--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you want to be a writer, you write…" description: "\"If you want to be a writer, you write. Everybody wants to get published. You gotta play your long game.\" — Paul Harding" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ba/paul-harding-11330_games_if-you-want-to-be-a-writer-you-write-eve_1868713.png" --- # If you want to be a writer, you write. Everybody wants to… ![“If you want to be a writer, you write. Everybody wants to get published. You gotta play your long game.” quote by Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ba/paul-harding-11330_games_if-you-want-to-be-a-writer-you-write-eve_1868713.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ba/paul-harding-11330_games_if-you-want-to-be-a-writer-you-write-eve_1868713.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ba/paul-harding-11330_games_if-you-want-to-be-a-writer-you-write-eve_1868713.png) > “If you want to be a writer, you write. Everybody wants to get published. You gotta play your long game.” [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing consistently builds skill; success follows perseverance, not just desire. **In simple terms:** Write to become a writer. Key Takeaway Write regularly. Themes creativity discipline career development Mood motivational pragmatic Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - author workshops - daily writing practice Key Concepts craft mastery long‑term planning Questions to Reflect On - What habits sustain your writing? - How do you measure progress? A Different Perspective Talent alone isn’t enough without practice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Long Game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-game/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [If you want to be a serious writer, then you have to write what there is to write about. If you're going to pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-you-want-to-be-a-serious-writer-then-you-have-to-write-what-there/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If you want to be a writer, you have to write every day... You don't go to a well once but daily. You don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/if-you-want-to-be-a-writer-you-have-to-write-every-day-you-don-t-go/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [If you want to be a writer, write a little bit every day. Pay attention to the world around you. Stories are hiding, waiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/if-you-want-to-be-a-writer-write-a-little-bit-every-day-pay-attention/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [If you want to be a writer, then write. Write every day!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-you-want-to-be-a-writer-then-write-write-every-day/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-brett/a-writer-writes-if-you-want-to-be-a-writer-write/) [Regina Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-brett/) > [“If you want to be a writer, write. Write and write and write.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/if-you-want-to-be-a-writer-write-write-and-write-and-write/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [Editing requires you to be always open, always responding. It is very important, for example, not to allow yourself to want the writer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gottlieb/editing-requires-you-to-be-always-open-always-responding-it-is-very/) [Robert Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gottlieb/) > [- I don't want to be a writer so I can write about my life. I want to be a writer to escape from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candace-bushnell/i-don-t-want-to-be-a-writer-so-i-can-write-about-my-life-i-want-to-be/) [Candace Bushnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candace-bushnell/) > [This is a gift that God has given me. I'm not smart enough to write for everybody, but it's the love in these books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-karon/this-is-a-gift-that-god-has-given-me-i-m-not-smart-enough-to-write/) [Jan Karon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-karon/) > [“When I write to please everybody, it falls flat. When I write what I know, fearlessly, It won't please everybody, but it doesn't fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-p-chavez/when-i-write-to-please-everybody-it-falls-flat-when-i-write-what-i/) Ronald P. Chavez > [I would write 100 jokes a day. Most of them were terrible. But I just said, 'I'll write more than everybody else, and that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-would-write-100-jokes-a-day-most-of-them-were-terrible-but-i-just/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [“I don't know why everybody doesn't write because everybody talks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-bainbridge/i-don-t-know-why-everybody-doesn-t-write-because-everybody-talks/) [Beryl Bainbridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-bainbridge/) > [Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/protect-the-time-and-space-in-which-you-write-keep-everybody-away/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [I would like my book to give people insight to the war before and after, but I don't think anyone could read my book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asne-seierstad/i-would-like-my-book-to-give-people-insight-to-the-war-before-and/) [Asne Seierstad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asne-seierstad/) > [I'm all over the place. As you may have seen from the credits, I write with everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mckean/i-m-all-over-the-place-as-you-may-have-seen-from-the-credits-i-write/) [Michael McKean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mckean/) ## More by Paul Harding > [Who was the greatest business man ever. . . The greatest salesman? Advertiser? Who? . . . It was Jesus. . . Jesus was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/who-was-the-greatest-business-man-ever-the-greatest-salesman/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [“The house had not merely lapsed back into the equilibrium of the woods but was blighted, as if inside it did not contain a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/the-house-had-not-merely-lapsed-back-into-the-equilibrium-of-the/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [“Your cold mornings are filled with the heartache about the fact that although we are not at ease in this world, it is all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/your-cold-mornings-are-filled-with-the-heartache-about-the-fact-that/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [The fictional world seems larger, seems to have more dimension and richness when, for example, the protagonist from one novel you've read has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/the-fictional-world-seems-larger-seems-to-have-more-dimension-and/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [“Howard thought, Is it not true: A move of the head, a step to the left or right, and we change from