--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sweden is a small country, and a Swedish…" description: "\"Sweden is a small country, and a Swedish writer can barely make a living as an author. We were able to quit our jobs as journalists only after we had b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/maj-sjowall-37231_able_sweden-is-a-small-country-and-a-swedish_584975.jpg" --- # Sweden is a small country, and a Swedish writer can barely… ![“Sweden is a small country, and a Swedish writer can barely make a living as an author. We were able to quit our jobs as journalists only after we had been translated into, among others, German.” quote by Maj Sjowall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/maj-sjowall-37231_able_sweden-is-a-small-country-and-a-swedish_584975.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/maj-sjowall-37231_able_sweden-is-a-small-country-and-a-swedish_584975.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/maj-sjowall-37231_able_sweden-is-a-small-country-and-a-swedish_584975.jpg) > “Sweden is a small country, and a Swedish writer can barely make a living as an author. We were able to quit our jobs as journalists only after we had been translated into, among others, German.” [Maj Sjowall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maj-sjowall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Translation opens international markets, enabling writers to sustain themselves financially. **In simple terms:** Translation helps writers earn a living. Key Takeaway Seek translation opportunities. Themes economics translation literature Mood optimistic practical Type business creative When to use this quote - publishing contracts - literary festivals - foreign rights deals - author residencies Key Concepts global market cultural exchange Questions to Reflect On - Which markets could your work reach? - How does translation affect your voice? A Different Perspective May depend on language demand. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Country Swedish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country-swedish-4800616/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Journalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalist/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Quitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quitting/) [Sweden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweden/) [Sweden Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweden-small-4603822/) [Swedish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swedish/) [Swedish Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swedish-writer-4800615/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Sweden is a small country. All cities seem small after a while. I was hanging out at a rehearsal hall in Williamsburg and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-ternheim/sweden-is-a-small-country-all-cities-seem-small-after-a-while-i-was/) [Anna Ternheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-ternheim/) > [Sweden is a small country and, well, our family's pretty prominent in that world, I guess. And I really didn't like the sound of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-skarsgard/sweden-is-a-small-country-and-well-our-family-s-pretty-prominent-in/) [Bill Skarsgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-skarsgard/) > [This worldwide spread of recognition is insane. I was brought up in a small country. If you made a Swedish film that just got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-vikander/this-worldwide-spread-of-recognition-is-insane-i-was-brought-up-in-a/) [Alicia Vikander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-vikander/) > [I would say that during my lifetime, one of the worst political scandals in Sweden was absolutely what happened surrounding the affair of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/i-would-say-that-during-my-lifetime-one-of-the-worst-political/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [Whenever I travel anywhere, I'm constantly asked if I'm Swedish. It's the burden of most Norwegians. The Swedes have just got a better publicity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-heyerdahl/whenever-i-travel-anywhere-i-m-constantly-asked-if-i-m-swedish-it-s/) [Christopher Heyerdahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-heyerdahl/) > [“Is there a Swedish Modernism?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-widenheim/is-there-a-swedish-modernism/) [Cecilia Widenheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-widenheim/) > [Malmo, with its 280,000 residents, is Sweden's third-largest city. To see a physician, a patient must go to one of two local clinics before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/malmo-with-its-280-000-residents-is-sweden-s-third-largest-city-to/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) > [I am so 100 percent Swedish... Someone has said a Swede is like a bottle of ketchup - nothing and nothing and then all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingmar-bergman/i-am-so-100-percent-swedish-someone-has-said-a-swede-is-like-a-bottle/) [Ingmar Bergman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingmar-bergman/) > [In Sweden, there's a lot of talk of gender equality. That discussion isn't as prevalent in the U.S. I feel that successful American women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/in-sweden-there-s-a-lot-of-talk-of-gender-equality-that-discussion/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [In Sweden, they broadcast the American shows in English with Swedish subtitles, whereas in many European countries they dub them. Watching those shows in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-hagelin/in-sweden-they-broadcast-the-american-shows-in-english-with-swedish/) [Carl Hagelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-hagelin/) > [I would be immediately arrested by the British police and I would then be extradited either immediately to the United States or to Sweden.