---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I honestly thought I probably did sell…"
description: "\"I honestly thought I probably did sell 100 million books. That doesn't seem out of the ordinary to me.\" — Clive Cussler"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/961/clive-cussler-6870_books_i-honestly-thought-i-probably-did-sell-1_464466.jpg"
---

#  I honestly thought I probably did sell 100 million books…

![“I honestly thought I probably did sell 100 million books. That doesn't seem out of the ordinary to me.” quote by Clive Cussler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/961/clive-cussler-6870_books_i-honestly-thought-i-probably-did-sell-1_464466.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/961/clive-cussler-6870_books_i-honestly-thought-i-probably-did-sell-1_464466.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/961/clive-cussler-6870_books_i-honestly-thought-i-probably-did-sell-1_464466.jpg)

> “I honestly thought I probably did sell 100 million books. That doesn't seem out of the ordinary to me.”

[Clive Cussler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-cussler/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He exaggerates his book sales, implying massive success is normal for him.

**In simple terms:** He claims selling 100 million books is ordinary.

Key Takeaway

Don’t take bragging at face value.

Themes

humor exaggeration confidence

Mood

playful confident

Type

anecdotal humorous

When to use this quote

- marketing pitches
- author interviews
- publishing talks

Key Concepts

self‑promotion perception industry norms

Questions to Reflect On

- Do you question celebrity bragging?
- How does hyperbole affect credibility?

A Different Perspective

Exaggerated claims can mislead audiences.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/)

## Related quotes

> [I'm not trying to sound pretentious, but we did sell 12 million records on the first album, so we did get paid a little bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-timberlake/i-m-not-trying-to-sound-pretentious-but-we-did-sell-12-million/)

[Justin Timberlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-timberlake/)

> [Don't listen to anybody. Nobody knows the magic bullet. If they did, they'd sell it and make a fortune. Follow your gut. Follow your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cudlitz/don-t-listen-to-anybody-nobody-knows-the-magic-bullet-if-they-did/)

[Michael Cudlitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cudlitz/)

> [It's great that in the German language I've sold almost 30 million books. Isn't that amazing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-follett/it-s-great-that-in-the-german-language-i-ve-sold-almost-30-million/)

[Ken Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-follett/)

> [If we could sell 100,000 units every album, that would rock. We'd have a big cult following, we'd have a built-in fanbase so we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-diamond/if-we-could-sell-100-000-units-every-album-that-would-rock-we-d-have/)

[Dustin Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-diamond/)

> [If some institution wants to sell you a billion dollars worth of mortgages, they might have to sell 100 million in the market, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/if-some-institution-wants-to-sell-you-a-billion-dollars-worth-of/)

[Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/)

> [WrestleMania has to have 7 or 8 matches that have value in order to sell that show because people are coming from around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/wrestlemania-has-to-have-7-or-8-matches-that-have-value-in-order-to/)

[Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/)

> [I've got a core audience, so regardless of what I put out, I can sell 100,000 records on an independent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/too-short/i-ve-got-a-core-audience-so-regardless-of-what-i-put-out-i-can-sell/)

[Too Short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/too-short/)

> [I had to give Justin Bieber a lot of shirts - he's a friend of the team, and we got a lot of love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/birdman/i-had-to-give-justin-bieber-a-lot-of-shirts-he-s-a-friend-of-the-team/)

Birdman

> [I am worth more than 100 million.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-osimhen/i-am-worth-more-than-100-million/)

[Victor Osimhen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-osimhen/)

> [I just want to make $100 million and retire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryson-tiller/i-just-want-to-make-100-million-and-retire/)

[Bryson Tiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryson-tiller/)

> [If there are watching, for the World Cup final, 500 million people or something like that, and 100 million for a women's final, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-de-boer/if-there-are-watching-for-the-world-cup-final-500-million-people-or/)

[Frank de Boer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-de-boer/)

> [SoftBank's $100 million investment helped cement our reputation as a start-up with a promise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritesh-agarwal/softbank-s-100-million-investment-helped-cement-our-reputation-as-a/)

[Ritesh Agarwal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritesh-agarwal/)

> [I play for India, I play for the 100 million people of my country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautam-gambhir/i-play-for-india-i-play-for-the-100-million-people-of-my-country/)

[Gautam Gambhir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautam-gambhir/)

> [Look, I always say this, 99 percent of people in the UFC would be gone if they have made $100 million.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artem-lobov/look-i-always-say-this-99-percent-of-people-in-the-ufc-would-be-gone/)

