--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I argued strongly to the American…" description: "\"I argued strongly to the American publisher that 'Reality Hunger' should come out first. They thought that 'The Thing About Life' would have more appea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/david-shields-8815_american_i-argued-strongly-to-the-american-publis_1474450.jpg" --- # I argued strongly to the American publisher that 'Reality… ![“I argued strongly to the American publisher that 'Reality Hunger' should come out first. They thought that 'The Thing About Life' would have more appeal because it's on a broader topic; it's about mortality rather than art.” quote by David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/david-shields-8815_american_i-argued-strongly-to-the-american-publis_1474450.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/david-shields-8815_american_i-argued-strongly-to-the-american-publis_1474450.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/david-shields-8815_american_i-argued-strongly-to-the-american-publis_1474450.jpg) > “I argued strongly to the American publisher that 'Reality Hunger' should come out first. They thought that 'The Thing About Life' would have more appeal because it's on a broader topic; it's about mortality rather than art.” [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author prioritized a work about art over a broader, mortality‑focused title, emphasizing the value of artistic truth over popular appeal. **In simple terms:** Choosing art over mass appeal. Key Takeaway Prioritize artistic integrity. Themes art publishing authenticity Mood reflective determined Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - author negotiations - publishing decisions - marketing strategy Key Concepts cultural criticism market dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Is artistic truth more important than audience size? - How do you balance integrity with market demand? A Different Perspective May limit commercial success. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [So many of the things I talk about in 'Reality Hunger' seem to be the things that 'The Thing About Life' does - things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/so-many-of-the-things-i-talk-about-in-reality-hunger-seem-to-be-the/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [The beauty of reality-based art - art underwritten by reality hunger - is that it's perfectly situated between life itself and (unattainable) "life as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/the-beauty-of-reality-based-art-art-underwritten-by-reality-hunger-is/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [Canadians are fond of darker stories, serious stories, so if you're a Mystery writer or a Romance writer or Fantasy Writer, you will most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eden-robinson/canadians-are-fond-of-darker-stories-serious-stories-so-if-you-re-a/) [Eden Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eden-robinson/) > [The broader the topic, the easier it is, not only to fill a book, but to set the bar pretty high for really great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/the-broader-the-topic-the-easier-it-is-not-only-to-fill-a-book-but-to/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [The Australian Gerald Murnane, a genius on the level of Beckett, is known in Australia and Sweden but almost nowhere else. And I loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/the-australian-gerald-murnane-a-genius-on-the-level-of-beckett-is/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [Reality Hunger is more than thought-provoking; it's one of the most beautiful books I've read in a long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/reality-hunger-is-more-than-thought-provoking-it-s-one-of-the-most/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [I've just finished reading Reality Hunger and I'm lit up by it-astonished, intoxicated, ecstatic, overwhelmed. . . . It really is an urgent book:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-ve-just-finished-reading-reality-hunger-and-i-m-lit-up-by-it/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [I still see life entirely through its Darwinian prism. I keep trying to shake off the aftereffects of writing 'The Thing About Life Is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-still-see-life-entirely-through-its-darwinian-prism-i-keep-trying/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [“The only thing we have in this life is time...And we never know how much of that we have.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-fisher-staples/the-only-thing-we-have-in-this-life-is-time-and-we-never-know-how/) [Suzanne Fisher Staples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-fisher-staples/) > [The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-cost-of-a-thing-is-the-amount-of-what-i-will-call-life-which-is/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [To me, the most important thing in life is to be a human being. Second is acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-stormare/to-me-the-most-important-thing-in-life-is-to-be-a-human-being-second/) [Peter Stormare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-stormare/) > [There's not been one normal thing in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-hesse/there-s-not-been-one-normal-thing-in-my-life/) [Eva Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-hesse/) > [The most important thing you do in your life is to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/the-most-important-thing-you-do-in-your-life-is-to-die/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [There is only one thing in life which never changes, and it is change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/there-is-only-one-thing-in-life-which-never-changes-and-it-is-change/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-that-your-life-turns-into-a-good-story/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## More by David Shields > [To be honest, there are parts of 'How Literature Saved My Life' that began as interviews. Someone was telling me that they think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/to-be-honest-there-are-parts-of-how-literature-saved-my-life-that/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [I'm very drawn to the way in which a life lived can be an art of sorts or a failed art, and a life-lived-told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-m-very-drawn-to-the-way-in-which-a-life-lived-can-be-an-art-of/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [People like Ian McEwan and Jonathan Franzen completely bore me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/people-like-ian-mcewan-and-jonathan-franzen-completely-bore-me/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [You're one of 6.5 billion people now on the planet, and 99.9 percent of your genes are the same as everyone else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/you-re-one-of-6-5-billion-people-now-on-the-planet-and-99-9-percent/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [We're completely confused about the boundaries between fiction and non-fiction. To me, the moment you compose, you're fictionalising; the moment you remember, you're dreaming.