--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It took me seven years of writing before…" description: "\"It took me seven years of writing before I published my first story. And then, the publications trickled in over the next five years.\" — Rob Roberge" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/rob-roberge-28662_firsts_it-took-me-seven-years-of-writing-before_1689003.jpg" --- # It took me seven years of writing before I published my… ![“It took me seven years of writing before I published my first story. And then, the publications trickled in over the next five years.” quote by Rob Roberge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/rob-roberge-28662_firsts_it-took-me-seven-years-of-writing-before_1689003.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/rob-roberge-28662_firsts_it-took-me-seven-years-of-writing-before_1689003.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/rob-roberge-28662_firsts_it-took-me-seven-years-of-writing-before_1689003.jpg) > “It took me seven years of writing before I published my first story. And then, the publications trickled in over the next five years.” [Rob Roberge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-roberge/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He spent seven years writing before his first story was published, after which publications gradually increased over five years. **In simple terms:** Persistence led to a first publication, then a steady flow of work. Key Takeaway Keep writing; breakthroughs may follow. Themes perseverance career development writing publication growth Mood determined patient Type motivational reflective When to use this quote - writing workshops - submission cycles - career planning - mentor feedback Key Concepts long‑term dedication incremental success Questions to Reflect On - What habits sustained you during early setbacks? - How do you measure progress in creative work? A Different Perspective Patience alone may not guarantee success. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Five](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five/) [Five years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five-years/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Publication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/publication/) [Publications Trickled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/publications-trickled-1036160/) [Seven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seven/) [Seven years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seven-years/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Trickled Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trickled-years-1036164/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Published](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-published-1036162/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-writing/) ## Related quotes > [I knew nothing about the technique of story writing, and now, after eighteen years of writing, I still know nothing about the technique, although…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/i-knew-nothing-about-the-technique-of-story-writing-and-now-after/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [After seven years of writing - and working many jobs to support my family - I finally got published.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-alexander/after-seven-years-of-writing-and-working-many-jobs-to-support-my/) [Lloyd Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-alexander/) > [ I've been preparing \[Chinese Zodiac\] for seven years, spent seven years on writing the script, spent over a year on filming it. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-chan/i-ve-been-preparing-chinese-zodiac-for-seven-years-spent-seven-years/) [Jackie Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-chan/) > [Seven years into writing a novel, I started to lose my mind. My thirty-seventh birthday had just come and gone, the end of 2008…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/seven-years-into-writing-a-novel-i-started-to-lose-my-mind-my-thirty/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [I certainly was performing before my writing was published, because I was performing when I was very young. And the thing is I'm very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-jay/i-certainly-was-performing-before-my-writing-was-published-because-i/) [Ricky Jay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-jay/) > [For while agents and editors often misunderstand their market and sometimes reject good or even great works, they do prevent a vast quantity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-miller/for-while-agents-and-editors-often-misunderstand-their-market-and/) [Laura Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-miller/) > [I was writing for myself, not to be published. I was writing diaries, even letters, to myself or to anyone I was angry at.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-piper/i-was-writing-for-myself-not-to-be-published-i-was-writing-diaries/) [Katie Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-piper/) > [“There are many good reasons for writing that have nothing to do with being published. Writing is a powerful search mechanism, and one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-knowlton-zinsser/there-are-many-good-reasons-for-writing-that-have-nothing-to-do-with/) [William Knowlton Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-knowlton-zinsser/) > [I write for the love of writing. If I never published another book, I would still be writing stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/i-write-for-the-love-of-writing-if-i-never-published-another-book-i/) [Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/) > [Write every day. Don't ever stop. If you are unpublished, enjoy the act of writing—and if you are published, keep enjoying the act of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-bass/write-every-day-don-t-ever-stop-if-you-are-unpublished-enjoy-the-act/) [Rick Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-bass/) > [I just assume that I'll fail at something for several years - that I'll try my hardest and still fail for several years. With…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/i-just-assume-that-i-ll-fail-at-something-for-several-years-that-i-ll/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [I'm one of those writers who can't talk about what they're working on. The entire four years I was writing 'House of Sand and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-one-of-those-writers-who-can-t-talk-about-what-they-re-working-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've been writing since I was about thirteen but didn't start a book until 2007. I spent four years writing a sci-fi novel before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-shannon/i-ve-been-writing-since-i-was-about-thirteen-but-didn-t-start-a-book/) [Samantha Shannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-shannon/) > [It's the typical mid-life crisis kind of thing, where you just stop and wonder, 'Should I go back to university and get a law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/it-s-the-typical-mid-life-crisis-kind-of-thing-where-you-just-stop/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [I have spent 20 years writing these books. Had I wanted to say men are beasts and scream, that takes 30 seconds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/i-have-spent-20-years-writing-these-books-had-i-wanted-to-say-men-are/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) ## More by Rob Roberge > [I think the act of lying can be separated from the genre of memoir. Though often times, people are unaware of their own subjectivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-roberge/i-think-the-act-of-lying-can-be-separated-from-the-genre-of-memoir/) [Rob Roberge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-roberge/) > [The least trusted testimony in a court of law is eyewitness testimony. We are simply not good reporters of facts that happen to us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-roberge/the-least-trusted-testimony-in-a-court-of-law-is-eyewitness-testimony/) [Rob Roberge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-roberge/) > [I have an MFA in writing. It is debatable if they are right for everyone, but I had a mentor who really changed