--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Listen closely. Theres a remote…" description: "\"Listen closely. Theres a remote possibility that you might learn something: First, I dont give a damn if my work is commercial or notIm the writer. If ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04f/john-fante-6848_believe-in-yourself_listen-closely-theres-a-remote-possibili_528435.jpg" --- # Listen closely. Theres a remote possibility that you might… ![“Listen closely. Theres a remote possibility that you might learn something: First, I dont give a damn if my work is commercial or notIm the writer. If what I write is good, then people will read it. Thats why literature exists. An author puts his heart and guts on the page. For your information, a…” quote by John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04f/john-fante-6848_believe-in-yourself_listen-closely-theres-a-remote-possibili_528435.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04f/john-fante-6848_believe-in-yourself_listen-closely-theres-a-remote-possibili_528435.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04f/john-fante-6848_believe-in-yourself_listen-closely-theres-a-remote-possibili_528435.jpg) > “Listen closely. Theres a remote possibility that you might learn something: First, I dont give a damn if my work is commercial or notIm the writer. If what I write is good, then people will read it. Thats why literature exists. An author puts his heart and guts on the page. For your information, a good novel can change the world. Keep that in mind before you attempt to sit down at a typewriter. Never waste time on something you dont believe in yourself.” [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It urges writers to stay true to their passion, emphasizing that genuine work resonates with readers and can have profound impact, while warning against writing without belief. **In simple terms:** Write with conviction; authenticity matters. Key Takeaway Write only what you truly believe in. Themes writing creativity integrity motivation Mood inspirational determined encouraging Type advice motivational When to use this quote - novel writing - creative process - self-discipline - career development - literary criticism Key Concepts authenticity purpose impact Questions to Reflect On - What drives your creative purpose? - How can you ensure your work reflects genuine belief? A Different Perspective Writing without belief yields empty work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe in yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-in-yourself/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Change the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-the-world/) [Literature Exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-exists-1148892/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novel Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel-change-2766502/) [Thats Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thats-literature-4445145/) [Write Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-good/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Listen closely. There’s a remote possibility that you might learn something: First, I don’t give a damn if my work is commercial or not…I’m…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/listen-closely-there-s-a-remote-possibility-that-you-might-learn/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [For your information, a good novel can change the world. Keep that in mind before you attempt to sit down at a typewriter. Never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/for-your-information-a-good-novel-can-change-the-world-keep-that-in/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [In the novel, I can change things and simplify, and make events work towards whatever meanings I'm trying to get at more efficiently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/in-the-novel-i-can-change-things-and-simplify-and-make-events-work/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [I don't have any answers as to whether the Internet is a good or a bad thing, but it's certainly an important thing for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-rooney/i-don-t-have-any-answers-as-to-whether-the-internet-is-a-good-or-a/) [Sally Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-rooney/) > [Literature exists inside the language. It's made of words. It's not made of ideas and it's not made of concepts, of psychological analysis. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/literature-exists-inside-the-language-it-s-made-of-words-it-s-not/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Literature exists so that where one man has lived finely ten thousand may afterward live finely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/literature-exists-so-that-where-one-man-has-lived-finely-ten-thousand/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [When I was growing up, there actually wasn't a lot of YA literature as it exists today. Most of the YA that I read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-destefano/when-i-was-growing-up-there-actually-wasn-t-a-lot-of-ya-literature-as/) [Lauren DeStefano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-destefano/) > [Literature exists because the world isn't enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/literature-exists-because-the-world-isn-t-enough/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Literature exists inside the language. It's made of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/literature-exists-inside-the-language-it-s-made-of-words/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [“It’s like that moment when, often early in the morning, perhaps in a strange house, you pass before a mirror you hadn’t known would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-anderson/it-s-like-that-moment-when-often-early-in-the-morning-perhaps-in-a/) [Linda Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-anderson/) > [When literature exists, perhaps we do not notice how important it is, but when it does not exist, our lives become coarsened and brutal.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/when-literature-exists-perhaps-we-do-not-notice-how-important-it-is/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [The Pulitzer Prize is an idea; it's a vote of confidence. Like literature, it exists purely in the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/the-pulitzer-prize-is-an-idea-it-s-a-vote-of-confidence-like/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [Literature exists at the same time in the modes of error and truth; it both betrays and obeys its own mode of being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-de-man/literature-exists-at-the-same-time-in-the-modes-of-error-and-truth-it/) [Paul de Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-de-man/) > [You cannot change everything around you, but you can create a better world within yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shubhanshu-tiwari/you-cannot-change-everything-around-you-but-you-can-create-a-better/) [Shubhanshu Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shubhanshu-tiwari/) > [What I wanted in life always was to write something as good as 'Pinocchio.' I wanted to write. I wanted to evolve. I wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/what-i-wanted-in-life-always-was-to-write-something-as-good-as/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) ## More by John Fante > [“    Breakfast was ready. He could hear his father asking for coffee. Why did his father have to yell all the time? Couldn't he talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/breakfast-was-ready-he-could-hear-his-father-asking-for-coffee-why/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [“Jesus, these Protestants! In my church we didn't sing cheap hymns. With us it was Handel and Palestrina.