--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Part of the transaction between writer…" description: "\"Part of the transaction between writer and reader is the pleasure of building a community and encouraging people to play along.\" — John Hodgman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c8/john-hodgman-1811_books_part-of-the-transaction-between-writer-a_351535.jpg" --- # Part of the transaction between writer and reader is the… ![“Part of the transaction between writer and reader is the pleasure of building a community and encouraging people to play along.” quote by John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c8/john-hodgman-1811_books_part-of-the-transaction-between-writer-a_351535.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c8/john-hodgman-1811_books_part-of-the-transaction-between-writer-a_351535.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c8/john-hodgman-1811_books_part-of-the-transaction-between-writer-a_351535.jpg) > “Part of the transaction between writer and reader is the pleasure of building a community and encouraging people to play along.” [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing creates a shared experience where readers and writers co‑create meaning and enjoyment. **In simple terms:** Writing builds community and shared fun. Key Takeaway Engage readers as partners. Themes community creativity engagement Mood playful inviting Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - blog posts - novels - online forums - live readings - fan fiction Key Concepts participatory storytelling social interaction Questions to Reflect On - What ways can you invite readers to co‑create? - How does shared enjoyment strengthen a narrative? A Different Perspective Risk of alienating dissenting voices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Building community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building-community/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“I love to write about the outdoors, no matter where it's located: about a place that's captured my imagination and that I wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-field/i-love-to-write-about-the-outdoors-no-matter-where-it-s-located-about/) Sandra Field > [There is more pleasure to building castles in the air than on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/there-is-more-pleasure-to-building-castles-in-the-air-than-on-the/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [“I am not a great reader and I have pleasure in many things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-am-not-a-great-reader-and-i-have-pleasure-in-many-things/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Love is when we plan days that bring us pleasure and building memories two can treasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-when-we-plan-days-that-bring-us-pleasure-and-building/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Human beings need community. If there are no communities available for constructive ends, there will be destructive, murderous communities... Only the social sector, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/human-beings-need-community-if-there-are-no-communities-available-for/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [When people give up sex and give up love or they only have love in the context of tradition then I think we're missing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-hollibaugh/when-people-give-up-sex-and-give-up-love-or-they-only-have-love-in/) [Amber Hollibaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-hollibaugh/) > [Books can make a difference in dispelling prejudice and building community: not with role models and recipes, not with noble messages about the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazel-rochman/books-can-make-a-difference-in-dispelling-prejudice-and-building/) Hazel Rochman > [I love being honest and intimate with people. I love building community. I love emailing with readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/i-love-being-honest-and-intimate-with-people-i-love-building/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [We are all one family in the world. Building a community that empowers everyone to attain their full potential through each of us respecting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/we-are-all-one-family-in-the-world-building-a-community-that-empowers/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [Collaboration is everything from getting along with others to controlling your impulses so you can get along and not kick someone else off the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-hirsh-pasek/collaboration-is-everything-from-getting-along-with-others-to/) [Kathy Hirsh-Pasek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-hirsh-pasek/) > [Institutional Christianity has had clear secular benefits to American life for hundreds of years. It's played both a prophetic role in terms of generating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/institutional-christianity-has-had-clear-secular-benefits-to-american/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [You have to think about why you're asking an audience to come to the theater. It's not that they should come because it's good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-paulus/you-have-to-think-about-why-you-re-asking-an-audience-to-come-to-the/) [Diane Paulus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-paulus/) > [My whole life has been about building community, building business in our community, empowering people in our community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelieu-dennis/my-whole-life-has-been-about-building-community-building-business-in/) [Richelieu Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelieu-dennis/) > [Building community is to the collective as spiritual practice is to the individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/building-community-is-to-the-collective-as-spiritual-practice-is-to/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [I think the Internet has real potential for building community. People all around the world talking to each other can't be a bad thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-brown/i-think-the-internet-has-real-potential-for-building-community-people/) [Greg Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-brown/) ## More by John Hodgman > [Life may be miraculous in its unlikelihood in the universe, but it would be a fallacy to suggest that its rareness makes it inextinguishable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/life-may-be-miraculous-in-its-unlikelihood-in-the-universe-but-it/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [I navigated the world as a hedge maze of constant fear and worry in which I might take the wrong turn and jeopardize the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/i-navigated-the-world-as-a-hedge-maze-of-constant-fear-and-worry-in/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [“There are transitions in life whether we want them or not. You get older. You lose jobs and loves and people. The story of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/there-are-transitions-in-life-whether-we-want-them-or-not-you-get/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald meet in hell and team up to assassinate Satan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/john-wilkes-booth-and-lee-harvey-oswald-meet-in-hell-and-team-up-to/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [I think in American culture, we put value on economic success but tell people you don't have to be economically successful to be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/i-think-in-american-culture-we-put-value-on-economic-success-but-tell/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [If you look in the dictionary under 'perfectionist,' you see Henry Selick correcting the definition of perfectionist in the dictionary. I mean, he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/if-you-look-in-the-dictionary-under-perfectionist-you-see-henry/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [Lies are just another kind of storytelling, but with the very distinct and enlivening motive of desperation. Since writers are by nature desperate creatures,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/lies-are-just-another-kind-of-storytelling-but-with-the-very-distinct/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [I've made my evolutionary purpose and had children. I don't care if anybody likes me, I'm going to do what I want to do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/i-ve-made-my-evolutionary-purpose-and-had-children-i-don-t-care-if/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [“When you live in New York or any big city, it is easy to fail at growing up. The city is designed to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/when-you-live-in-new-york-or-any-big-city-it-is-easy-to-fail-at/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [I don't wish to brag, but I'm very intelligent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/i-don-t-wish-to-brag-but-i-m-very-intelligent/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [You wouldn't want to live a life in which you are loved or approved by all people on Earth or even within your own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/you-wouldn-t-want-to-live-a-life-in-which-you-are-loved-or-approved/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [Well, I always had this desire to celebrate and somehow be a part of things that I thought were really great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/well-i-always-had-this-desire-to-celebrate-and-somehow-be-a-part-of/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [I would be good for maybe not the center square but an upper square on 'Hollywood Squares.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/i-would-be-good-for-maybe-not-the-center-square-but-an-upper-square/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [One of the things about crowd work that's so exciting is when you discover a character in the audience who's interesting or funny, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/one-of-the-things-about-crowd-work-that-s-so-exciting-is-when-you/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [“Maine is not a death cult. I mean, it is, but it's a slow one. It creeps in like the tide, and without your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/maine-is-not-a-death-cult-i-mean-it-is-but-it-s-a-slow-one-it-creeps/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) [Explore all 207 John Hodgman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) ## 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": "Part of the transaction between writer and reader is the pleasure of building a community and encouraging people to play along.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Hodgman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/part-of-the-transaction-between-writer-and-reader-is-the-pleasure-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/part-of-the-transaction-between-writer-and-reader-is-the-pleasure-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c8/john-hodgman-1811_books_part-of-the-transaction-between-writer-a_351535.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c8/john-hodgman-1811_books_part-of-the-transaction-between-writer-a_351535.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c8/john-hodgman-1811_books_part-of-the-transaction-between-writer-a_351535.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Part of the transaction between writer and reader is the pleasure of building a community and encouraging…” — John Hodgman", "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": "John Hodgman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Part of the transaction between writer...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/part-of-the-transaction-between-writer-and-reader-is-the-pleasure-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/part-of-the-transaction-between-writer-and-reader-is-the-pleasure-of/#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 } } ] } ```