my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-roberge/i-have-an-mfa-in-writing-it-is-debatable-if-they-are-right-for/) [Rob Roberge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-roberge/) > [You can't hide behind the guise of fiction. No matter how autobiographical a fictional scene is, you can always tell the reader - in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-roberge/you-can-t-hide-behind-the-guise-of-fiction-no-matter-how/) [Rob Roberge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-roberge/) > [A lot of my students have been quite notable. Notable in both the personal sense - people who have changed my life - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-roberge/a-lot-of-my-students-have-been-quite-notable-notable-in-both-the/) [Rob Roberge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-roberge/) > [The biggest thing was that second person allowed me to trick myself into revealing more about myself. It gave me an authorial distance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-roberge/the-biggest-thing-was-that-second-person-allowed-me-to-trick-myself/) [Rob Roberge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-roberge/) > [“Stay away from the Zombies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-roberge/stay-away-from-the-zombies/) [Rob Roberge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-roberge/) > [Some of the biggest challenges were, page after page, standing naked in front of the reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-roberge/some-of-the-biggest-challenges-were-page-after-page-standing-naked-in/) [Rob Roberge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-roberge/) > [I wasn't doing much work when I was using and drinking. I have friends who did it (work), but I wasn't one of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-roberge/i-wasn-t-doing-much-work-when-i-was-using-and-drinking-i-have-friends/) [Rob Roberge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-roberge/) > [For me, addiction never really included telling myself that everything was okay. By the time I was deep in my addictions, I knew things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-roberge/for-me-addiction-never-really-included-telling-myself-that-everything/) [Rob Roberge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-roberge/) > [I'd say the music influences the writing - the music and rhythm of the prose - much more than the writing influences the music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-roberge/i-d-say-the-music-influences-the-writing-the-music-and-rhythm-of-the/) [Rob Roberge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-roberge/) > [I don't teach narrative theory by itself anymore, but I kind of use it when critiquing student manuscripts. So, it works its way in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-roberge/i-don-t-teach-narrative-theory-by-itself-anymore-but-i-kind-of-use-it/) [Rob Roberge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-roberge/) > [One of the things I love most about second person is that it reminds the reader that they are reading a text. It doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-roberge/one-of-the-things-i-love-most-about-second-person-is-that-it-reminds/) [Rob Roberge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-roberge/) > [I think every narrator is an unreliable narrator. In its classic definition - an unreliable narrator is one who reveals something they don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-roberge/i-think-every-narrator-is-an-unreliable-narrator-in-its-classic/) [Rob Roberge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-roberge/) > [I like the fact that second person puts the reader in the story. It makes them, whether they like it or not, complicit in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-roberge/i-like-the-fact-that-second-person-puts-the-reader-in-the-story-it/) [Rob Roberge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-roberge/) [Explore all 19 Rob Roberge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-roberge/) ## More Firsts quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. The first is decide exactly what you want - set your goals - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/i-always-say-there-are-two-things-to-be-successful-the-first-is/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [My first ever job after college was as a flight attendant. I wanted to travel and could not afford it, so I decided to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-winspear/my-first-ever-job-after-college-was-as-a-flight-attendant-i-wanted-to/) [Jacqueline Winspear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-winspear/) > [Since I worked with Danny Boyle before on Slumdog Millionaire, we have great success and everything. So, when I first got the script and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-rahman/since-i-worked-with-danny-boyle-before-on-slumdog-millionaire-we-have/) [A. R. Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-rahman/) > [You sort of can't talk about the post production unless you talk about what comes first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-greengrass/you-sort-of-can-t-talk-about-the-post-production-unless-you-talk/) [Paul Greengrass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-greengrass/) > [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [I did not know that the planning for biological and chemical warfare was so widespread in England, and even in France before France fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-did-not-know-that-the-planning-for-biological-and-chemical-warfare/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [When I first started, my message was about joy, but I didn't really have the vocabulary and life experience to fully deliver it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/when-i-first-started-my-message-was-about-joy-but-i-didn-t-really/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) > [I'm very used to working with first time actors - you can just look back at 'E.T.' with Drew Barrymore, and Christian Bale from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-m-very-used-to-working-with-first-time-actors-you-can-just-look/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/) [Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/) > [Meanwhile someone is shining my head to get it dry to attach my top-hat to my head with toupee tape. I get into microphone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tituss-burgess/meanwhile-someone-is-shining-my-head-to-get-it-dry-to-attach-my-top/) [Tituss Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tituss-burgess/) > [Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) [Browse all 32,432 Firsts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It took me seven years of writing before I published my first story. And then, the publications trickled in over the next five years.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rob Roberge" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-roberge/it-took-me-seven-years-of-writing-before-i-published-my-first-story/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Firsts" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-roberge/it-took-me-seven-years-of-writing-before-i-published-my-first-story/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/rob-roberge-28662_firsts_it-took-me-seven-years-of-writing-before_1689003.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/rob-roberge-28662_firsts_it-took-me-seven-years-of-writing-before_1689003.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/rob-roberge-28662_firsts_it-took-me-seven-years-of-writing-before_1689003.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It took me seven years of writing before I published my first story. And then, the publications trickled in…” — Rob Roberge", "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": "Rob Roberge", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-roberge/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It took me seven years of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-roberge/it-took-me-seven-years-of-writing-before-i-published-my-first-story/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-roberge/it-took-me-seven-years-of-writing-before-i-published-my-first-story/#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 } } ] } ```