Began Quote by John Patrick Shanley

I'm a pretty successful songwriter and known in some circles, but I didn't think the story of my career was of any real entertainment…

— Rodney Crowell

I was the kind of entrepreneur that never really felt I made it. When Mike Olefield's "Tubular Bells" [Virgin Records' first release] sold 8…

— Richard Branson

The first seven years that I wrote fiction, I sent out stories and a novel and made a total of $25.

— Jess Walter

I was 40 years old before I became an overnight success, and I'd been publishing for 20 years.

— Mary Karr

I knew I could make money from songwriting, so how much and when was not really the question.

— Ryan Tedder

I worked in Hollywood as a reader and a would-be writer for about 6 years before I sold my first story.

— Sidney Sheldon

I began writing seriously in my mid-20s and didn't publish my first book until I was 41.

— Kent Haruf

I began writing seriously in my mid-20s and didnt publish my first book until I was 41.

— Kent Haruf

I didn't make any money from my writing until much later. I published about 80 stories for nothing. I spent on literature.

— Naguib Mahfouz

I had to live on $17,000 a year until I was 33, because I was a failed artist until I was 29, when I…

— Jay Duplass

I've been a writer since I was 16. I didn't get published until I was 24. I know that sounds crazy.

— Markus Zusak

I was 29 or 30 when I felt sure of what I was doing, but not fully identifying as a songwriter until I was 37.

— David Berman