--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I started with small-press publishers…" description: "\"I started with small-press publishers, who were willing to publish all sorts of forms. I didn't move to the larger presses until they knew what they we..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/lydia-davis-3244_form_i-started-with-small-press-publishers-wh_795528.png" --- # I started with small-press publishers, who were willing to… ![“I started with small-press publishers, who were willing to publish all sorts of forms. I didn't move to the larger presses until they knew what they were getting in for.” quote by Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/lydia-davis-3244_form_i-started-with-small-press-publishers-wh_795528.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/lydia-davis-3244_form_i-started-with-small-press-publishers-wh_795528.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/lydia-davis-3244_form_i-started-with-small-press-publishers-wh_795528.png) > “I started with small-press publishers, who were willing to publish all sorts of forms. I didn't move to the larger presses until they knew what they were getting in for.” [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She began publishing with small, flexible presses before moving to larger ones once they trusted her work. **In simple terms:** Start small, prove value, then expand. Key Takeaway Build credibility before scaling. Themes career publishing growth Mood determined optimistic Type career strategic When to use this quote - author debut - grant applications - networking - scaling business Key Concepts indie publishing trust building Questions to Reflect On - How did early small presses shape your voice? - What signals convinced big presses to sign you? A Different Perspective Larger publishers may still demand concessions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Larger Presses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/larger-presses-6101783/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Press Publishers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/press-publishers-4588762/) [Presses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presses/) [Publish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/publish/) [Publishers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/publishers/) [Publishers Willing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/publishers-willing-6101781/) [Small Press](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-press-1302162/) [Willing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willing/) [Willing Publish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willing-publish-6101782/) ## Related quotes > [“KEEP BOOKS DANGEROUS Support small press publishers, writers, & artists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosho-mccreesh/keep-books-dangerous-support-small-press-publishers-writers-artists/) [Hosho McCreesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosho-mccreesh/) > [I wanted to do a weird book and reestablish my independent, small-press roots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/i-wanted-to-do-a-weird-book-and-reestablish-my-independent-small/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [My idea was always to start with a small press and then move up to a national press. I had those goals for my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/my-idea-was-always-to-start-with-a-small-press-and-then-move-up-to-a/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [Like a lot of small press founders I was looking for a way into publishing - as well as a way out of academia.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-latimer/like-a-lot-of-small-press-founders-i-was-looking-for-a-way-into/) [Andrew Latimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-latimer/) > [Small things have a way of overmastering the great. This small press can destroy a kingdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-levien/small-things-have-a-way-of-overmastering-the-great-this-small-press/) [Sonya Levien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-levien/) > [“sadness we did not have to work on. It came, as sadness usually does, as soon as I sat down and began to listen.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-wells/sadness-we-did-not-have-to-work-on-it-came-as-sadness-usually-does-as/) [Rebecca Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-wells/) > [You may be somebody who writes best for a small press that doesn't pay very well, but you might have a fascinating and intricate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/you-may-be-somebody-who-writes-best-for-a-small-press-that-doesn-t/) [Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) > [In one sense, you put a lot of yourself into a small press - it's your personal tastes that are on the line -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-latimer/in-one-sense-you-put-a-lot-of-yourself-into-a-small-press-it-s-your/) [Andrew Latimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-latimer/) > [There's a reason that so much good material is coming down to the small presses: it's difficult to turn a profit, all things considered.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-latimer/there-s-a-reason-that-so-much-good-material-is-coming-down-to-the/) [Andrew Latimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-latimer/) > [“sadness usually does, as soon as I sat down and began to listen. The small press had a correspondingly”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-wells/sadness-usually-does-as-soon-as-i-sat-down-and-began-to-listen-the/) [Rebecca Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-wells/) > [I have to declare in all candor that no one interested in being published in our time can afford to be so naive as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-curtis/i-have-to-declare-in-all-candor-that-no-one-interested-in-being/) [Richard Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-curtis/) > [I want to keep growing as a writer. I find myself doing unexpected projects and sort of challenging my idea of where I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/i-want-to-keep-growing-as-a-writer-i-find-myself-doing-unexpected/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [A thing may in itself be the finest piece of writing one has ever done, and yet have absolutely no place in the manuscript…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-forche/a-thing-may-in-itself-be-the-finest-piece-of-writing-one-has-ever/) [Carolyn Forche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-forche/) > [I think that at a certain age, say fifteen or sixteen, poetry is like masturbation. But later in life good poets burn their early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/i-think-that-at-a-certain-age-say-fifteen-or-sixteen-poetry-is-like/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) ## More by Lydia Davis > [Heart weeps. Head