--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's great to win a few prizes early on…" description: "\"It's great to win a few prizes early on. It helps a writer to get noticed and to get some sales. It can also be a pain in the arse because it gets in t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/425/jeanette-winterson-166_arses_it-s-great-to-win-a-few-prizes-early-on_617973.jpg" --- # It's great to win a few prizes early on. It helps a writer… ![“It's great to win a few prizes early on. It helps a writer to get noticed and to get some sales. It can also be a pain in the arse because it gets in the way of the quiet, contemplative time every writer needs, but which is particularly important when you are a new writer finding your own voice…” quote by Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/425/jeanette-winterson-166_arses_it-s-great-to-win-a-few-prizes-early-on_617973.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/425/jeanette-winterson-166_arses_it-s-great-to-win-a-few-prizes-early-on_617973.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/425/jeanette-winterson-166_arses_it-s-great-to-win-a-few-prizes-early-on_617973.jpg) > “It's great to win a few prizes early on. It helps a writer to get noticed and to get some sales. It can also be a pain in the arse because it gets in the way of the quiet, contemplative time every writer needs, but which is particularly important when you are a new writer finding your own voice, and pursuing the things that interest you.” [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early awards boost visibility and sales but can disrupt the solitary, reflective time essential for new writers to develop their voice and pursue personal interests. **In simple terms:** Prizes help but may interrupt quiet creative work. Key Takeaway Balance publicity with protected writing time. Themes creativity career self‑development Mood reflective determined cautious Type advice personal experience When to use this quote - first‑book launch - marketing strategy - writing retreats - self‑reflection - career planning Key Concepts recognition distraction voice discovery Questions to Reflect On - How do you protect your creative space after early success? - What rituals keep you grounded amid external recognition? A Different Perspective Success can create pressure to conform to expectations, limiting experimentation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contemplative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplative/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Prize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prize/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Parts win prizes, not actors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-rickman/parts-win-prizes-not-actors/) [Alan Rickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-rickman/) > [“Life's not about the day when you win the prizes - it's about all the days in between. p 255”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-howatch/life-s-not-about-the-day-when-you-win-the-prizes-it-s-about-all-the/) [Susan Howatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-howatch/) > [For me, football is not about money - I want to win prizes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romelu-lukaku/for-me-football-is-not-about-money-i-want-to-win-prizes/) [Romelu Lukaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romelu-lukaku/) > [As a player, you always want to win prizes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thibaut-courtois/as-a-player-you-always-want-to-win-prizes/) [Thibaut Courtois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thibaut-courtois/) > [I was never much of a one to win prizes... and certainly never placed too much value on their acquisition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lennox/i-was-never-much-of-a-one-to-win-prizes-and-certainly-never-placed/) [Annie Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lennox/) > [I don't make films to win prizes. I make films to make films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-jewison/i-don-t-make-films-to-win-prizes-i-make-films-to-make-films/) [Norman Jewison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-jewison/) > [I think it's especially important for an editor to say what he's enjoying. For a novelist to be told, midstream, what he's doing right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/i-think-it-s-especially-important-for-an-editor-to-say-what-he-s/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Always, if you win prizes and are successful, of course expectations are higher, at Bayern especially.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arjen-robben/always-if-you-win-prizes-and-are-successful-of-course-expectations/) [Arjen Robben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arjen-robben/) > [I have a child. I'm not going to jeopardize her future or her quality of life to appease people who know nothing about me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-blaydes/i-have-a-child-i-m-not-going-to-jeopardize-her-future-or-her-quality/) [Curtis Blaydes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-blaydes/) > [A writer needs three things, experience, observation, and imagination, any two of which, at times any one of which, can supply the lack of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/a-writer-needs-three-things-experience-observation-and-imagination/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [What the writer needs is an empty day ahead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-drinker-bowen/what-the-writer-needs-is-an-empty-day-ahead/) [Catherine Drinker Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-drinker-bowen/) > [“What a writer needs? A friend. A friend that’ll accompany beside solitude itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desi-puspitasari/what-a-writer-needs-a-friend-a-friend-that-ll-accompany-beside/) [Desi Puspitasari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desi-puspitasari/) > [Of course, like all organic processes, there is an ebb and a flow to writing. One does not exist without the other. The writer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/of-course-like-all-organic-processes-there-is-an-ebb-and-a-flow-to/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [“A writer needs a partner who can act as fuel to his artistic mind, yet has the great ability to sober him up and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/a-writer-needs-a-partner-who-can-act-as-fuel-to-his-artistic-mind-yet/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [“A writer needs four things to achieve greatness, Pasquale: desire, disappointment, and the sea.