she-was-not-to-know-that-fashions-in-sin-change-as-much-as/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [I always feel sad when I come to the end of a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-always-feel-sad-when-i-come-to-the-end-of-a-book/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [I would like to have a more social life than I have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-would-like-to-have-a-more-social-life-than-i-have/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [I continually get more information about a subject after the book has been published.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-continually-get-more-information-about-a-subject-after-the-book-has/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [I was working at the 'Evening Standard' when I heard that there was a job going as deputy literary editor on the 'New Statesman.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-was-working-at-the-evening-standard-when-i-heard-that-there-was-a/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [I've behaved badly in my life. I hope I haven't behaved as badly as Dickens! In a way, if you're a woman, you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-ve-behaved-badly-in-my-life-i-hope-i-haven-t-behaved-as-badly-as/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [Simon Russell Beale is an incomparable speaker of Shakespeare and a superb all-round actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/simon-russell-beale-is-an-incomparable-speaker-of-shakespeare-and-a/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [I sometimes think that, since I started writing biographies, I've had more of a life in books than I have had in my real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-sometimes-think-that-since-i-started-writing-biographies-i-ve-had/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [Poetry was one of the things that interested me most as I was growing up. 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You're not interested in rapping people over the knuckles; you're interested in understanding them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/you-become-more-tolerant-when-you-become-older-you-re-not-interested/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [Dickens is a lover of human beings; a relisher of human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/dickens-is-a-lover-of-human-beings-a-relisher-of-human-beings/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [Dickens never joined a political party nor put forward a political programme. 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