--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...I think one shouldn't pussyfoot, and…" description: "\"“...I think one shouldn't pussyfoot, and just say that you write the stuff that you would like to read. So you write for yourself, no doubt about that...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/martin-amis-704_books_i-think-one-shouldn-t-pussyfoot-and-just_1954016.jpg" --- # ...I think one shouldn't pussyfoot, and just say that you… ![“...I think one shouldn't pussyfoot, and just say that you write the stuff that you would like to read. So you write for yourself, no doubt about that. But I do have a sort of romantic idea of someone in their twenties, of a certain bent, and when they pick up a book by me, they think--as I have…” quote by Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/martin-amis-704_books_i-think-one-shouldn-t-pussyfoot-and-just_1954016.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/martin-amis-704_books_i-think-one-shouldn-t-pussyfoot-and-just_1954016.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/martin-amis-704_books_i-think-one-shouldn-t-pussyfoot-and-just_1954016.jpg) > ““...I think one shouldn't pussyfoot, and just say that you write the stuff that you would like to read. So you write for yourself, no doubt about that. But I do have a sort of romantic idea of someone in their twenties, of a certain bent, and when they pick up a book by me, they think--as I have done on several occasions--'Ah, here is one for me. Here is a writer who I'll have to read all of, because they're speaking directly to me, and they're writing what I want to read.' And sometimes you're doing the signing queue and a reader comes past and you sign the book, and there's a little exchange of the eyes, where you think, 'Ah, that's one of them.' So there is that ideal reader. And it's someone who's discovering literature and homes in on you. I'm aware of such readers.”” [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Authors should write what they love, hoping readers will feel a personal connection and see themselves reflected in the work. **In simple terms:** Write for yourself, seek readers who relate. Key Takeaway Create authentic, resonant literature. Themes authorship reader connection creative honesty Mood introspective inspirational Type creative motivational When to use this quote - book clubs - writing workshops - author signings - literary festivals Key Concepts literary theory identity audience engagement Questions to Reflect On - Who truly defines your ideal reader? - How can you broaden appeal without losing authenticity? A Different Perspective Idealizing a single “ideal reader” can ignore diverse audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/readers/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [When we read, we are doing more than delectating words on a page stories, characters, images, notions. We are communing with the mind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/when-we-read-we-are-doing-more-than-delectating-words-on-a-page/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [Don't dumb down; always write for your top five percent of readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/don-t-dumb-down-always-write-for-your-top-five-percent-of-readers/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [My ideal reader is me. And yes, my ideal reader comes with me and is forgiving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/my-ideal-reader-is-me-and-yes-my-ideal-reader-comes-with-me-and-is/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I concentrate on the lives of individuals whom the reader comes to know and feel with intimately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/i-concentrate-on-the-lives-of-individuals-whom-the-reader-comes-to/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [“It is the reader who comes to complete the work and to close, albeit temporarily, the world that it opens, and the reader does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bayard/it-is-the-reader-who-comes-to-complete-the-work-and-to-close-albeit/) [Pierre Bayard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bayard/) > [In the moment of reading, the writer comes up to the surface and the reader comes up to the surface and they kiss, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/in-the-moment-of-reading-the-writer-comes-up-to-the-surface-and-the/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [Text is just ink on a page until a reader comes along and gives it life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-rosenblatt/text-is-just-ink-on-a-page-until-a-reader-comes-along-and-gives-it/) [Louise Rosenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-rosenblatt/) > [If a reader comes across a story that makes them cry, you can be sure that the writer felt every single thing that makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/if-a-reader-comes-across-a-story-that-makes-them-cry-you-can-be-sure/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [“I do not understand people who do not read. What are they doing in their free times?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-dornan/i-do-not-understand-people-who-do-not-read-what-are-they-doing-in/) [Jamie Dornan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-dornan/) > [I'll read anything. In fact, I'll read while I'm doing other things, which is not a good idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-ll-read-anything-in-fact-i-ll-read-while-i-m-doing-other-things/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [“For a writer it was perhaps most important not to write, but to read. Read as much as you can because in so doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/for-a-writer-it-was-perhaps-most-important-not-to-write-but-to-read/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [That's one thing I like to do before going in for a read - doing research once I actually have been granted the role…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-warren/that-s-one-thing-i-like-to-do-before-going-in-for-a-read-doing/) [Amanda Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-warren/) > [“I love staring at my books for hours just trying to decide which book to read next. Doing that is almost as fun as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/love-the-stacks-bookstore/i-love-staring-at-my-books-for-hours-just-trying-to-decide-which-book/) Love The Stacks Bookstore > [“First, you must read it, not as you read other books, but slowly and thoughtfully (that is why I made it very short) and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/first-you-must-read-it-not-as-you-read-other-books-but-slowly-and/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [“If you can't write, read. If you can't read, walk. Or walk and read, then write.