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/a-writer-needs-four-things-to-achieve-greatness-pasquale-desire/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) ## More by Jeanette Winterson > [“After nine nights must come ten and every desperate meeting only leaves you desperate for another. There is never enough to eat, never enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/after-nine-nights-must-come-ten-and-every-desperate-meeting-only/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time. If it were not so, how could we take it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-never-give-away-your-heart-you-lend-it-from-time-to-time-if-it/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I have found that I am not a space where people want to live, at least not without decorating first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-have-found-that-i-am-not-a-space-where-people-want-to-live-at-least/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“Yes. Just pass me my leg will you? It's on top of the wardrobe where he threw it, and I think my right arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/yes-just-pass-me-my-leg-will-you-it-s-on-top-of-the-wardrobe-where-he/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Every second the Universe divides into possibilities and most of those possibilities never happen. It is not a uni-verse -- there is more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/every-second-the-universe-divides-into-possibilities-and-most-of/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [You are a pool of clear water where the light plays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-are-a-pool-of-clear-water-where-the-light-plays/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“It's the cliches that cause the trouble. A precise emotion seeks a precise expression. If what I feel is not precise than how should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-s-the-cliches-that-cause-the-trouble-a-precise-emotion-seeks-a/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [What would it have meant to be happy? What would it have meant if things had been bright, clear, good between us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/what-would-it-have-meant-to-be-happy-what-would-it-have-meant-if/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“Mrs Ratlow was a widow, and she was head of English, but she still did all the cooking and cleaning for her two sons,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/mrs-ratlow-was-a-widow-and-she-was-head-of-english-but-she-still-did/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“I shall have nowt to talk to now the baby is boiled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-shall-have-nowt-to-talk-to-now-the-baby-is-boiled/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“What art does is to coax us away from the mechanical and towards the miraculous. 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I shall call myself Alice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/a-curse-on-this-game-how-can-you-stick-at-a-game-when-the-rules-keep/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“He turned away and I turned to him in vivid heat to look on the sun-dried world. The groves and towers were gone. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/he-turned-away-and-i-turned-to-him-in-vivid-heat-to-look-on-the-sun/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) [Explore all 1,016 Jeanette Winterson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## More Arses quotes > [I've been a poser for f--ing years. I say, pose your arse off. You know, have a laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-connolly/i-ve-been-a-poser-for-f-ing-years-i-say-pose-your-arse-off-you-know/) [Billy Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-connolly/) > [The only thing I can do is wipe my arse, brush my teeth, turn up and do the best work I can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hardy/the-only-thing-i-can-do-is-wipe-my-arse-brush-my-teeth-turn-up-and-do/) [Tom Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hardy/) > [An ample arse helps you to be weighed down and be grounded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pedro-almodovar/an-ample-arse-helps-you-to-be-weighed-down-and-be-grounded/) [Pedro Almodovar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pedro-almodovar/) > [The only thing I wouldn't do is sell my arse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/the-only-thing-i-wouldn-t-do-is-sell-my-arse/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [I grew up having to piss in a bucket ’cos there was no indoor shitter, and now I have these computerised Japanese super-loo things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/i-grew-up-having-to-piss-in-a-bucket-cos-there-was-no-indoor-shitter/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) > [When its comes to music and books 'OK' is not good enough. We need creative work that floors us! That we can't believe the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-michael-wilson/when-its-comes-to-music-and-books-ok-is-not-good-enough-we-need/) [Sean Michael Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-michael-wilson/) > [When you look at pornography, the women become objects, whereas what I'm trying to do is make the person in the photograph as important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rankin/when-you-look-at-pornography-the-women-become-objects-whereas-what-i/) [Rankin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rankin/) > [I always try to remember that praise and a slap on your back is only 6 inches away from a kick up the arse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-foley/i-always-try-to-remember-that-praise-and-a-slap-on-your-back-is-only/) Anthony Foley > [I've done films where you have to get in shape for purely vanity reasons, when you read a script, turn to page 87 and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-willis/i-ve-done-films-where-you-have-to-get-in-shape-for-purely-vanity/) [Bruce Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-willis/) > [I'll tell you what pressure is. Pressure is a Messerschmitt up your arse. Playing cricket is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-miller/i-ll-tell-you-what-pressure-is-pressure-is-a-messerschmitt-up-your/) [Keith Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-miller/) > [I might take what I do very seriously, but at least I'm doing something, rather than sitting on my arse and being no-one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-james-alphonse-franceschi/i-might-take-what-i-do-very-seriously-but-at-least-i-m-doing/) [Joshua James Alphonse Franceschi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-james-alphonse-franceschi/) > [As for Gordon Brown - I've described him and Blair as two cheeks of the same arse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-galloway/as-for-gordon-brown-i-ve-described-him-and-blair-as-two-cheeks-of-the/) [George Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-galloway/) > [All anyone really needs to know about barbed wire is that it can tear the arse out of your trousers, give a cow a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-connolly/all-anyone-really-needs-to-know-about-barbed-wire-is-that-it-can-tear/) [Billy Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-connolly/) > [Not that i had a big arse but even that was toned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/not-that-i-had-a-big-arse-but-even-that-was-toned/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [Every writer has to make an emotional journey from artist sitting in attic to being part of a business. The writer of a film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-fellowes/every-writer-has-to-make-an-emotional-journey-from-artist-sitting-in/) [Julian Fellowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-fellowes/) Browse all 83 Arses quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's great to win a few prizes early on. It helps a writer to get noticed and to get some sales. 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