--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are only two kinds of books which…" description: "\"There are only two kinds of books which you can write and be pretty sure you're going to make a living — cook books and detective stories.\" — Rex Stout" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a83/rex-stout-2846_book_there-are-only-two-kinds-of-books-which_2259933.png" --- # There are only two kinds of books which you can write and… ![“There are only two kinds of books which you can write and be pretty sure you're going to make a living — cook books and detective stories.” quote by Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a83/rex-stout-2846_book_there-are-only-two-kinds-of-books-which_2259933.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a83/rex-stout-2846_book_there-are-only-two-kinds-of-books-which_2259933.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a83/rex-stout-2846_book_there-are-only-two-kinds-of-books-which_2259933.png) > “There are only two kinds of books which you can write and be pretty sure you're going to make a living — cook books and detective stories.” [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing books that sell often falls into two profitable genres: cooking and mystery. **In simple terms:** Cookbooks and detective stories sell well. Key Takeaway Focus on marketable genres. Themes writing publishing market trends Mood pragmatic realistic Type advice business When to use this quote - author seeking income - publisher scouting - bookstore stocking - marketing strategy Key Concepts genre selection commercial viability Questions to Reflect On - Do you prioritize profit over passion? - Can you blend creativity with market demand? A Different Perspective Success may require compromising artistic ambition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Detective stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detective-stories/) [Detectives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detectives/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [If I'm home with no chore at hand, and a package of books has come, the television set and the chess board and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/if-i-m-home-with-no-chore-at-hand-and-a-package-of-books-has-come-the/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [As a professional writer of detective stories, I string along with the ballplayers. I love a ball game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/as-a-professional-writer-of-detective-stories-i-string-along-with-the/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [Of course the modern detective story puts off its best tricks till the last, but Doyle always put his best tricks first and that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/of-course-the-modern-detective-story-puts-off-its-best-tricks-till/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [I think the detective story is by far the best upholder of the democratic doctrine in literature. I mean, there couldn't have been detective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/i-think-the-detective-story-is-by-far-the-best-upholder-of-the/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [Where there's a will there's a detective story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-wells/where-there-s-a-will-there-s-a-detective-story/) [Carolyn Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-wells/) > [You find when you're writing a detective story that you're actually not trying to solve anything. You're trying to stop the reader from solving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bollen/you-find-when-you-re-writing-a-detective-story-that-you-re-actually/) [Christopher Bollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bollen/) > [I don’t think I would ever want to be a writer of detective stories - but I would like to be a detective and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lavin/i-don-t-think-i-would-ever-want-to-be-a-writer-of-detective-stories/) Mary Lavin > [I believe there's a landscape that exists underneath everything that we can see in present-day stuff. And I think that makes life kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hopkins/i-believe-there-s-a-landscape-that-exists-underneath-everything-that/) [Stephen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hopkins/) > [Writing detective stories is about writing light literature, for entertainment. It isn't primarily a question of writing propaganda or classical literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/writing-detective-stories-is-about-writing-light-literature-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The average detective story is probably no worse than the average novel, but you never see the average novel. It doesn't get published. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-average-detective-story-is-probably-no-worse-than-the-average/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Detective stories keep alive a view of the world which ought to be true. Of course people read them for fun ... But underneath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/detective-stories-keep-alive-a-view-of-the-world-which-ought-to-be/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [I love facts and figures. It's like following a detective story, piecing together what's going on in the economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/i-love-facts-and-figures-it-s-like-following-a-detective-story/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Just imagine how interesting it would be if I were to publish a romance of the "Secret Annexe." The title alone would be enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/just-imagine-how-interesting-it-would-be-if-i-were-to-publish-a/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [make no mistake about it, the detective-story is part of the literature of escape, and not of expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/make-no-mistake-about-it-the-detective-story-is-part-of-the/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [I read a lot of detective stories because they always deliver. They give you a beginning, a middle, and an end - a resolution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/i-read-a-lot-of-detective-stories-because-they-always-deliver-they/) [Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/) ## More by Rex Stout > [A person who does not read cannot think. He may have good mental processes, but he has nothing to think about. You can feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/a-person-who-does-not-read-cannot-think-he-may-have-good-mental/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [If I'm home with no chore at hand, and a package of books has come, the television set and the chess board and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/if-i-m-home-with-no-chore-at-hand-and-a-package-of-books-has-come-the/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [To say that man is a reasoning animal is a very different thing than to say that most of man's decisions are based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/to-say-that-man-is-a-reasoning-animal-is-a-very-different-thing-than/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [“Frankly, I wish I could make my heart quit doing an extra thump when Wolfe says satisfactory, Archie. It's childish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/frankly-i-wish-i-could-make-my-heart-quit-doing-an-extra-thump-when/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [What good is an obscenity trial except to popularize literature?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/what-good-is-an-obscenity-trial-except-to-popularize-literature/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [In a world that operates largely at random, coincidences are to be expected, but any one of them must always be mistrusted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/in-a-world-that-operates-largely-at-random-coincidences-are-to-be/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [“everything from war to picnics depends on the weather, as Wolfe remarked”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/everything-from-war-to-picnics-depends-on-the-weather-as-wolfe/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [The more you put in your brain, the more it will hold -- if you have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/the-more-you-put-in-your-brain-the-more-it-will-hold-if-you-have-one/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [“When we turned right on Thirty-fifth Street our suffix came along. By the time we rolled to the curb in front of Wolfe's house…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/when-we-turned-right-on-thirty-fifth-street-our-suffix-came-along-by/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [What the tongue has promised, the body must submit to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/what-the-tongue-has-promised-the-body-must-submit-to/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [The Glass Key is better than anything Hemingway ever wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/the-glass-key-is-better-than-anything-hemingway-ever-wrote/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [Genius is fine for the ignition spark, but to get there someone has to see that the radiator doesn't leak and no tire is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/genius-is-fine-for-the-ignition-spark-but-to-get-there-someone-has-to/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [A Dickens character to me is a theatrical projection of a character. Not that it isn't real. It's real, but in that removed sense.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/a-dickens-character-to-me-is-a-theatrical-projection-of-a-character/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [“To pronounce French properly you must have within you a deep antipathy, not to say scorn, for some of the most sacred of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/to-pronounce-french-properly-you-must-have-within-you-a-deep/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [A man may debar nonsense from his library of reason, but not from the arena of his impulses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/a-man-may-debar-nonsense-from-his-library-of-reason-but-not-from-the/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) [Explore all 148 Rex Stout quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) ## 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": "There are only two kinds of books which you can write and be pretty sure you're going to make a living — cook books and detective stories.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rex Stout" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/there-are-only-two-kinds-of-books-which-you-can-write-and-be-pretty/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/there-are-only-two-kinds-of-books-which-you-can-write-and-be-pretty/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a83/rex-stout-2846_book_there-are-only-two-kinds-of-books-which_2259933.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a83/rex-stout-2846_book_there-are-only-two-kinds-of-books-which_2259933.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a83/rex-stout-2846_book_there-are-only-two-kinds-of-books-which_2259933.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are only two kinds of books which you can write and be pretty sure you're going to make a living —…” — Rex Stout", "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": "Rex Stout", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There are only two kinds of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/there-are-only-two-kinds-of-books-which-you-can-write-and-be-pretty/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/there-are-only-two-kinds-of-books-which-you-can-write-and-be-pretty/#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 } } ] } ```