--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Each book tends to have its own identity…" description: "\"Each book tends to have its own identity rather than the author's. It speaks from itself rather than you. Each book is unlike the others because you ar..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24d/e-l-doctorow-4627_alive_each-book-tends-to-have-its-own-identity_2682081.png" --- # Each book tends to have its own identity rather than the… ![“Each book tends to have its own identity rather than the author's. It speaks from itself rather than you. Each book is unlike the others because you are not bringing the same voice to every book. I think that keeps you alive as a writer.” quote by E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24d/e-l-doctorow-4627_alive_each-book-tends-to-have-its-own-identity_2682081.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24d/e-l-doctorow-4627_alive_each-book-tends-to-have-its-own-identity_2682081.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24d/e-l-doctorow-4627_alive_each-book-tends-to-have-its-own-identity_2682081.png) > “Each book tends to have its own identity rather than the author's. It speaks from itself rather than you. Each book is unlike the others because you are not bringing the same voice to every book. I think that keeps you alive as a writer.” [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Each book develops its own distinct voice, separate from the author, keeping the writer vibrant and engaged. **In simple terms:** Books have their own identity, not just the author’s voice. Key Takeaway Embrace each book’s uniqueness. Themes creativity authorship literary identity writing process Mood reflective inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - novel writing - editing - literary criticism - teaching writing Key Concepts voice individuality artistic growth Questions to Reflect On - How do you let a book’s voice emerge? - When does a writer’s voice dominate? A Different Perspective Authors may struggle to balance personal style with a book’s character. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Author](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/author/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [An author who speaks about his own books is almost as bad as a mother who talks about her own children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/an-author-who-speaks-about-his-own-books-is-almost-as-bad-as-a-mother/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [I think that an author who speaks about his own books is almost as bad as a mother who talks about her own children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/i-think-that-an-author-who-speaks-about-his-own-books-is-almost-as/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [An author who speaks about their own books is almost as bad as a mother who speaks about her own children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/an-author-who-speaks-about-their-own-books-is-almost-as-bad-as-a/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [I'm excited about how books work in a digital age. When you read a book, unlike a film, you are decoding symbols in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-hall/i-m-excited-about-how-books-work-in-a-digital-age-when-you-read-a/) [Steven Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-hall/) > [But, somewhere in there, I did have the thought that this really fits in with my thinking about what I wanted to do; with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-van-vogt/but-somewhere-in-there-i-did-have-the-thought-that-this-really-fits/) [A. E. van Vogt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-van-vogt/) > [Writing is a way of living. It doesn't quite matter that there are too many books for the number of readers in the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/writing-is-a-way-of-living-it-doesn-t-quite-matter-that-there-are-too/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [A book, unlike any other friend, will wait, not only upon the hour but upon the mood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myrtle-reed/a-book-unlike-any-other-friend-will-wait-not-only-upon-the-hour-but/) [Myrtle Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myrtle-reed/) > [“If a book is not alive in the writer's mind, it is as dead as year-old horse shit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/if-a-book-is-not-alive-in-the-writer-s-mind-it-is-as-dead-as-year-old/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [A book ... unlike a television program, moving picture or any other 'modern means of communication' ... can wait for years, yet be available…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/a-book-unlike-a-television-program-moving-picture-or-any-other-modern/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) > [I'll read a book every now and then, but unlike most of my friends I don't always have one on the go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-pryce/i-ll-read-a-book-every-now-and-then-but-unlike-most-of-my-friends-i/) [Jonathan Pryce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-pryce/) > [To be alive and to be a ‘writer’ is enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/to-be-alive-and-to-be-a-writer-is-enough/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [When I'm writing a book, you can't think about your audience. You're going to be in big trouble if you think about it. You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/when-i-m-writing-a-book-you-can-t-think-about-your-audience-you-re/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) > [Which is why I am writing this book. To think. To understand. It just happens to be the way I'm made. I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/which-is-why-i-am-writing-this-book-to-think-to-understand-it-just/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When I am dead and in my head And all my bones are are rotten, Take this book and think of me And mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flora-thompson/when-i-am-dead-and-in-my-head-and-all-my-bones-are-are-rotten-take/) [Flora Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flora-thompson/) > [I think that if you look at all of the books that have ever been written about people working in the White House, they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa-mastromonaco/i-think-that-if-you-look-at-all-of-the-books-that-have-ever-been/) [Alyssa Mastromonaco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyssa-mastromonaco/) ## More by E. L. Doctorow > [Things that appear on the front page of the newspaper as 'fact' are far more dangerous than the games played by a novelist, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/things-that-appear-on-the-front-page-of-the-newspaper-as-fact-are-far/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [There are moments when I cannot bear this unremitting consciousness. It knows only itself. Awake, I am in a continuum with my dreams. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/there-are-moments-when-i-cannot-bear-this-unremitting-consciousness/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [Most people are quiet in the world, and live in it tentatively, as if it were not their own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/most-people-are-quiet-in-the-world-and-live-in-it-tentatively-as-if/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [It is the immigrant hordes who keep this country alive, the waves of them arriving year after year… Who believes in America more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/it-is-the-immigrant-hordes-who-keep-this-country-alive-the-waves-of/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [A book begins as a private excitement of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/a-book-begins-as-a-private-excitement-of-the-mind/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [I started on computers with 'Billy Bathgate,' a little orange screen with black letters. I thought it was really cool, but it actually slowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/i-started-on-computers-with-billy-bathgate-a-little-orange-screen/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [When I'm writing, I like to seal everything off and face the wall, not to look outside the window. The only way out is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/when-i-m-writing-i-like-to-seal-everything-off-and-face-the-wall-not/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [Facts are the images of history, just as images are the facts of fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/facts-are-the-images-of-history-just-as-images-are-the-facts-of/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [The nature of good fiction is that it dwells in ambiguity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/the-nature-of-good-fiction-is-that-it-dwells-in-ambiguity/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [Uncharged with invisible meaning, the visible is nothing, mere clay; and without visible circumstance, a territory, to connect to, our spirit is shapeless, nameless,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/uncharged-with-invisible-meaning-the-visible-is-nothing-mere-clay-and/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [“Writing a novel is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/writing-a-novel-is-like-driving-at-night-in-the-fog-you-can-only-see/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [I did have a feeling then that the culture of factuality was so dominating that storytelling had lost all its authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/i-did-have-a-feeling-then-that-the-culture-of-factuality-was-so/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [I got married very early, and in no time at all, we had three children. And it seemed to me I had an obligation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/i-got-married-very-early-and-in-no-time-at-all-we-had-three-children/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [When you're writing a book, you don't really think about it critically. You don't want to know too well what you're doing. First, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/when-you-re-writing-a-book-you-don-t-really-think-about-it-critically/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [A writer's life is so hazardous that anything he does is bad for him. Anything that happens to him is bad: failure's bad, success…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/a-writer-s-life-is-so-hazardous-that-anything-he-does-is-bad-for-him/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) [Explore all 108 E. L. Doctorow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. 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"That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Each book tends to have its own identity rather than the author's. It speaks from itself rather than you. Each book is unlike the others because you are not bringing the same voice to every book. I think that keeps you alive as a writer.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. L. 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