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/we-re-completely-confused-about-the-boundaries-between-fiction-and/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [Your art is most alive and dangerous when you use it against yourself. That's why I pick at my scabs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/your-art-is-most-alive-and-dangerous-when-you-use-it-against-yourself/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [Everything I write, I believe instinctively, is to some extent collage. Meaning, ultimately, is a matter of adjacent data.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/everything-i-write-i-believe-instinctively-is-to-some-extent-collage/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [Swimming is by far the best tonic I've found for my back. I'm not a good swimmer - I do the breaststroke or elementary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/swimming-is-by-far-the-best-tonic-i-ve-found-for-my-back-i-m-not-a/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [I've always liked this idea that writing should comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable to create trouble. The value of a work of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-ve-always-liked-this-idea-that-writing-should-comfort-the-afflicted/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [The beauty of reality-based art - art underwritten by reality hunger - is that it's perfectly situated between life itself and (unattainable) "life as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/the-beauty-of-reality-based-art-art-underwritten-by-reality-hunger-is/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [“A great book allows me to leap over that wall: in a deep, significant conversation with another consciousness, I feel human and unalone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/a-great-book-allows-me-to-leap-over-that-wall-in-a-deep-significant/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [The novel is dead. Long live the antinovel, built from scraps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/the-novel-is-dead-long-live-the-antinovel-built-from-scraps/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [I am exhausted by traditional memoir. I am exhausted by the architecture of the conventional novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-am-exhausted-by-traditional-memoir-i-am-exhausted-by-the/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [I couldn't tell a story if my life depended on it. I'm the world's worst joke-teller.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-couldn-t-tell-a-story-if-my-life-depended-on-it-i-m-the-world-s/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [The absence of plot leaves the reader room to think about other things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/the-absence-of-plot-leaves-the-reader-room-to-think-about-other-things/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) [Explore all 77 David Shields quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) ## More American quotes > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I have fallen in love with American names, the sharp names that never get fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/i-have-fallen-in-love-with-american-names-the-sharp-names-that-never/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/i-really-like-a-lot-of-american-country-stuff-so-my-music-has-that/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in a tremendous investment to support millions of workers without a paycheck and behind on bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-auchincloss/congress-passed-the-american-rescue-plan-act-in-a-tremendous/) [Jake Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-auchincloss/) > [Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and employ almost half of the working population. Yet because of their size, they rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-lipinski/small-businesses-are-the-backbone-of-the-american-economy-and-employ/) [Dan Lipinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-lipinski/) > [Although I write in English, and despite the fact that I'm from America, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The words I use are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/although-i-write-in-english-and-despite-the-fact-that-i-m-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [Firefighters and rescue workers are American superheroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/firefighters-and-rescue-workers-are-american-superheroes/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [New York and San Francisco are distinctly different. San Francisco is driving the American media, not New York. You have young, microwaved millionaires and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/new-york-and-san-francisco-are-distinctly-different-san-francisco-is/) [Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [Food as a hobby used to be an elite pastime, and it has become something that is totally ordinary for people of every background.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/food-as-a-hobby-used-to-be-an-elite-pastime-and-it-has-become/) [Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/) > [It's important for American soldiers to be culturally sensitive when deployed in foreign countries. But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) Browse all 7,717 American quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I argued strongly to the American publisher that 'Reality Hunger' should come out first. 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