--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For nearly twenty years I have been a…" description: "\"For nearly twenty years I have been a published author... But I have never yet seen a book of mine offered for sale in a shop window.\" — George Bernar..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b4/george-bernard-shaw-68_book_for-nearly-twenty-years-i-have-been-a-pu_2576787.png" --- # For nearly twenty years I have been a published author… ![“For nearly twenty years I have been a published author... But I have never yet seen a book of mine offered for sale in a shop window.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b4/george-bernard-shaw-68_book_for-nearly-twenty-years-i-have-been-a-pu_2576787.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b4/george-bernard-shaw-68_book_for-nearly-twenty-years-i-have-been-a-pu_2576787.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b4/george-bernard-shaw-68_book_for-nearly-twenty-years-i-have-been-a-pu_2576787.png) > “For nearly twenty years I have been a published author... But I have never yet seen a book of mine offered for sale in a shop window.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Despite publishing many works, the author never saw his books displayed for sale, reflecting on the disconnect between creation and commercial exposure. **In simple terms:** Authors often lack retail visibility. Key Takeaway Find alternative distribution channels. Themes publishing visibility artistic labor Mood thoughtful melancholic Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - bookstores - online platforms - literary festivals - self‑publishing Key Concepts market dynamics authorial frustration Questions to Reflect On - How can writers increase their work’s public presence? - What role do libraries play in author exposure? A Different Perspective Commercial success isn’t the sole measure of literary value. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Shop windows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shop-windows/) [Twenties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twenties/) ## Related quotes > [My main reason for adopting literature as a profession was that, as the author is never seen by his clients, he need not dress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-main-reason-for-adopting-literature-as-a-profession-was-that-as/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [No sooner does a divine gift reveal itself in youth or maid than its market value becomes the decisive consideration, and the poor young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/no-sooner-does-a-divine-gift-reveal-itself-in-youth-or-maid-than-its/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [I had written children's books for 14 years before I published 'Wicked.' And none of them were poorly reviewed, and none of them sold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/i-had-written-children-s-books-for-14-years-before-i-published-wicked/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [I didn't write professionally at first. It took me nine years to get anything published. At the beginning I mostly wrote picture books, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-carson-levine/i-didn-t-write-professionally-at-first-it-took-me-nine-years-to-get/) [Gail Carson Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-carson-levine/) > [It’s being ready to accept rejection. You can work on a book for two years and get it published, and it’s like you may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/it-s-being-ready-to-accept-rejection-you-can-work-on-a-book-for-two/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [I've written one book-length piece of journalism. The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed Bishop Gerardi? That book had an impact. Eight years after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-goldman/i-ve-written-one-book-length-piece-of-journalism-the-art-of-political/) [Francisco Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-goldman/) > [WikiLeaks has been publishing for ten years, and in those ten years, we have published ten million documents, several thousand individual publications, several thousand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/wikileaks-has-been-publishing-for-ten-years-and-in-those-ten-years-we/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Anyone of any age, any race, any background, any education - if they write an interesting enough book - can become a published author.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-reynolds-naylor/anyone-of-any-age-any-race-any-background-any-education-if-they-write/) [Phyllis Reynolds Naylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-reynolds-naylor/) > [“It's a funny thing, really, me publishing a book… I've had so many people tell me it was stupid or impossible or that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-lynn-robinson/it-s-a-funny-thing-really-me-publishing-a-book-i-ve-had-so-many/) Molly Lynn Robinson > [I have always wanted to be a published author. I write baseball books because I love the sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-weeks/i-have-always-wanted-to-be-a-published-author-i-write-baseball-books/) [Jonathan Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-weeks/) > [“A company author bombs from the sky like the Air Force. A self-published author wins the battle by foot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judah-lee-davis/a-company-author-bombs-from-the-sky-like-the-air-force-a-self/) [Judah Lee Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judah-lee-davis/) > [“Being a published author is not just about selling books, or winning awards but it is also about the authors’ own maturity and sensitivity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehreen-ahmed/being-a-published-author-is-not-just-about-selling-books-or-winning/) [Mehreen Ahmed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehreen-ahmed/) > [Just keep writing, and try to finish that novel. Remember, all authors started exactly where you are right now; the only difference between a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/just-keep-writing-and-try-to-finish-that-novel-remember-all-authors/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [I grew up in a show business family, so we've always had a great sense of balance, being so close to my parents. I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gibb/i-grew-up-in-a-show-business-family-so-we-ve-always-had-a-great-sense-2/) [Andy Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gibb/) > [I see a schoolboy when I think of him, With face and nose pressed to a sweet-shop window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-see-a-schoolboy-when-i-think-of-him-with-face-and-nose-pressed-to-a/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Book 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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For nearly twenty years I have been a published author... But I have never yet seen a book of mine offered for sale in a shop window.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/for-nearly-twenty-years-i-have-been-a-published-author-but-i-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/for-nearly-twenty-years-i-have-been-a-published-author-but-i-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b4/george-bernard-shaw-68_book_for-nearly-twenty-years-i-have-been-a-pu_2576787.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b4/george-bernard-shaw-68_book_for-nearly-twenty-years-i-have-been-a-pu_2576787.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b4/george-bernard-shaw-68_book_for-nearly-twenty-years-i-have-been-a-pu_2576787.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For nearly twenty years I have been a published author... But I have never yet seen a book of mine offered…” — George Bernard Shaw", "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": "George Bernard Shaw", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For nearly twenty years I have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/for-nearly-twenty-years-i-have-been-a-published-author-but-i-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/for-nearly-twenty-years-i-have-been-a-published-author-but-i-have/#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 } } ] } ```