--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Here's a secret. Many novelists, if they…" description: "\"Here's a secret. Many novelists, if they are pressed and if they are being honest, will admit that the finished book is a rather rough translation of t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/michael-cunningham-1120_being-honest_here-s-a-secret-many-novelists-if-they-a_2732552.png" --- # Here's a secret. Many novelists, if they are pressed and… ![“Here's a secret. Many novelists, if they are pressed and if they are being honest, will admit that the finished book is a rather rough translation of the book they'd intended to write.” quote by Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/michael-cunningham-1120_being-honest_here-s-a-secret-many-novelists-if-they-a_2732552.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/michael-cunningham-1120_being-honest_here-s-a-secret-many-novelists-if-they-a_2732552.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/michael-cunningham-1120_being-honest_here-s-a-secret-many-novelists-if-they-a_2732552.png) > “Here's a secret. Many novelists, if they are pressed and if they are being honest, will admit that the finished book is a rather rough translation of the book they'd intended to write.” [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers often admit that the final manuscript is a rough, imperfect version of the original vision they intended. **In simple terms:** Finished books differ from the writer’s original plan. Key Takeaway Accept imperfection and iterate. Themes creativity writing process authenticity Mood introspective honest Type literary reflective When to use this quote - novel writing - editing - publishing - creative projects Key Concepts drafting revision authorial intent Questions to Reflect On - What compromises did you make during editing? - How do you balance honesty with polish? A Different Perspective Readers may misinterpret the roughness as lack of skill. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-honest/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Rough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-rough-2966554/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Finished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finished/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) [Novelists Pressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists-pressed-2966552/) [Rough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rough/) [Rough Translation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rough-translation-2966553/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Secret Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret-novelists-2966555/) [Translations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translations/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Plonger au fond du gouffre, Enfer ou Ciel, qu'importe? / Au fond de l'Inconnu pour trouver du NOUVEAU! 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Not now. Not today. Not when he needs... more. More than this well-executed idea. More than the shark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/and-yet-it-gives-peter-nothing-not-now-not-today-not-when-he-needs/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [He insists on a version of you that is funnier, stranger, more eccentric and prfound thatn you suspect yourself to be--capable of doing more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/he-insists-on-a-version-of-you-that-is-funnier-stranger-more/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [The worst are full of passionate intensity while the best lack all conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/the-worst-are-full-of-passionate-intensity-while-the-best-lack-all/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [“And here he is, letting the massive steel street door click shut behind him, standing at the top of the three iron steps that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/and-here-he-is-letting-the-massive-steel-street-door-click-shut/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [It's the world, you live in it, even if some boy has made a fool of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/it-s-the-world-you-live-in-it-even-if-some-boy-has-made-a-fool-of-you/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [“She's had a long life. Now she's going to the Lord." "Frankly it creeps me out a little when you say things like that,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/she-s-had-a-long-life-now-she-s-going-to-the-lord-frankly-it-creeps/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [Any other vexations to report?" he asks. "I love the word 'vexations.'" "It's the 'x.' Nice to jump off a 'v' and bite into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/any-other-vexations-to-report-he-asks-i-love-the-word-vexations-it-s/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [Dead, we are revealed in our true dimensions, and they are surprisingly modest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/dead-we-are-revealed-in-our-true-dimensions-and-they-are-surprisingly/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) [Explore all 277 Michael Cunningham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) ## More Being honest quotes > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [I have often spoken of integrity as the most important of these values, realizing that integrity – and personal integrity, at that – is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verghese-kurien/i-have-often-spoken-of-integrity-as-the-most-important-of-these/) [Verghese Kurien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verghese-kurien/) > [I had never done anything with blue screen before, or prosthetics, or anything like that. Lord of the Rings was like stepping into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-had-never-done-anything-with-blue-screen-before-or-prosthetics-or/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [Let's be honest, if the Democrats didn't support ignoring our nation's immigration laws, there is no way they could win the presidency or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/let-s-be-honest-if-the-democrats-didn-t-support-ignoring-our-nation-s/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [I think what saved me is me being honest. I think I somewhow had the courage to do something and say something that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-degeneres/i-think-what-saved-me-is-me-being-honest-i-think-i-somewhow-had-the/) [Ellen DeGeneres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-degeneres/) > [An actor has to evaluate his own abilities and be honest with himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-newman/an-actor-has-to-evaluate-his-own-abilities-and-be-honest-with-himself/) [Paul Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-newman/) > [The cultural integration of psychedelics won't happen overnight, and the question of young people is perhaps the most difficult involved. The first step is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-doblin/the-cultural-integration-of-psychedelics-won-t-happen-overnight-and/) [Rick Doblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-doblin/) > [I'm a person of change and I must be honest to my artistry and my creativity. That's part of the word 'jazz'... it's an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-ferguson/i-m-a-person-of-change-and-i-must-be-honest-to-my-artistry-and-my/) [Maynard Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-ferguson/) > [I'm going to be honest, I would love for Flava Flav to be president. 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To be honest with… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mullane/the-opening-for-solid-waste-is-very-small-in-the-space-ship-it-s-not/) [Mike Mullane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mullane/) > [We had 90 percent rates, but nobody paid them. And so you had all these exemptions, exclusions, shelters, all this kind of stuff. 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