--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the end you're not made or broken by…" description: "\"In the end you're not made or broken by prizes. Your relationship is with your readers, not a prize, and you just have to keep on honoring that.\" — Ric..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/065/richard-flanagan-2253_books_in-the-end-you-re-not-made-or-broken-by_660327.jpg" --- # In the end you're not made or broken by prizes. Your… ![“In the end you're not made or broken by prizes. Your relationship is with your readers, not a prize, and you just have to keep on honoring that.” quote by Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/065/richard-flanagan-2253_books_in-the-end-you-re-not-made-or-broken-by_660327.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/065/richard-flanagan-2253_books_in-the-end-you-re-not-made-or-broken-by_660327.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/065/richard-flanagan-2253_books_in-the-end-you-re-not-made-or-broken-by_660327.jpg) > “In the end you're not made or broken by prizes. Your relationship is with your readers, not a prize, and you just have to keep on honoring that.” [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success is measured by connection with readers, not awards; honor the relationship over accolades. **In simple terms:** Readers matter more than prizes. Key Takeaway Prioritize audience connection. Themes authorship integrity audience recognition humility Mood reflective determined Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - book launches - author talks - marketing strategies - writing workshops Key Concepts Literary ethics relationship building Questions to Reflect On - How do you keep readers at the heart of your work? - What compromises might fame demand? A Different Perspective Awards can distract from core purpose. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Broken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken/) [Broken Prizes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken-prizes-5262451/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Honoring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honoring/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Our relationship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-relationship/) [Prize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prize/) [Prize Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prize-just-5262452/) [Prizes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prizes/) [Prizes Relationship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prizes-relationship-5262450/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) ## Related quotes > [I am, of course, greatly honoured to win the Booker, which is one of the great literary prizes in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/i-am-of-course-greatly-honoured-to-win-the-booker-which-is-one-of-the/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [Generally, literary prizes are significant not for who the winner is but the discussion they create around books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/generally-literary-prizes-are-significant-not-for-who-the-winner-is/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [Literary prizes serve a purpose if they allow for discussion of books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/literary-prizes-serve-a-purpose-if-they-allow-for-discussion-of-books/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [I can't speak for the other people whose children have died, but I can speak for my family and the other members of Gold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sheehan/i-can-t-speak-for-the-other-people-whose-children-have-died-but-i-can/) [Cindy Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sheehan/) > [There's so much importance in honoring your everyday hero. It doesn't take money. It doesn't take connections. What matters is that people get involved.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debi-mazar/there-s-so-much-importance-in-honoring-your-everyday-hero-it-doesn-t/) [Debi Mazar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debi-mazar/) > [In my mind, this is an 'and,' it's not 'either' 'or' or 'but.' Yeah, you can feel a certain way about honoring the flag…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-spoelstra/in-my-mind-this-is-an-and-it-s-not-either-or-or-but-yeah-you-can-feel/) [Erik Spoelstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-spoelstra/) > [“You cannot honor God without honoring people first”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-cannot-honor-god-without-honoring-people-first/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Start your week off right by getting back to what is really important - honoring God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/start-your-week-off-right-by-getting-back-to-what-is-really-important/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [Christmas can be transformed into a celebration more attuned to honoring the One whose birthday we celebrate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/christmas-can-be-transformed-into-a-celebration-more-attuned-to/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [And let us never forget that in honoring our flag, we honor the American men and women who have courageously fought and died for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/and-let-us-never-forget-that-in-honoring-our-flag-we-honor-the/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [If I could press a button and have all of Sequoia Capital on the Midas List, I would choose to do that over a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-leone/if-i-could-press-a-button-and-have-all-of-sequoia-capital-on-the/) [Douglas Leone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-leone/) > [ “Geronimo \[is\]...an example of our practice of destroying those who oppose us and then honoring them.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fast/geronimo-is-an-example-of-our-practice-of-destroying-those-who-oppose/) [Howard Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fast/) > [Honoring everyone contains the promise of possibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miroslav-volf/honoring-everyone-contains-the-promise-of-possibility/) [Miroslav Volf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miroslav-volf/) > [I believe accurately remembering - and honoring - our whole past is the first step in governing in a way that effectively represents the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-duckworth/i-believe-accurately-remembering-and-honoring-our-whole-past-is-the/) [Tammy Duckworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-duckworth/) > [America is stronger than ever. We will forever remember those we lost on September 11, 2001. In honoring their memory, we will remain true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-bayh/america-is-stronger-than-ever-we-will-forever-remember-those-we-lost/) [Evan Bayh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-bayh/) ## More by Richard Flanagan > [I went to study at Oxford University in the 1980s on an imperial scholarship instituted by Cecil Rhodes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/i-went-to-study-at-oxford-university-in-the-1980s-on-an-imperial/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [Writing is not lying, nor is it theft. It is a journey and search for transparency between one’s words and one’s soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/writing-is-not-lying-nor-is-it-theft-it-is-a-journey-and-search-for/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [In reading, you sense the divine: the things that are larger and greater and more mysterious than yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/in-reading-you-sense-the-divine-the-things-that-are-larger-and/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [Within white Australia, there was a growing movement for what was known as reconciliation - a movement that peaked with millions marching in 2000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/within-white-australia-there-was-a-growing-movement-for-what-was/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [In 1995, the Paul Keating Labor government commissioned an inquiry into the forcible removal of Aboriginal children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/in-1995-the-paul-keating-labor-government-commissioned-an-inquiry/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [Murder and hate are as deeply buried in the human heart as love, perhaps more so, and in truth they're rather entwined, and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/murder-and-hate-are-as-deeply-buried-in-the-human-heart-as-love/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [My father was the first to read in his family, and he said to me that words were the first beautiful thing he ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/my-father-was-the-first-to-read-in-his-family-and-he-said-to-me-that/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [I grew up in a world that was clannish - old Tasmanian-Irish families with big extended families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/i-grew-up-in-a-world-that-was-clannish-old-tasmanian-irish-families/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [If 30 Australians drowned in Sydney Harbour, it would be a national tragedy. But when 30 or more refugees drown off the Australian coast,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/if-30-australians-drowned-in-sydney-harbour-it-would-be-a-national/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [The enslavement, humiliation, torture, and ultimate destruction of thousands upon thousands of human beings for a project for which there was ultimately no purpose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/the-enslavement-humiliation-torture-and-ultimate-destruction-of/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [In Tasmania, an island the size of Ireland whose primeval forests astonished 19th-century Europeans, an incomprehensible ecological tragedy is being played out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/in-tasmania-an-island-the-size-of-ireland-whose-primeval-forests/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [You have to attempt to find new forms that will force you to write freshly and better and hopefully more truthfully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/you-have-to-attempt-to-find-new-forms-that-will-force-you-to-write/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [My mother hoped I'd be a plumber.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/my-mother-hoped-i-d-be-a-plumber/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [Family matters, friends matter, love matters. Those you love and who love you matter. That's what writing does - it allows you to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/family-matters-friends-matter-love-matters-those-you-love-and-who/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [A good book ... leaves you wanting to reread the book. A great book compels you to reread your own soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/a-good-book-leaves-you-wanting-to-reread-the-book-a-great-book/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) [Explore all 176 Richard Flanagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) ## More Books 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/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [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/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [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/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. 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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/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In the end you're not made or broken by prizes. 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