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/i-would-be-immediately-arrested-by-the-british-police-and-i-would/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Tennis legend Bjorn Borg appeared in a Swedish TV ad urging Swedes to have more sex to solve the country's falling birth rate. America…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/argus-hamilton/tennis-legend-bjorn-borg-appeared-in-a-swedish-tv-ad-urging-swedes-to/) [Argus Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/argus-hamilton/) > [I'm the minority in my house sometimes. My wife is Swedish, and we go to Sweden and everyone is rattling off in Swedish. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-ferrell/i-m-the-minority-in-my-house-sometimes-my-wife-is-swedish-and-we-go/) [Will Ferrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-ferrell/) > [In Sweden I am considered the Finnish-Norwegian, in Norway Finnish-Swedish, and in Finland Swedish-Norwegian. I've never really belonged anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sunde/in-sweden-i-am-considered-the-finnish-norwegian-in-norway-finnish/) [Peter Sunde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sunde/) > [I had a gig in Sweden. There were thousands of people there, and when I launched into 'I'm Yours,' they were all singing along.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/i-had-a-gig-in-sweden-there-were-thousands-of-people-there-and-when-i/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) ## More by Maj Sjowall > [Death is never very pretty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maj-sjowall/death-is-never-very-pretty/) [Maj Sjowall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maj-sjowall/) > [“The police car bellowed through the night. The tail lights of the car in front came closer. All around them, but especially to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maj-sjowall/the-police-car-bellowed-through-the-night-the-tail-lights-of-the-car/) [Maj Sjöwall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maj-sjowall/) > [“Rather free than rich”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maj-sjowall/rather-free-than-rich/) [Maj Sjöwall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maj-sjowall/) > [You get tough when you grow up unloved. People described me as a boyish girl - rather shy, but I didn't show it. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maj-sjowall/you-get-tough-when-you-grow-up-unloved-people-described-me-as-a/) [Maj Sjowall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maj-sjowall/) > [There were many films made for both cinema and television, and in general I don't connect them very much with our books. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maj-sjowall/there-were-many-films-made-for-both-cinema-and-television-and-in/) [Maj Sjowall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maj-sjowall/) > [Yes, think what a lot of nonsense one can figure out with plenty of time. Brooding is the mother of ineffectiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maj-sjowall/yes-think-what-a-lot-of-nonsense-one-can-figure-out-with-plenty-of/) [Maj Sjowall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maj-sjowall/) > [We wanted to describe society from our Left point of view. Per had written political books, but they'd only sold 300 copies. We realised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maj-sjowall/we-wanted-to-describe-society-from-our-left-point-of-view-per-had/) [Maj Sjowall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maj-sjowall/) > [We always had money problems. Sometimes I would lie awake at night wondering how to pay the rent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maj-sjowall/we-always-had-money-problems-sometimes-i-would-lie-awake-at-night/) [Maj Sjowall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maj-sjowall/) > [People read more mysteries than they do political pamphlets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maj-sjowall/people-read-more-mysteries-than-they-do-political-pamphlets/) [Maj Sjowall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maj-sjowall/) > [When I was 11, I realised that I did not have to live the life my mother had: school, marriage, children, apartment, summer house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maj-sjowall/when-i-was-11-i-realised-that-i-did-not-have-to-live-the-life-my/) [Maj Sjowall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maj-sjowall/) > [I like Jo Nesbo and Hakan Nesser. There are so many good books in the world. I don't want to spend time reading bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maj-sjowall/i-like-jo-nesbo-and-hakan-nesser-there-are-so-many-good-books-in-the/) [Maj Sjowall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maj-sjowall/) [Explore all 12 Maj Sjowall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maj-sjowall/) ## 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. 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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. 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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": "Sweden is a small country, and a Swedish writer can barely make a living as an author. 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