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/jesus-these-protestants-in-my-church-we-didn-t-sing-cheap-hymns-with/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [If there is work there is warmth, that when a man has freedom of movement it is enough, for then his blood is hot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/if-there-is-work-there-is-warmth-that-when-a-man-has-freedom-of/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [“I have seen them stagger out of their movie palaces and blink their empty eyes in the face of reality once more, and stagger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/i-have-seen-them-stagger-out-of-their-movie-palaces-and-blink-their/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [“My advice to all young writers is quite simple. I would caution them never to evade a new experience. I would urge them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/my-advice-to-all-young-writers-is-quite-simple-i-would-caution-them/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [“Then it happened. One night as the rain beat on the slanted kitchen roof a great spirit slipped forever into my life. I held…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/then-it-happened-one-night-as-the-rain-beat-on-the-slanted-kitchen/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [Well, this is good for me, this is experience, I am here for a reason, these moments run into pages, the seamy side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/well-this-is-good-for-me-this-is-experience-i-am-here-for-a-reason/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [“She was a hunchback with a sweet smile. She smiled sweetly at anything; she couldn't help it; the trees, me, the grass, anything. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/she-was-a-hunchback-with-a-sweet-smile-she-smiled-sweetly-at-anything/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [I tossed my shoulders and swaggered away, whistling with pleasure. In the gutter I saw a long cigaret butt. I picked it up without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/i-tossed-my-shoulders-and-swaggered-away-whistling-with-pleasure-in/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [“Careful, Arturo Bandini: don't strain your eyesight, remember what happened to Tarkington, remember what happened to James Joyce.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/careful-arturo-bandini-don-t-strain-your-eyesight-remember-what/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [“Nor did he give a damn for the world either, or the universe, or heaven or hell. But he liked women.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/nor-did-he-give-a-damn-for-the-world-either-or-the-universe-or-heaven/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [The bible is a source of great inspiration to me. It is a textbook of metaphysics. Within the bible are keys to personal growth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/the-bible-is-a-source-of-great-inspiration-to-me-it-is-a-textbook-of/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [One night I was sitting on the bed in my hotel room on Buker Hill, down in the middle of Los Angeles. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/one-night-i-was-sitting-on-the-bed-in-my-hotel-room-on-buker-hill/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [“All that was good in me thrilled in my heart at that moment, all that I hoped for in the profound, obscure meaning of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/all-that-was-good-in-me-thrilled-in-my-heart-at-that-moment-all-that/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [(...) I let go, crying and unable to stop because God was such a dirty crook, contemptible skunk, that's what he was for doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/i-let-go-crying-and-unable-to-stop-because-god-was-such-a-dirty-crook/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) [Explore all 80 John Fante quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) ## More Believe in yourself quotes > [If you hate yourself... The world will hate you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cv-pillay/if-you-hate-yourself-the-world-will-hate-you/) [Cv Pillay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cv-pillay/) > [It's difficult to believe in yourself because the idea of self is an artificial construction. You are, in fact, part of the glorious oneness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-brand/it-s-difficult-to-believe-in-yourself-because-the-idea-of-self-is-an/) [Russell Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-brand/) > [The world will only begin to have faith in you when you do too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/the-world-will-only-begin-to-have-faith-in-you-when-you-do-too/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Never be desperate. Get rid of your insecurities. Know your worth. Believe in yourself and go get what you want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-be-desperate-get-rid-of-your-insecurities-know-your-worth/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you want to work on getting better, you need to start by knowing where you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-want-to-work-on-getting-better-you-need-to-start-by-knowing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I know how important it is to have people who believe in you even when you don't believe in yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/i-know-how-important-it-is-to-have-people-who-believe-in-you-even/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“It is not the actual, physical exertion that counts towards one’s progress, not the nature of the task but by the spirit of faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-not-the-actual-physical-exertion-that-counts-towards-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think you've gotta believe in yourself, I think you gotta put in a lot of work off the court to make sure you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-green/i-think-you-ve-gotta-believe-in-yourself-i-think-you-gotta-put-in-a/) [Gerald Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-green/) > [“Don't believe in destiny. Believe in yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garima-soni-words-world/don-t-believe-in-destiny-believe-in-yourself/) [Garima Soni - words world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garima-soni-words-world/) > [Sometimes, you need someone to believe in you when you don't believe in yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tyree-henry/sometimes-you-need-someone-to-believe-in-you-when-you-don-t-believe/) [Brian Tyree Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tyree-henry/) > [Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built an ark. Professionals built the Titanic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-be-afraid-to-try-something-new-remember-amateurs-built-an-ark/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [If you don't believe in yourself...nobo dy else will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobe-bryant/if-you-don-t-believe-in-yourself-nobo-dy-else-will/) [Kobe Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobe-bryant/) > [You lost everything? Haha what are you talking about? Oh me crazy huh? Well tell me, what did you have the day you pulled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mr-ping/you-lost-everything-haha-what-are-you-talking-about-oh-me-crazy-huh/) [Mr Ping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mr-ping/) > [I think self-belief is a massive thing in football. If you don't believe in yourself, not many others will. Work hard and believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-kane/i-think-self-belief-is-a-massive-thing-in-football-if-you-don-t/) [Harry Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-kane/) [Browse all 2,372 Believe in yourself quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-in-yourself/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Listen closely. Theres a remote possibility that you might learn something: First, I dont give a damn if my work is commercial or notIm the writer. If what I write is good, then people will read it. Thats why literature exists. An author puts his heart and guts on the page. 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