[Artem Lobov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artem-lobov/)

> [I think everybody thinks they can have the next $100 million venue. I think there is a bit of arrogance in that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-taffer/i-think-everybody-thinks-they-can-have-the-next-100-million-venue-i/)

[Jon Taffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-taffer/)

## More by Clive Cussler

> [I never had a highfalutin' view of what I write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-cussler/i-never-had-a-highfalutin-view-of-what-i-write/)

[Clive Cussler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-cussler/)

> [My son's name is Dirk - I named Dirk Pitt after him when he was about three years old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-cussler/my-son-s-name-is-dirk-i-named-dirk-pitt-after-him-when-he-was-about/)

[Clive Cussler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-cussler/)

> [“storm is still on track to pass right over us, so we’ll get the worst of it. Do you think we’ll be ready for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-cussler/storm-is-still-on-track-to-pass-right-over-us-so-we-ll-get-the-worst/)

[Clive Cussler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-cussler/)

> [My forte is the plotting. You sit down, and you work out a plot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-cussler/my-forte-is-the-plotting-you-sit-down-and-you-work-out-a-plot/)

[Clive Cussler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-cussler/)

> [“Two unarmed men against six loaded for bear. We need to even the odds.” “Got a plan?” asked Giordino. “I certainly do.” Giordino gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-cussler/two-unarmed-men-against-six-loaded-for-bear-we-need-to-even-the-odds/)

[Clive Cussler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-cussler/)

> [Maybe some day they'll find me behind the computer, just bones and cobwebs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-cussler/maybe-some-day-they-ll-find-me-behind-the-computer-just-bones-and/)

[Clive Cussler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-cussler/)

> [I'm considered the 'old daddy of adventure.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-cussler/i-m-considered-the-old-daddy-of-adventure/)

[Clive Cussler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-cussler/)

> [“She turned his”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-cussler/she-turned-his/)

[Clive Cussler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-cussler/)

> [“Americans have an annoying habit of accomplishing what they set out to do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-cussler/americans-have-an-annoying-habit-of-accomplishing-what-they-set-out/)

[Clive Cussler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-cussler/)

> [I have a large collection of town cars because when I was just a snipe in the gutter, growing up in Los Angeles, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-cussler/i-have-a-large-collection-of-town-cars-because-when-i-was-just-a/)

[Clive Cussler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-cussler/)

> [I'm writing for entertainment. I like people to reach the end and feel they got their money's worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-cussler/i-m-writing-for-entertainment-i-like-people-to-reach-the-end-and-feel/)

[Clive Cussler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-cussler/)

> [“Urquhart could somehow feel the glow on his skin as the hairs on his arms raised up and the thick pelt of man fur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-cussler/urquhart-could-somehow-feel-the-glow-on-his-skin-as-the-hairs-on-his/)

[Clive Cussler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-cussler/)

> [There's no literary merit in my books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-cussler/there-s-no-literary-merit-in-my-books/)

[Clive Cussler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-cussler/)

> [“toward the truck. Sam shoved”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-cussler/toward-the-truck-sam-shoved/)

[Clive Cussler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-cussler/)

> [There's a little bit of Pitt in everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-cussler/there-s-a-little-bit-of-pitt-in-everybody/)

[Clive Cussler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-cussler/)

[Explore all 97 Clive Cussler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-cussler/)

## 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

> [“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

> [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 honestly thought I probably did sell 100 million books. That doesn't seem out of the ordinary to me.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Clive Cussler"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-cussler/i-honestly-thought-i-probably-did-sell-100-million-books-that-doesn-t/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Books"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-cussler/i-honestly-thought-i-probably-did-sell-100-million-books-that-doesn-t/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/961/clive-cussler-6870_books_i-honestly-thought-i-probably-did-sell-1_464466.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/961/clive-cussler-6870_books_i-honestly-thought-i-probably-did-sell-1_464466.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/961/clive-cussler-6870_books_i-honestly-thought-i-probably-did-sell-1_464466.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I honestly thought I probably did sell 100 million books. That doesn't seem out of the ordinary to me.” — Clive Cussler",
                "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": "Clive Cussler",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-cussler/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I honestly thought I probably did...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-cussler/i-honestly-thought-i-probably-did-sell-100-million-books-that-doesn-t/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-cussler/i-honestly-thought-i-probably-did-sell-100-million-books-that-doesn-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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
