--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A successful book cannot afford to be…" description: "\"A successful book cannot afford to be more than ten percent new.\" — Marshall McLuhan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/413/marshall-mcluhan-641_book_a-successful-book-cannot-afford-to-be-mo_598108.png" --- # A successful book cannot afford to be more than ten… ![“A successful book cannot afford to be more than ten percent new.” quote by Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/413/marshall-mcluhan-641_book_a-successful-book-cannot-afford-to-be-mo_598108.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/413/marshall-mcluhan-641_book_a-successful-book-cannot-afford-to-be-mo_598108.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/413/marshall-mcluhan-641_book_a-successful-book-cannot-afford-to-be-mo_598108.png) > “A successful book cannot afford to be more than ten percent new.” [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Books must stay largely familiar; only a small portion should be novel to keep readers engaged without alienation. **In simple terms:** Books need mostly familiar content with some new ideas. Key Takeaway Balance novelty with familiarity. Themes creativity innovation audience expectations literature media theory Mood analytical thoughtful critical Type explanatory theoretical When to use this quote - Publishing - writing - marketing - content strategy Key Concepts Cultural transmission novelty threshold reader engagement Questions to Reflect On - How much new content is too much? - What keeps readers coming back? A Different Perspective Too much novelty can alienate audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afford Percent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afford-percent-4881478/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Afford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-afford-4881477/) [Book reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-reading/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Percent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/percent/) [Percent New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/percent-new-3559383/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Successful Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful-book-1415911/) [Ten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ten/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I 100 percent do not see myself as the new Piers Morgan!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bishop/i-100-percent-do-not-see-myself-as-the-new-piers-morgan/) [John Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bishop/) > [“52 percent of all new income generated is going to the top 1 percent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/52-percent-of-all-new-income-generated-is-going-to-the-top-1-percent/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [No matter how well a person writes, a successful book is a team effort involving many, many people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-lael-miller/no-matter-how-well-a-person-writes-a-successful-book-is-a-team-effort/) [Linda Lael Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-lael-miller/) > [One needs both leisure and money to make a successful book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-harper/one-needs-both-leisure-and-money-to-make-a-successful-book/) [Frances Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-harper/) > [A good title is the title of a successful book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/a-good-title-is-the-title-of-a-successful-book/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“A successful book isn’t always good and a good book isn’t always successful”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-porteous/a-successful-book-isn-t-always-good-and-a-good-book-isn-t-always/) [Shane Porteous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-porteous/) > [The first book I did - the first successful book - was a kind of a travel book, and publishers in Britain encouraged me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/the-first-book-i-did-the-first-successful-book-was-a-kind-of-a-travel/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [A successful book is not made of what is in it, but what is left out of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-successful-book-is-not-made-of-what-is-in-it-but-what-is-left-out/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“You are successful in my book if you do what you love for a living; you do not owe money to anyone; you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taskinsoy/you-are-successful-in-my-book-if-you-do-what-you-love-for-a-living/) [JOHN TASKINSOY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taskinsoy/) > [The sign that I don't like the book I'm reading is finding myself watching reruns of 'Come Dine With Me.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-sign-that-i-don-t-like-the-book-i-m-reading-is-finding-myself/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/reading-a-book-is-like-re-writing-it-for-yourself/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [I don't care if a reader hates one of my stories, just as long as he finishes the book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-care-if-a-reader-hates-one-of-my-stories-just-as-long-as-he/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“For the last five centuries, ever since Gutenberg's printing press made book reading a popular pursuit, the linear, literary mind has been at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/for-the-last-five-centuries-ever-since-gutenberg-s-printing-press/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [When we read a story, we inhabit it. The covers of the book are like a roof and four walls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/when-we-read-a-story-we-inhabit-it-the-covers-of-the-book-are-like-a/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Love of books is the best of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-kennedy/love-of-books-is-the-best-of-all/) [Jackie Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-kennedy/) ## More by Marshall McLuhan > [Even mud gives the illusion of depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/even-mud-gives-the-illusion-of-depth/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Language always preserves a play or figure/ground relation between experience, and perception and its replay in expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/language-always-preserves-a-play-or-figure-ground-relation-between/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Electronic man has no physical body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/electronic-man-has-no-physical-body/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [I am curious to know what would happen if art were suddenly seen for what it is, namely, exact information of how to rearrange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/i-am-curious-to-know-what-would-happen-if-art-were-suddenly-seen-for/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [With the arrival of electric technology, man has extended, or set outside himself, a live model of the central nervous system itself. To the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/with-the-arrival-of-electric-technology-man-has-extended-or-set/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [“The constant broadcast and reception of ghostly images via radio and television, according to this notion, had weakened the sense, particularly among youth, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-constant-broadcast-and-reception-of-ghostly-images-via-radio-and/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Every innovation scraps its immediate predecessor and retrieves still older figures – it causes floods of antiques or nostalgic art forms and stimulates the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/every-innovation-scraps-its-immediate-predecessor-and-retrieves-still/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The family circle has widened. The worldpool of information fathered by the electric media--movies, Telstar, flight--far surpassesany possible influence mom and dad can now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-family-circle-has-widened-the-worldpool-of-information-fathered/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Like primitive, we now live in a global village of our own making, a simultaneous happening. It doesn't necessarily mean harmony and peace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/like-primitive-we-now-live-in-a-global-village-of-our-own-making-a/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Professionalism is environmental. Amateurism is anti-environmental. Professionalism merges the individual into patterns of total environment. Amateurism seeks the development of the total awareness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/professionalism-is-environmental-amateurism-is-anti-environmental/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The visual power of the phonetic alphabet is the translate other languages into itself is part of its power to invade right hemisphere (oral)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-visual-power-of-the-phonetic-alphabet-is-the-translate-other/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [New media may at first appear as mere codes of transmission for older achievement and established patterns of thought. But nobody could make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/new-media-may-at-first-appear-as-mere-codes-of-transmission-for-older/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Youth instinctively understand the present environment - the electric drama. It lives mythically and in depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/youth-instinctively-understand-the-present-environment-the-electric/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Our motor car is our supreme form of privacy when we are away from home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/our-motor-car-is-our-supreme-form-of-privacy-when-we-are-away-from/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The scientist rigorously defends his right to be ignorant of almost everything except his specialty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-scientist-rigorously-defends-his-right-to-be-ignorant-of-almost/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) [Explore all 433 Marshall McLuhan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) ## More Book 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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [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/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A successful book cannot afford to be more than ten percent new.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marshall McLuhan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/a-successful-book-cannot-afford-to-be-more-than-ten-percent-new/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/a-successful-book-cannot-afford-to-be-more-than-ten-percent-new/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/413/marshall-mcluhan-641_book_a-successful-book-cannot-afford-to-be-mo_598108.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/413/marshall-mcluhan-641_book_a-successful-book-cannot-afford-to-be-mo_598108.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/413/marshall-mcluhan-641_book_a-successful-book-cannot-afford-to-be-mo_598108.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A successful book cannot afford to be more than ten percent new.” — Marshall McLuhan", "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": "Marshall McLuhan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A successful book cannot afford to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/a-successful-book-cannot-afford-to-be-more-than-ten-percent-new/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/a-successful-book-cannot-afford-to-be-more-than-ten-percent-new/#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 } } ] } ```