---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Your book may be a masterpiece but do not…"
description: "\"Your book may be a masterpiece but do not suggest that to the publisher because many of the most hopeless manuscripts that have come his way have proba..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc1/stanley-unwin-64728_book_your-book-may-be-a-masterpiece-but-do-no_3046546.png"
---

#  Your book may be a masterpiece but do not suggest that to…

![“Your book may be a masterpiece but do not suggest that to the publisher because many of the most hopeless manuscripts that have come his way have probably been so described by their authors.” quote by Stanley Unwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc1/stanley-unwin-64728_book_your-book-may-be-a-masterpiece-but-do-no_3046546.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc1/stanley-unwin-64728_book_your-book-may-be-a-masterpiece-but-do-no_3046546.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc1/stanley-unwin-64728_book_your-book-may-be-a-masterpiece-but-do-no_3046546.png)

> “Your book may be a masterpiece but do not suggest that to the publisher because many of the most hopeless manuscripts that have come his way have probably been so described by their authors.”

[Stanley Unwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-unwin/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A masterpiece may be misrepresented to publishers, as many rejected works were praised by their authors.

**In simple terms:** Authors often overestimate their work, leading to poor publishing decisions.

Key Takeaway

Seek honest feedback before pitching.

Themes

humility self-awareness communication publishing

Mood

cautious analytical

Type

advice philosophical

When to use this quote

- submitting a manuscript
- receiving critiques
- self-editing

Key Concepts

author bias editorial judgment manuscript evaluation

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you obtain objective criticism?
- What signals indicate a manuscript needs revision?

A Different Perspective

Authors may be blind to flaws, causing missed opportunities.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Hopeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopeless/) [Hopeless Manuscripts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopeless-manuscripts-5048068/) [Manuscripts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manuscripts/) [Manuscripts Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manuscripts-come-2395154/) [Masterpiece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masterpiece/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Publisher Hopeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/publisher-hopeless-5048072/) [Publishers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/publishers/) [Suggest Publisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suggest-publisher-5048074/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/)

## Related quotes

> [A lot of manuscripts that come in, you wonder by what outrageous fantasy the author believes that this should be pressed into print.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/a-lot-of-manuscripts-that-come-in-you-wonder-by-what-outrageous/)

[Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/)

> [All we can say is that, as the result of a process which went on from the fourth century to about the eighth, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-g-kenyon/all-we-can-say-is-that-as-the-result-of-a-process-which-went-on-from/)

[Frederic G. Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-g-kenyon/)

> [In the usual way I submitted manuscripts to publishers. This was not so much a feeling that I should be published as a wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/in-the-usual-way-i-submitted-manuscripts-to-publishers-this-was-not/)

[Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/)

> [Publishing is no longer simply a matter of picking worthy manuscripts and putting them on offer. It is now as important to market books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-goldsmith/publishing-is-no-longer-simply-a-matter-of-picking-worthy-manuscripts/)

[Olivia Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-goldsmith/)

> [If the big publishers are doing so well, why do they require writers to send return postage with their manuscripts?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-poynter/if-the-big-publishers-are-doing-so-well-why-do-they-require-writers/)

[Dan Poynter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-poynter/)

> [Instead of taking a year off, I started 'Dreamers of the Day' exactly 36 hours after I sent the manuscript for 'A Thread of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-doria-russell/instead-of-taking-a-year-off-i-started-dreamers-of-the-day-exactly-36/)

[Mary Doria Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-doria-russell/)

> [I submitted manuscripts to publishers. This was not so much a feeling that I should be published as a wish to escape the feared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/i-submitted-manuscripts-to-publishers-this-was-not-so-much-a-feeling/)

[Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/)

> [We get a lot of unsolicited manuscripts here. Im not even a publisher, but we get several a week. I dont read them, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/we-get-a-lot-of-unsolicited-manuscripts-here-im-not-even-a-publisher/)

[Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/)

> [I guess I'm what you call a slush-piler. I just sent my manuscripts to the slush pile of publishers and hoped for the best.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/i-guess-i-m-what-you-call-a-slush-piler-i-just-sent-my-manuscripts-to/)

[Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/)

> [Nevertheless, hateful as saying 'No' always is to an imaginative person, and certain as the offence may be that it will cause to individuals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/nevertheless-hateful-as-saying-no-always-is-to-an-imaginative-person/)

[Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/)

> [Agents are essential, because publishers will not read unsolicited manuscripts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-collins/agents-are-essential-because-publishers-will-not-read-unsolicited/)

[Jackie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-collins/)

> [The syndicates take the strip and sell it to newspapers and split the income with the cartoonists. Syndicates are essentially agents. Now, can you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/the-syndicates-take-the-strip-and-sell-it-to-newspapers-and-split-the/)

[Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/)

> [Novels are completed when they are finished, but the memoir changes its own conclusion by virtue of being written... I was not at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/novels-are-completed-when-they-are-finished-but-the-memoir-changes/)

[Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/)

> [I began writing 'Matterhorn' in 1975 and for more than 30 years I kept working on my novel in my spare time, unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/i-began-writing-matterhorn-in-1975-and-for-more-than-30-years-i-kept/)

[Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/)

> [If a publisher declines your manuscript, remember it is merely the decision of one fallible human being, and try another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-unwin/if-a-publisher-declines-your-manuscript-remember-it-is-merely-the/)

[Stanley Unwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-unwin/)

## More by Stanley Unwin

> [“Are you all sitty comftybold two-square on your botty? Then I'll begin. Now, like all real life experience stories, this also begins once a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-unwin/are-you-all-sitty-comftybold-two-square-on-your-botty-then-i-ll-begin/)

[Stanley Unwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-unwin/)

> [“To write books is easy, it requires only pen and ink and the ever-patient paper. To print books is a little more difficult, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-unwin/to-write-books-is-easy-it-requires-only-pen-and-ink-and-the-ever/)

[Stanley Unwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-unwin/)

> [If a publisher declines your manuscript, remember it is merely the decision of one fallible human being, and try another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-unwin/if-a-publisher-declines-your-manuscript-remember-it-is-merely-the/)

[Stanley Unwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-unwin/)

> [Much is written of the power of the Press, a power which may last but a day; by comparison little is heard of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-unwin/much-is-written-of-the-power-of-the-press-a-power-which-may-last-but/)

[Stanley Unwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-unwin/)

[Explore all 5 Stanley Unwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-unwin/)

## 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": "Your book may be a masterpiece but do not suggest that to the publisher because many of the most hopeless manuscripts that have come his way have probably been so described by their authors.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Stanley Unwin"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-unwin/your-book-may-be-a-masterpiece-but-do-not-suggest-that-to-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Book"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-unwin/your-book-may-be-a-masterpiece-but-do-not-suggest-that-to-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc1/stanley-unwin-64728_book_your-book-may-be-a-masterpiece-but-do-no_3046546.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc1/stanley-unwin-64728_book_your-book-may-be-a-masterpiece-but-do-no_3046546.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc1/stanley-unwin-64728_book_your-book-may-be-a-masterpiece-but-do-no_3046546.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Your book may be a masterpiece but do not suggest that to the publisher because many of the most hopeless…” — Stanley Unwin",
                "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": "Stanley Unwin",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-unwin/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Your book may be a masterpiece...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-unwin/your-book-may-be-a-masterpiece-but-do-not-suggest-that-to-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-unwin/your-book-may-be-a-masterpiece-but-do-not-suggest-that-to-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
