--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I work really hard at these books, and…" description: "\"I work really hard at these books, and when colleagues write nasty reviews of them, I take it very personally.\" — Richard Ford" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab3/richard-ford-2097_books_i-work-really-hard-at-these-books-and-wh_1888952.png" --- # I work really hard at these books, and when colleagues… ![“I work really hard at these books, and when colleagues write nasty reviews of them, I take it very personally.” quote by Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab3/richard-ford-2097_books_i-work-really-hard-at-these-books-and-wh_1888952.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab3/richard-ford-2097_books_i-work-really-hard-at-these-books-and-wh_1888952.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab3/richard-ford-2097_books_i-work-really-hard-at-these-books-and-wh_1888952.png) > “I work really hard at these books, and when colleagues write nasty reviews of them, I take it very personally.” [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Taking criticism personally can hinder objectivity and affect emotional well‑being. **In simple terms:** Don’t let harsh reviews affect you deeply. Key Takeaway Maintain professional detachment. Themes criticism resilience professionalism Mood reflective determined Type advice psychological When to use this quote - publishing - academic work - creative projects Key Concepts psychology feedback loops ego management Questions to Reflect On - How can you separate personal worth from external feedback? - What strategies help you process criticism constructively? A Different Perspective Personal sensitivity can amplify perceived negativity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Colleagues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colleagues/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [“Literature suffers because writers give their books to colleagues who will then write glowing reviews or saccharine introductions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/literature-suffers-because-writers-give-their-books-to-colleagues-who/) [F. Sionil José](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [“It is not without pleasure that i can tell my majestic colleagues who write for humanity, and in the name of humanity, that i…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witold-gombrowicz/it-is-not-without-pleasure-that-i-can-tell-my-majestic-colleagues-who/) [Witold Gombrowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witold-gombrowicz/) > [I work hard, I work very hard. All the books at least 30 revisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ha-jin/i-work-hard-i-work-very-hard-all-the-books-at-least-30-revisions/) [Ha Jin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ha-jin/) > [Well, it's so hard for books to take off. You give years of your life to something that probably won't happen, so when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/well-it-s-so-hard-for-books-to-take-off-you-give-years-of-your-life/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [If a book is easy and fits nicely into all your language conventions and thought forms, then you probably will not grow much from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-a-book-is-easy-and-fits-nicely-into-all-your-language-conventions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gossip is never fatal until it is denied. 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First a person who says something downright nasty about you, and second, a dear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-two-people-to-ruin-a-perfectly-good-day-first-a-person-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Maybe for every 100 fans who thought about saying something nasty to singer Justin Bieber this month, maybe 200 did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justine-bateman/maybe-for-every-100-fans-who-thought-about-saying-something-nasty-to/) [Justine Bateman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justine-bateman/) > [I have developed a nasty habit of losing to the guy who wins the tournament, and that alone makes you think what you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-robertson/i-have-developed-a-nasty-habit-of-losing-to-the-guy-who-wins-the/) [Neil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-robertson/) ## More by Richard Ford > [Something will be there when the flood recedes. We know that. It will be those people now standing in the water, and on those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/something-will-be-there-when-the-flood-recedes-we-know-that-it-will/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [If you lose all hope, you can always find it again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/if-you-lose-all-hope-you-can-always-find-it-again/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [I started reading literature at 17 or 18, and I felt this extra beat to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/i-started-reading-literature-at-17-or-18-and-i-felt-this-extra-beat/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [I don't hate children. My wife and I just didn't think we would be good parents, and also by the time we got married…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/i-don-t-hate-children-my-wife-and-i-just-didn-t-think-we-would-be/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [Writing never came naturally and I still have to force my hand to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/writing-never-came-naturally-and-i-still-have-to-force-my-hand-to-do/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [“Conversations with adults other than a person's parents had more of an outcome.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/conversations-with-adults-other-than-a-person-s-parents-had-more-of/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [Some people want to be bank presidents. Other people want to rob banks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/some-people-want-to-be-bank-presidents-other-people-want-to-rob-banks/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [In order to write novels for a living - it's not pathological, but I do think and worry and brood and fidget about stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/in-order-to-write-novels-for-a-living-it-s-not-pathological-but-i-do/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [There are more people in America that love guns and want guns for themselves and everyone else than there are not. It is also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/there-are-more-people-in-america-that-love-guns-and-want-guns-for/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [That said, being dyslexic, I wasn't a great reader when I was kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/that-said-being-dyslexic-i-wasn-t-a-great-reader-when-i-was-kid/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [I'm an equal opportunity reader - although I don't much read plays. And since I was raised a Presbyterian, pretty much all pleasures are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/i-m-an-equal-opportunity-reader-although-i-don-t-much-read-plays-and/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [The pace of life feels morally dangerous to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/the-pace-of-life-feels-morally-dangerous-to-me/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [“to sit in the empty stands of a Florida ball park and hear the sounds of glove leather and chatter;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/to-sit-in-the-empty-stands-of-a-florida-ball-park-and-hear-the-sounds/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [“And what there is to learn from almost any human experience is that your own interests usually do not come first where other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/and-what-there-is-to-learn-from-almost-any-human-experience-is-that/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [“It was on such a night as this that the unhappy things came about.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/it-was-on-such-a-night-as-this-that-the-unhappy-things-came-about/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) [Explore all 184 Richard Ford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) ## 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. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [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/) > [“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 > [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": "I work really hard at these books, and when colleagues write nasty reviews of them, I take it very personally.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Ford" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/i-work-really-hard-at-these-books-and-when-colleagues-write-nasty/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/i-work-really-hard-at-these-books-and-when-colleagues-write-nasty/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab3/richard-ford-2097_books_i-work-really-hard-at-these-books-and-wh_1888952.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab3/richard-ford-2097_books_i-work-really-hard-at-these-books-and-wh_1888952.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab3/richard-ford-2097_books_i-work-really-hard-at-these-books-and-wh_1888952.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I work really hard at these books, and when colleagues write nasty reviews of them, I take it very personally.” — Richard Ford", "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": "Richard Ford", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I work really hard at these...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/i-work-really-hard-at-these-books-and-when-colleagues-write-nasty/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/i-work-really-hard-at-these-books-and-when-colleagues-write-nasty/#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 } } ] } ```