--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Novelists may be able to seek advice from…" description: "\"Novelists may be able to seek advice from readers and editors, but in the end, it is up to them to get the book right.\" — Jon Weisman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d3/jon-weisman-31172_able_novelists-may-be-able-to-seek-advice-fro_1296339.jpg" --- # Novelists may be able to seek advice from readers and… ![“Novelists may be able to seek advice from readers and editors, but in the end, it is up to them to get the book right.” quote by Jon Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d3/jon-weisman-31172_able_novelists-may-be-able-to-seek-advice-fro_1296339.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d3/jon-weisman-31172_able_novelists-may-be-able-to-seek-advice-fro_1296339.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d3/jon-weisman-31172_able_novelists-may-be-able-to-seek-advice-fro_1296339.jpg) > “Novelists may be able to seek advice from readers and editors, but in the end, it is up to them to get the book right.” [Jon Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-weisman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. States that while writers can seek feedback, ultimate responsibility for a book’s quality rests with them. **In simple terms:** Authors own the final product. Key Takeaway Take full responsibility for your work. Themes authorship creativity accountability Mood thoughtful encouraging Type creative professional When to use this quote - self‑editing - reader engagement - marketing strategy Key Concepts literary craft editorial process Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance feedback with personal vision? - When should an author override editor advice? A Different Perspective External advice can’t replace author’s vision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) [Advice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advice/) [Advice Readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advice-readers-4241378/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Editors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/editors/) [Editors End](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/editors-end-3729503/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) [Novelists Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists-able-4241376/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Readers Editors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/readers-editors-4241377/) ## Related quotes > [“Do you have any advice for your readers? Lead the life that’s yours instead of faking someone else’s.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandy-nathan/do-you-have-any-advice-for-your-readers-lead-the-life-that-s-yours/) [sandy nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandy-nathan/) > [“The reporter had to set his or her own course, had to push back against editors at times, to roam and be free to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-woodward/the-reporter-had-to-set-his-or-her-own-course-had-to-push-back/) [Bob Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-woodward/) > [You get spoiled as a novelist because you get to be the director and the editor, and you play all the parts, but as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-nesbo/you-get-spoiled-as-a-novelist-because-you-get-to-be-the-director-and/) [Jo Nesbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-nesbo/) > [Only kings, presidents, editors, and people with tapeworms have the right to use the editorial 'we.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/only-kings-presidents-editors-and-people-with-tapeworms-have-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you look at any list of great modern writers such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, you'll notice two things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/if-you-look-at-any-list-of-great-modern-writers-such-as-ernest/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [51% of the French people - who are not very religious - were thinking that what "Charlie Hebdo" did was unwise. They aren't asking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/51-of-the-french-people-who-are-not-very-religious-were-thinking-that/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [Democracy becomes a government of bullies tempered by editors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/democracy-becomes-a-government-of-bullies-tempered-by-editors/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Authors of published papers and editors of scientific journals can, unfortunately, be slow to come to terms with criticism, and it's good that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-gelman/authors-of-published-papers-and-editors-of-scientific-journals-can/) [Andrew Gelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-gelman/) > [A moment I've been dreading. George brought his ne're-do-well son around this morning and asked me to find the kid a job. Not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/a-moment-i-ve-been-dreading-george-brought-his-ne-re-do-well-son/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [ I walked all around it \[the Guggenheim Bilbao\] and couldn't find one clear, clean shot. To make things worse, the weather was lousy. Nothing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-polidori/i-walked-all-around-it-the-guggenheim-bilbao-and-couldn-t-find-one/) [Robert Polidori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-polidori/) > [A perfect movie is a different thing, but a funny movie is easy. I was really happy that I got everyone that I got.