tries to help heart. Head tells heart how it is, again: You will lose the ones you love. They will all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/heart-weeps-head-tries-to-help-heart-head-tells-heart-how-it-is-again/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“But on that particular day I did not even begin to feel interested in this chore, and was suddenly more deeply bored than I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/but-on-that-particular-day-i-did-not-even-begin-to-feel-interested-in/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [If a translation doesn't have obvious writing problems, it may seem quite all right at first glance. We readers, after all, quickly adapt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/if-a-translation-doesn-t-have-obvious-writing-problems-it-may-seem/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [I always interrupt work with other work, either in a small way or big way, so that's normal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-always-interrupt-work-with-other-work-either-in-a-small-way-or-big/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [ I worked more intensively hour after hour when I was starting out \[writing\]. More laboriously. I'd say quantity is important as well as quality,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-worked-more-intensively-hour-after-hour-when-i-was-starting-out/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [I don't feel I have to struggle against allegory. I let the readers do the interpreting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-don-t-feel-i-have-to-struggle-against-allegory-i-let-the-readers-do/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“because she couldn’t write the name of what she was: a wa wam owm owamn womn”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/because-she-couldn-t-write-the-name-of-what-she-was-a-wa-wam-owm/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“Everything was sharper, clearer, and closer, as though, before, I had been seeing only little bits at a time, not all of it, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/everything-was-sharper-clearer-and-closer-as-though-before-i-had-been/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“He did not know exactly when to thank his hostess after attending a dinner or a weekend party. In his uncertainty, he would thank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/he-did-not-know-exactly-when-to-thank-his-hostess-after-attending-a/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“There was no confusion of our bodies. I knew which arm was his and which mine, and which leg, and which shoulder. I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/there-was-no-confusion-of-our-bodies-i-knew-which-arm-was-his-and/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“So it’s not really $100 a shot because it goes on all day, from the start when you wake up and feel her body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/so-it-s-not-really-100-a-shot-because-it-goes-on-all-day-from-the/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“The people of the town, though, remained strangers: I could not realize that I must be seeing some of them over and over again,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/the-people-of-the-town-though-remained-strangers-i-could-not-realize/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“He does not trust her: she will claim to be in a bad mood when she is not, and then require him to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/he-does-not-trust-her-she-will-claim-to-be-in-a-bad-mood-when-she-is/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [I would recommend, definitely, developing a 'day job' that you like - don't expect to make money writing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-would-recommend-definitely-developing-a-day-job-that-you-like-don-t/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [the translator, a lonely sort of acrobat, becomes confused in a labyrinth of paradox, or climbs a pyramid of dependent clauses and has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/the-translator-a-lonely-sort-of-acrobat-becomes-confused-in-a/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) [Explore all 135 Lydia Davis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) ## More Form quotes > [The Copa del Rey is a different competition. It is football in its purest form and is different from the continuity of the league.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-laudrup/the-copa-del-rey-is-a-different-competition-it-is-football-in-its/) [Michael Laudrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-laudrup/) > [We could form a government of national unity fighting corruption. The ordinary Afghan is sick and tired of it, because it's she or he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashraf-ghani/we-could-form-a-government-of-national-unity-fighting-corruption-the/) [Ashraf Ghani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashraf-ghani/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has once been born, will always reappear in a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-aalto/nothing-old-is-ever-reborn-but-neither-does-it-totally-disappear-and/) [Alvar Aalto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvar-aalto/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) > [Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. Put back together well, they won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/broken-by-hardships-disappointments-and-tragedy-people-can-become/) [Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/) > [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/) [Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I think it's useful to experience other types of dance and other cultures, and the life of a classical dancer these days is certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-bull/i-think-it-s-useful-to-experience-other-types-of-dance-and-other/) [Deborah Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-bull/) > [There cannot be any communication except through form. If there is no form, you cannot create emotion in the spectator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-resnais/there-cannot-be-any-communication-except-through-form-if-there-is-no/) [Alain Resnais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-resnais/) > [I am strongly opposed to any form of amnesty, including, especially, executive amnesty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-scalise/i-am-strongly-opposed-to-any-form-of-amnesty-including-especially/) [Steve Scalise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-scalise/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) [Browse all 12,984 Form quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I started with small-press publishers, who were willing to publish all sorts of forms. 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