--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My first book came out again - the…" description: "\"My first book came out again - the re-issue from 2001. I was rereading it to make sure that I didn't miss any mistakes, and I didn't know who had writt..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc8/peter-orner-12957_book_my-first-book-came-out-again-the-re-issu_3081154.png" --- # My first book came out again - the re-issue from 2001. I… ![“My first book came out again - the re-issue from 2001. I was rereading it to make sure that I didn't miss any mistakes, and I didn't know who had written some of these stories. I really didn't. I am a different person now. It's weird. I think if stories are good, they have to have a life of their…” quote by Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc8/peter-orner-12957_book_my-first-book-came-out-again-the-re-issu_3081154.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc8/peter-orner-12957_book_my-first-book-came-out-again-the-re-issu_3081154.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc8/peter-orner-12957_book_my-first-book-came-out-again-the-re-issu_3081154.png) > “My first book came out again - the re-issue from 2001. I was rereading it to make sure that I didn't miss any mistakes, and I didn't know who had written some of these stories. I really didn't. I am a different person now. It's weird. I think if stories are good, they have to have a life of their own that's independent of the writer. I like to think of my characters out there in other peoples' heads. That's a nice thing to think about.” [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author reflects on how stories take on lives of their own, independent of the writer, and how personal growth changes perception of past work. **In simple terms:** Stories become independent of their creator over time. Key Takeaway Accept that stories evolve beyond the author. Themes creativity identity growth legacy Mood nostalgic thoughtful hopeful Type literary reflective When to use this quote - book re-release - writing workshops - literary criticism - personal development Key Concepts authorial intent reader interpretation transformation Questions to Reflect On - How does your perception of your own work change over time? - Can a story truly exist separate from its author? A Different Perspective Readers may interpret stories differently than intended. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I think stories, good ones, have a universal message and appeal that connects us on a deep level. 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I don’t understand it… I’m like one of those old aqueducts:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/i-m-dazzled-by-your-facility-in-ten-days-you-ll-have-written-six/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [I have written stories, essays, even whole books on trains, scribble-scribble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/i-have-written-stories-essays-even-whole-books-on-trains-scribble/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [I believe that written stories will continue to survive because they answer an essential human need. I think movies might disappear before the novel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-believe-that-written-stories-will-continue-to-survive-because-they/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [I had always written. I had written stories and poems. Then I started writing plays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/i-had-always-written-i-had-written-stories-and-poems-then-i-started/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [Those stories weren't being written at all - stories about women's inner lives and outer activism. We've come miles and miles, but we still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisa-tomei/those-stories-weren-t-being-written-at-all-stories-about-women-s/) [Marisa Tomei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisa-tomei/) > [In our not-yet-acknowledged secret garden lie the seeds of some of our best not-yet-written stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-stein/in-our-not-yet-acknowledged-secret-garden-lie-the-seeds-of-some-of/) [Sol Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-stein/) > [No one can call themselves a writer until he or she has written at least fifty stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/no-one-can-call-themselves-a-writer-until-he-or-she-has-written-at/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [I certainly have been writing stories that are hard science fiction, that are very reminiscent of 'Golden Age tales' from the '40s and '50s.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/i-certainly-have-been-writing-stories-that-are-hard-science-fiction/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [I have no liking for novels or stories - none in the world; and so, whenever I read one - which is not oftener…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-no-liking-for-novels-or-stories-none-in-the-world-and-so/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I am not Shakespeare or Hemingway, but I have written stories on tennis that were brilliant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ion-tiriac/i-am-not-shakespeare-or-hemingway-but-i-have-written-stories-on/) [Ion Tiriac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ion-tiriac/) > [I've always written stories from female perspectives. That it's one of the reasons I write, to have that experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vestal-mcintyre/i-ve-always-written-stories-from-female-perspectives-that-it-s-one-of/) [Vestal McIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vestal-mcintyre/) > [“The problem is that you don't always get to write your own story. You get written into some stories, and if ask why, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-kiely/the-problem-is-that-you-don-t-always-get-to-write-your-own-story-you/) Brendan Kiely ## More by Peter Orner > [“The lake is always east. East is always the lake. Anywhere else he's ever been he never knows where he is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/the-lake-is-always-east-east-is-always-the-lake-anywhere-else-he-s/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [“For we are like olives: only when we are crushed do we yield what is best in us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/for-we-are-like-olives-only-when-we-are-crushed-do-we-yield-what-is/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [Rarely is the pain of losing someone expressed with such directness, energy, and, yes, humor. 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I love place names. I think I'm tricking myself by being so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/i-usually-have-a-location-and-then-i-put-the-character-there-i-love/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [People have to follow their own strangeness. The minute they start making their own vision of the world flattened out so everyone can read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/people-have-to-follow-their-own-strangeness-the-minute-they-start/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [I revise and revise and revise. I'm not even sure "revise" is the right word. I work a story almost to death before it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/i-revise-and-revise-and-revise-i-m-not-even-sure-revise-is-the-right/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [“Considering the multitude of things that happen in any one person’s life, it seems fairly unlikely that those little boys remembered the incident for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/considering-the-multitude-of-things-that-happen-in-any-one-person-s/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [“Chicago does not go to the world, the world comes to Chicago! Who needs New York? Who has taller buildings than our tall buildings?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/chicago-does-not-go-to-the-world-the-world-comes-to-chicago-who-needs/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [We don't want emotion handed to us - that's not emotion. You have to build and come from the reader's soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/we-don-t-want-emotion-handed-to-us-that-s-not-emotion-you-have-to/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [I think anything we do - eating, walking down the street, online shopping - gives you another perspective on writing stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/i-think-anything-we-do-eating-walking-down-the-street-online-shopping/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [“Leo wondered what unknown sin they must have committed in some previous life to deserve this. The answer came the same way their feet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/leo-wondered-what-unknown-sin-they-must-have-committed-in-some/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) [Explore all 52 Peter Orner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) ## 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": "My first book came out again - the re-issue from 2001. I was rereading it to make sure that I didn't miss any mistakes, and I didn't know who had written some of these stories. I really didn't. I am a different person now. It's weird. I think if stories are good, they have to have a life of their own that's independent of the writer. I like to think of my characters out there in other peoples' heads. 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