Books Quote by James A. Michener

If you want to be a writer, you write. Everybody wants to get published. You gotta play your long game.

— Paul Harding

I hadn't meant to do the pattern of publishing short stories and then a novel. I thought, 'I'm a novelist. I know it.' But…

— Andrew Sean Greer

“The benefit of writing short stories is that they allow you to get rejected sooner. If you write a novel, it could take years…

— Joseph Harold Bunting

Most people can start a short story or a novel. If you're a writer, you can finish them. Finish enough of them, and you…

— Neil Gaiman

First-book novelists and storywriters haven't yet failed and so it's easier to publish them - you can gamble on a success. Whereas someone who…

— Frederick Busch

Why do I like to write short stories? Well, I certainly didn't intend to. I was going to write a novel. And still! I…

— Alice Munro

I've been writing my entire life, and I'll always write. But at times I have told myself that I don't necessarily have to publish…

— J. K. Rowling

I've always wanted to write a book. And it turned out that it was more about finding a story that I felt I was…

— Hank Green

I prefer short stories, but publishers would, of course, rather that writers produce novels, since novels are still more commercially viable.

— Charles Baxter

I'll give you the sole secret of short-story writing, and here it is: Rule 1. Write stories that please yourself. There is no rule…

— O. Henry

I really do believe some people are naturally novelists and some people are short story writers. For me, when I was in middle school…

— M. K. Hobson

Getting your foot in the door with some publishing people can be important when you're starting out as a writer, but it's also not…

— Chad Harbach