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-rachelle/if-you-can-t-write-read-if-you-can-t-read-walk-or-walk-and-read-then/) [Joyce Rachelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-rachelle/) ## More by Martin Amis > [“Yeah,' I said and started smoking another cigarette. Unless I inform you otherwise, I'm always smoking another cigarette.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/yeah-i-said-and-started-smoking-another-cigarette-unless-i-inform-you/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“barrios; each barrio has two or three gangs, and all the gangs are theoretically”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/barrios-each-barrio-has-two-or-three-gangs-and-all-the-gangs-are/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“If we all downed tools and joined hands for ten minutes and stopped believing in money, then money would no longer exist. We never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/if-we-all-downed-tools-and-joined-hands-for-ten-minutes-and-stopped/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [When I see a lot of young faces in the audience, it's just sort of sinking in how important that is. Because you're old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/when-i-see-a-lot-of-young-faces-in-the-audience-it-s-just-sort-of/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“I was informed by my viscera that now was the time to put my arm around her shoulders. I ignored them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-was-informed-by-my-viscera-that-now-was-the-time-to-put-my-arm/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [You use a different part of your heart with girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/you-use-a-different-part-of-your-heart-with-girls/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [It's becoming clearer and clearer to me that the world is there to be celebrated by writers, and in fact this is what all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/it-s-becoming-clearer-and-clearer-to-me-that-the-world-is-there-to-be/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [In her final months Princess Diana was being shat upon by the tabloids -- basically for sleeping with an Arab. When she died, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/in-her-final-months-princess-diana-was-being-shat-upon-by-the/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [If you feel you have a strong constituency among the young, you can really die happy, because the great unanswered question, the only valid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/if-you-feel-you-have-a-strong-constituency-among-the-young-you-can/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [My life looked good on paper - where, in fact, almost all of it was being lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/my-life-looked-good-on-paper-where-in-fact-almost-all-of-it-was-being/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [I say, 'If I had a serious brain injury I might well write a children's book', but otherwise the idea of being conscious of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-say-if-i-had-a-serious-brain-injury-i-might-well-write-a-children-s/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [The future could go this way, that way. The future's futures have never looked so rocky. Don't put money on it. Take my advice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/the-future-could-go-this-way-that-way-the-future-s-futures-have-never/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [Each life is a game of chess that went to hell on the seventh move(...)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/each-life-is-a-game-of-chess-that-went-to-hell-on-the-seventh-move/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [ “There exists a subterranean world where pathological fantasies disguised as ideas are churned out by crooks and half-educated fanatics \[notably the lower clergy\] for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/there-exists-a-subterranean-world-where-pathological-fantasies/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) [Explore all 393 Martin Amis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) ## More Books 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/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [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/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [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/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [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/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [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/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...I think one shouldn't pussyfoot, and just say that you write the stuff that you would like to read. So you write for yourself, no doubt about that. But I do have a sort of romantic idea of someone in their twenties, of a certain bent, and when they pick up a book by me, they think--as I have done on several occasions--'Ah, here is one for me. Here is a writer who I'll have to read all of, because they're speaking directly to me, and they're writing what I want to read.' And sometimes you're doing the signing queue and a reader comes past and you sign the book, and there's a little exchange of the eyes, where you think, 'Ah, that's one of them.' So there is that ideal reader. And it's someone who's discovering literature and homes in on you. 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