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/a-perfect-movie-is-a-different-thing-but-a-funny-movie-is-easy-i-was/) [Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/) > [My biggest advice would be to take the pictures you want to take. Don’t think about the marketplace, what sells or what an editor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lachapelle/my-biggest-advice-would-be-to-take-the-pictures-you-want-to-take-don/) [David LaChapelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lachapelle/) > [God often hides His blessing in trouble or trial, which makes it all the sweeter when it comes our way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/god-often-hides-his-blessing-in-trouble-or-trial-which-makes-it-all/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [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/) ## More by Jon Weisman > [There is, in my mind, no higher compliment to pay a non-fiction book than to say it reads like a novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-weisman/there-is-in-my-mind-no-higher-compliment-to-pay-a-non-fiction-book/) [Jon Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-weisman/) > [I was very disciplined when home - lights out for the girls at 9:00, two hours of writing for me. It was murder on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-weisman/i-was-very-disciplined-when-home-lights-out-for-the-girls-at-9-00-two/) [Jon Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-weisman/) > [It is simply much easier to infuse life, feeling, and higher truth into a novel than a non-fiction work, to find the license to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-weisman/it-is-simply-much-easier-to-infuse-life-feeling-and-higher-truth-into/) [Jon Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-weisman/) > [I am not trying to be young again. But I do feel the need to capture that energy in story form before it slips…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-weisman/i-am-not-trying-to-be-young-again-but-i-do-feel-the-need-to-capture/) [Jon Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-weisman/) > [Liberals in the US don't have great passions about Margaret Thatcher. Conservatives do. For all the worship that Ronald Reagan elicits in conservative circles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-weisman/liberals-in-the-us-don-t-have-great-passions-about-margaret-thatcher/) [Jon Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-weisman/) > [The professions of novelist and journalist are very separate. As a novelist, you are ultimately working for yourself. Yes, you need the approval of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-weisman/the-professions-of-novelist-and-journalist-are-very-separate-as-a/) [Jon Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-weisman/) > [History - the non-fiction version - must inform the fiction to make it truthful; too much of it and your genres are colliding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-weisman/history-the-non-fiction-version-must-inform-the-fiction-to-make-it/) [Jon Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-weisman/) > [I have prided myself with striving for objectivity, something many literary-minded critics dismiss as impossible. But in Washington, reporters are practically the only people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-weisman/i-have-prided-myself-with-striving-for-objectivity-something-many/) [Jon Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-weisman/) > [Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, but usually fiction is just better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-weisman/sometimes-truth-is-stranger-than-fiction-but-usually-fiction-is-just/) [Jon Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-weisman/) > [Thatcher had broken the miners' union, all but crushed the Labour Party, dramatically cut back the welfare state, even flirted with a poll tax.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-weisman/thatcher-had-broken-the-miners-union-all-but-crushed-the-labour-party/) [Jon Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-weisman/) > [For all the worship that Ronald Reagan elicits in conservative circles in the United States, I would venture that Thatcher did far more to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-weisman/for-all-the-worship-that-ronald-reagan-elicits-in-conservative/) [Jon Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-weisman/) > [I was very conscious of race as I was writing. I was lucky to have spent real time in Portuguese Africa, but I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-weisman/i-was-very-conscious-of-race-as-i-was-writing-i-was-lucky-to-have/) [Jon Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-weisman/) > [One of the great sadnesses of my life, as I take stock at middle age, is the sense that the adventure largely ended by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-weisman/one-of-the-great-sadnesses-of-my-life-as-i-take-stock-at-middle-age/) [Jon Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-weisman/) > [I have always had a hard time revising my work as a journalist, which was never much of a problem. You always have editors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-weisman/i-have-always-had-a-hard-time-revising-my-work-as-a-journalist-which/) [Jon Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-weisman/) > [I hope I will get to novelize my present circumstances at some point. I have some great stories to tell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-weisman/i-hope-i-will-get-to-novelize-my-present-circumstances-at-some-point/) [Jon Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-weisman/) [Explore all 16 Jon Weisman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-weisman/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) [Greg Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-perry/) > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) [Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Novelists may be able to seek advice from readers and editors, but in the end, it is up to them to get the book right.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jon Weisman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-weisman/novelists-may-be-able-to-seek-advice-from-readers-and-editors-but-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Able" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-weisman/novelists-may-be-able-to-seek-advice-from-readers-and-editors-but-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d3/jon-weisman-31172_able_novelists-may-be-able-to-seek-advice-fro_1296339.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d3/jon-weisman-31172_able_novelists-may-be-able-to-seek-advice-fro_1296339.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d3/jon-weisman-31172_able_novelists-may-be-able-to-seek-advice-fro_1296339.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Novelists may be able to seek advice from readers and editors, but in the end, it is up to them to get the…” — Jon Weisman", "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": "Jon Weisman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-weisman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Novelists may be able to seek...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-weisman/novelists-may-be-able-to-seek-advice-from-readers-and-editors-but-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-weisman/novelists-may-be-able-to-seek-advice-from-readers-and-editors-but-in/#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 } } ] } ```