wise, decent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/howard-thought-is-it-not-true-a-move-of-the-head-a-step-to-the-left/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [“The joy of those years had its own integrity, and Kate existed within that. She could not be touched by the misery caused by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/the-joy-of-those-years-had-its-own-integrity-and-kate-existed-within/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [What an awful thing then, being there in our house together with our daughter gone, trying to be equal to so many sudden orders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/what-an-awful-thing-then-being-there-in-our-house-together-with-our/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [Don't confine truth to fact. Imaginative truth is as powerful, and often enough, more so than fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/don-t-confine-truth-to-fact-imaginative-truth-is-as-powerful-and/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [“I woke up every morning on the couch. It felt like the same morning all the time, or like an infinite series of nested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/i-woke-up-every-morning-on-the-couch-it-felt-like-the-same-morning/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [The silver lining of those years when I was trying to get 'Tinkers' published but couldn't were the years when I had to decide,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/the-silver-lining-of-those-years-when-i-was-trying-to-get-tinkers/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [“There was a moment of sorrow, disappointment, and deep love for his son, whom he at that second wished had had a chance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/there-was-a-moment-of-sorrow-disappointment-and-deep-love-for-his-son/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [“But it's a curse, a condemnation, like an act of provocation, to have been aroused from not being, to have been conjured up from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/but-it-s-a-curse-a-condemnation-like-an-act-of-provocation-to-have/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [“Perhaps, Howard thought, the curtains and murals and pastel angels are a mercy, a dim reflection of things fit for the fragility of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/perhaps-howard-thought-the-curtains-and-murals-and-pastel-angels-are/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [“Howard thought, Is it not true: A move of the head, a step to the left or right, and we change from wise, decent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/howard-thought-is-it-not-true-a-move-of-the-head-a-step-to-the-left-2/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [“And as the ax bites into the wood, be comforted in the fact that the ache in your heart and the confusion in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/and-as-the-ax-bites-into-the-wood-be-comforted-in-the-fact-that-the/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) [Explore all 60 Paul Harding quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) ## More Games quotes > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I know that in the rap game you've got a lot of people, that come from poverty, was born in poverty and if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-connor/i-know-that-in-the-rap-game-you-ve-got-a-lot-of-people-that-come-from/) [Jon Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-connor/) > [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/and-i-have-been-very-blessed-having-coached-some-of-the-greatest-that/) [Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/) > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [I'd noticed him watching me for a year or so, especially when we'd play games where there was running or jumping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/i-d-noticed-him-watching-me-for-a-year-or-so-especially-when-we-d/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [You just can't let the outside world affect your game.You can't hold anything back. You can't play a different game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-palmer/you-just-can-t-let-the-outside-world-affect-your-game-you-can-t-hold/) [Carson Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-palmer/) > [Look at music for what it's worth around the world and not just America. In other countries, people are still buying CDs and going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/look-at-music-for-what-it-s-worth-around-the-world-and-not-just/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [I learned so much from Sue about the Xs and Os of the game of basketball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-summitt/i-learned-so-much-from-sue-about-the-xs-and-os-of-the-game-of/) [Pat Summitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-summitt/) > [Palindrome as well. My sister's name is Hannah. Father liked word games. He was fourteen times World Scrabble Champion. When he died, we buried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/palindrome-as-well-my-sister-s-name-is-hannah-father-liked-word-games/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [And the seasons they go 'round and 'round And the painted ponies go up and down We're captive on the carousel of time We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/and-the-seasons-they-go-round-and-round-and-the-painted-ponies-go-up/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [You got to harden yourself. Make, like, a shell around you. But not everyone can do it. If they got nothing to hang on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-higson/you-got-to-harden-yourself-make-like-a-shell-around-you-but-not/) [Charlie Higson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-higson/) > [Playing video games is something I enjoy in my spare time. I'm a gamer, always have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-garnett/playing-video-games-is-something-i-enjoy-in-my-spare-time-i-m-a-gamer/) [Kevin Garnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-garnett/) > [“Let the motherfucking games begin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-mchugh/let-the-motherfucking-games-begin/) [Gail McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-mchugh/) > [If a Coach is determined to stay in the coaching profession, he will develop from year to year. This much is true, no coach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolph-rupp/if-a-coach-is-determined-to-stay-in-the-coaching-profession-he-will/) [Adolph Rupp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolph-rupp/) > [Kids, if anything, are harder to write for because they are a more discerning audience. They will not stay with you if you go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/kids-if-anything-are-harder-to-write-for-because-they-are-a-more/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) [Browse all 11,463 Games quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you want to be a writer, you write. Everybody wants to get published. 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