--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would rather never make a penny on book…" description: "\"“I would rather never make a penny on book sales and know that many had derived some fair pleasure from my writing, than to know that very few had ever..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/eric-diehl-236216_books_i-would-rather-never-make-a-penny-on-boo_2361176.jpg" --- # I would rather never make a penny on book sales and know… ![“I would rather never make a penny on book sales and know that many had derived some fair pleasure from my writing, than to know that very few had ever taken a chance on my work. I certainly won't last forever, but I'd love to think that my imagination will continue to surface in the minds of others.” quote by Eric Diehl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/eric-diehl-236216_books_i-would-rather-never-make-a-penny-on-boo_2361176.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/eric-diehl-236216_books_i-would-rather-never-make-a-penny-on-boo_2361176.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/eric-diehl-236216_books_i-would-rather-never-make-a-penny-on-boo_2361176.jpg) > ““I would rather never make a penny on book sales and know that many had derived some fair pleasure from my writing, than to know that very few had ever taken a chance on my work. I certainly won't last forever, but I'd love to think that my imagination will continue to surface in the minds of others.”” Eric Diehl ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Preferring lasting artistic impact over monetary gain, valuing the pleasure readers derive from one's work. **In simple terms:** Write for lasting impact, not just profit. Key Takeaway Create work that matters beyond sales. Themes art legacy creativity Mood reflective inspirational Type advice motivation When to use this quote - publishing - writing - marketing Key Concepts impact reader pleasure Questions to Reflect On - What legacy do you want to leave? - How does reader joy influence your writing? A Different Perspective Financial success may be limited. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Dystopian fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dystopian-fiction/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Science fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-fiction/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [My book sales make 'real writers' possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/my-book-sales-make-real-writers-possible/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [Kids just don't read any more. They spend much more time with video games. It's just hard to get kids to read anything. 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The book sales for me by this point are way beyond any influence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-a-salvatore-2/i-didn-t-and-don-t-go-to-internet-for-any-business-purposes-the-book/) [R. A. Salvatore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-a-salvatore-2/) > [The higher a book's sales ranks, the better chances it has of being noticed by Amazon's internal recommendations engine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-shaffer/the-higher-a-book-s-sales-ranks-the-better-chances-it-has-of-being/) [Andrew Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-shaffer/) > [I think my imagination and my passions are still firing away, but it's really the body that starts to make up the rules. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/i-think-my-imagination-and-my-passions-are-still-firing-away-but-it-s/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [It is not that the child lives in a world of imagination, as we wrongly think, but that the imagination lives in the child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/it-is-not-that-the-child-lives-in-a-world-of-imagination-as-we/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [I think imagination is a crazy thing, and that's what makes the world go around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shahid-khan/i-think-imagination-is-a-crazy-thing-and-that-s-what-makes-the-world/) [Shahid Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shahid-khan/) > [I do think that the imagination you create yourself when you're reading, to create the tone and the accent of the world, is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-larroquette/i-do-think-that-the-imagination-you-create-yourself-when-you-re/) [John Larroquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-larroquette/) > [Metaphors think with the imagination and the senses. The hot chili peppers in them explode in the mouth and the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/metaphors-think-with-the-imagination-and-the-senses-the-hot-chili/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [“It's life's failure and its deficiencies that make someone a daydreamer. I don't understand why prophets and philosophers didn't see the significance in that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shokoofeh-azar/it-s-life-s-failure-and-its-deficiencies-that-make-someone-a/) Shokoofeh Azar ## 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 would rather never make a penny on book sales and know that many had derived some fair pleasure from my writing, than to know that very few had ever taken a chance on my work. 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