--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was soul-destroying work, apt to turn…" description: "\"“It was soul-destroying work, apt to turn anyone cynical, for the sad, awful truth was that there was hardly any evidence at all of talent in the slush..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b29/michael-korda-2925_crazy-people_it-was-soul-destroying-work-apt-to-turn_841155.png" --- # It was soul-destroying work, apt to turn anyone cynical… ![“It was soul-destroying work, apt to turn anyone cynical, for the sad, awful truth was that there was hardly any evidence at all of talent in the slush pile and plenty of proof, for those who needed it, that the country was full of crazy people armed with typewriters—far more of them even than of…” quote by Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b29/michael-korda-2925_crazy-people_it-was-soul-destroying-work-apt-to-turn_841155.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b29/michael-korda-2925_crazy-people_it-was-soul-destroying-work-apt-to-turn_841155.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b29/michael-korda-2925_crazy-people_it-was-soul-destroying-work-apt-to-turn_841155.png) > ““It was soul-destroying work, apt to turn anyone cynical, for the sad, awful truth was that there was hardly any evidence at all of talent in the slush pile and plenty of proof, for those who needed it, that the country was full of crazy people armed with typewriters—far more of them even than of crazy people armed with guns.”” [Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The publishing world is dominated by cynical, over‑confident writers, while genuine talent is scarce and often overlooked. **In simple terms:** Publishing is cynical and talent scarce. Key Takeaway Seek authentic voices beyond hype. Themes cynicism talent industry Mood skeptical critical Type analytical observational When to use this quote - job hunting - creative writing - editing - literary criticism Key Concepts media studies literary criticism Questions to Reflect On - How do you spot true talent? - What biases affect your judgments? A Different Perspective Cynicism can blind appreciation of quality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crazy people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crazy-people/) [Cynical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cynical/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [We're so immaturely cynical as a culture. We're not wise enough to look at an institution like marriage and to really things about what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-peterson/we-re-so-immaturely-cynical-as-a-culture-we-re-not-wise-enough-to/) [Jordan Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-peterson/) > [When I write, I use an Underwood #5 made in 1920. Someone gave me an electric typewriter, but there's no use pretending you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/when-i-write-i-use-an-underwood-5-made-in-1920-someone-gave-me-an/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [Generations of thinkers have made typewriters their frenemies, and long before there were Gmail inboxes, print correspondence stacked up, some hastily written and impulsive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-pilon/generations-of-thinkers-have-made-typewriters-their-frenemies-and/) [Mary Pilon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-pilon/) > [I publish six books a year now, which is very exciting. But it keeps me into my typewriter at all times! Now that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-steel/i-publish-six-books-a-year-now-which-is-very-exciting-but-it-keeps-me/) [Danielle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-steel/) > [The manufacturers of mechanical typewriters believed that they had developed sufficiently when they introduced electric typewriters. Then came the PC, and the deeply traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norbert-reithofer/the-manufacturers-of-mechanical-typewriters-believed-that-they-had/) [Norbert Reithofer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norbert-reithofer/) > [A writer should concern himself with whatever absorbs his fancy, stirs his heart, and unlimbers his typewriter. ... A writer has the duty to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/a-writer-should-concern-himself-with-whatever-absorbs-his-fancy-stirs/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [I began by doing book reviews on the typewriter and then went over to short stories on the machine, meanwhile sticking to pencil for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/i-began-by-doing-book-reviews-on-the-typewriter-and-then-went-over-to/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) > [What we, thanks to Jung, call "synchronicity" (coincidence on steroids), Buddhists have long known as "the interpenetration of realities." Whether it's a natural law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/what-we-thanks-to-jung-call-synchronicity-coincidence-on-steroids/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [In spite of advances in technology and changes in the economy, state government still operates on an obsolete 1970s model. We have a typewriter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-blunt/in-spite-of-advances-in-technology-and-changes-in-the-economy-state/) [Matt Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-blunt/) > [There are moments when I cannot bear this unremitting consciousness. It knows only itself. Awake, I am in a continuum with my dreams. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/there-are-moments-when-i-cannot-bear-this-unremitting-consciousness/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [My boyfriend got me a computer three years ago. I'll admit it does make things a lot easier. When I was working on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/my-boyfriend-got-me-a-computer-three-years-ago-i-ll-admit-it-does/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [ the ordinary man's experience is chaotic, irregular, fragmentary. \[He\] falls in love or reads Spinoza, and these two experiences have nothing to do with… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-ordinary-man-s-experience-is-chaotic-irregular-fragmentary-he/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [You get attached to the way you write, and I'm attached to notebooks. That's where I really write the plays. Just two or three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-simon/you-get-attached-to-the-way-you-write-and-i-m-attached-to-notebooks/) [Neil Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-simon/) > [To say, "Well, I write when I really get into it" is a bunch of bull. Put the paper in the typewriter, stare at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/to-say-well-i-write-when-i-really-get-into-it-is-a-bunch-of-bull-put/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [I got so discouraged, I almost stopped writing. It was my 12-year-old son who changed my mind when he said to me, "Mother, you've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/i-got-so-discouraged-i-almost-stopped-writing-it-was-my-12-year-old/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) ## More by Michael Korda > [Hebron is a bone of contention between Israeli settlers and the Palestinians in part because Abraham is buried there, in the Tomb of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/hebron-is-a-bone-of-contention-between-israeli-settlers-and-the/) [Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) > [In 'Gran Torino,' Eastwood moves towards the climax of the movie not by staging a shoot-out, but by putting his weapons to one side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/in-gran-torino-eastwood-moves-towards-the-climax-of-the-movie-not-by/) [Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) > [Some people are so famous that the legends about them and the cultural aftermath of their life altogether obscure the real human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/some-people-are-so-famous-that-the-legends-about-them-and-the/) [Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) > [The advice I would offer to any writer is that even when you think you have revised your book to the point where you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/the-advice-i-would-offer-to-any-writer-is-that-even-when-you-think/) [Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) > [Citizens of Rome might boast that the claim of 'Civus romanus sum' set them apart from barbarians and slaves, and it was true up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/citizens-of-rome-might-boast-that-the-claim-of-civus-romanus-sum-set/) [Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) > [Concentration is the magic key that opens the door to accomplishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/concentration-is-the-magic-key-that-opens-the-door-to-accomplishment/) [Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) > [Luck can often mean simply taking advantage of a situation at the right moment. It is possible to make your luck by being always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/luck-can-often-mean-simply-taking-advantage-of-a-situation-at-the/) [Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) > [Nothing is more difficult than to recreate in all its complexity than a distant age, and not only to get it right but make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/nothing-is-more-difficult-than-to-recreate-in-all-its-complexity-than/) [Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) > [The American system demands success, and in order to succeed we must first believe that we can. Yet our society, with its intolerance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/the-american-system-demands-success-and-in-order-to-succeed-we-must/) [Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) > [In my experience, with very few exceptions - I am, as it happens, one of the exceptions - the one thing that most editors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/in-my-experience-with-very-few-exceptions-i-am-as-it-happens-one-of/) [Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) > [We British and Americans have never been conquered and occupied by the Germans, or forced to make the choice between defiance and collaboration, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/we-british-and-americans-have-never-been-conquered-and-occupied-by/) [Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) > [Ronald Reagan had a kind of shallow movie-star charisma - a combination of makeup and the skill of a good actor - but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/ronald-reagan-had-a-kind-of-shallow-movie-star-charisma-a-combination/) [Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) > [An ounce of hypocrisy is worth a pound of ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/an-ounce-of-hypocrisy-is-worth-a-pound-of-ambition/) [Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) > [The men who died at D-Day did not die shoulder-to-shoulder with their French comrades. They died to liberate the French from a sinister and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/the-men-who-died-at-d-day-did-not-die-shoulder-to-shoulder-with-their/) [Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) > [One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/one-way-to-keep-momentum-going-is-to-have-constantly-greater-goals/) [Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) [Explore all 145 Michael Korda quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) ## More Crazy people quotes > [You’re crazy,” said her best friend, Angela, as the bell rang to signal five minutes before the first class on the first day back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/you-re-crazy-said-her-best-friend-angela-as-the-bell-rang-to-signal/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [Not everyone is capable of madness; and of those lucky enough to be capable, not many have the courage for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/not-everyone-is-capable-of-madness-and-of-those-lucky-enough-to-be/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [“Bethany." His quiet voice intruded. Her heart turned over heavily. "This is real right?" His face contorted as if he were in pain. "Yes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/bethany-his-quiet-voice-intruded-her-heart-turned-over-heavily-this/) [Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/) > [I don't think I've played a lot of crazy people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-lynskey/i-don-t-think-i-ve-played-a-lot-of-crazy-people/) [Melanie Lynskey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-lynskey/) > [I do not believe in fate but its crazy how sometimes it seems that some people are meant to meet each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-do-not-believe-in-fate-but-its-crazy-how-sometimes-it-seems-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Crazy people are not crazy if one accepts their reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/crazy-people-are-not-crazy-if-one-accepts-their-reasoning/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“Crazy people love their Kindles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dermot-davis/crazy-people-love-their-kindles/) [Dermot Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dermot-davis/) > [I wouldn't tie you up during sex thats for crazy people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/i-wouldn-t-tie-you-up-during-sex-thats-for-crazy-people/) [Kevin McCarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/) > [Sometimes I look at my friends and think to myself, Where did I meet these crazy people? But then I think What would I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/sometimes-i-look-at-my-friends-and-think-to-myself-where-did-i-meet/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [The bizarre trend in mountaineers is not the risk they take, but the large degree to which they value life. They are not crazy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-morgan/the-bizarre-trend-in-mountaineers-is-not-the-risk-they-take-but-the/) Lisa Morgan > [“The two most dangerous things in the world are rich people and crazy people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/the-two-most-dangerous-things-in-the-world-are-rich-people-and-crazy/) [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) > [New York is full of crazy people, and I like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-bell/new-york-is-full-of-crazy-people-and-i-like-that/) [Jamie Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-bell/) > [Note to self: never participate in a trend about politics. Crazy people everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/note-to-self-never-participate-in-a-trend-about-politics-crazy-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Those just crazy people have no problems because they are the people who forgotten the problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innah-delos-angeles/those-just-crazy-people-have-no-problems-because-they-are-the-people/) [Innah Delos Angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innah-delos-angeles/) > [Moral revolutions are typically seen retrospectively. Prospectively, the revolutionaries tend to look like crazy people, and sometimes they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/moral-revolutions-are-typically-seen-retrospectively-prospectively/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) [Browse all 288 Crazy people quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crazy-people/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was soul-destroying work, apt to turn anyone cynical, for the sad, awful truth was that there was hardly any evidence at all of talent in the slush pile and plenty of proof, for those who needed it, that the country was full of crazy people armed with typewriters—far more of them even than of crazy people armed with guns.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Korda" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/it-was-soul-destroying-work-apt-to-turn-anyone-cynical-for-the-sad/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Crazy people" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/it-was-soul-destroying-work-apt-to-turn-anyone-cynical-for-the-sad/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b29/michael-korda-2925_crazy-people_it-was-soul-destroying-work-apt-to-turn_841155.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b29/michael-korda-2925_crazy-people_it-was-soul-destroying-work-apt-to-turn_841155.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b29/michael-korda-2925_crazy-people_it-was-soul-destroying-work-apt-to-turn_841155.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It was soul-destroying work, apt to turn anyone cynical, for the sad, awful truth was that there was hardly…” — Michael Korda", "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": "Michael Korda", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It was soul-destroying work, apt to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/it-was-soul-destroying-work-apt-to-turn-anyone-cynical-for-the-sad/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/it-was-soul-destroying-work-apt-to-turn-anyone-cynical-for-the-sad/#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 } } ] } ```