--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As a young man just beginning to publish…" description: "\"As a young man just beginning to publish some short fiction in the t&a magazines, I was fairly optimistic about my chances of getting published; I knew..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/668/stephen-king-13_ball-player_as-a-young-man-just-beginning-to-publish_1743198.jpg" --- # As a young man just beginning to publish some short… ![“As a young man just beginning to publish some short fiction in the t&a magazines, I was fairly optimistic about my chances of getting published; I knew that I had some game, as the basketball players say these days, and I also felt that time was on my side; sooner or later the best-selling writers…” quote by Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/668/stephen-king-13_ball-player_as-a-young-man-just-beginning-to-publish_1743198.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/668/stephen-king-13_ball-player_as-a-young-man-just-beginning-to-publish_1743198.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/668/stephen-king-13_ball-player_as-a-young-man-just-beginning-to-publish_1743198.jpg) > “As a young man just beginning to publish some short fiction in the t&a magazines, I was fairly optimistic about my chances of getting published; I knew that I had some game, as the basketball players say these days, and I also felt that time was on my side; sooner or later the best-selling writers of the sixties and seventies would either die or go senile, making room for newcomers like me.” [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Optimism about publishing can be misguided; industry cycles favor new voices as older ones fade. **In simple terms:** Hopeful but realistic about writing career. Key Takeaway Persist while adapting to market shifts. Themes writing career optimism Mood hopeful reflective Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - publishing industry - creative writing workshops - literary agents Key Concepts literary trends career cycles Questions to Reflect On - What steps can you take to improve your craft? - How do market trends affect your writing? A Different Perspective Optimism alone won’t guarantee success; skill and timing matter. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ball player](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ball-player/) [Basketball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/basketball/) [Basketball player](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/basketball-player/) [Basketball Players](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/basketball-players/) [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Fairly Optimistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairly-optimistic-371468/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Magazines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magazines/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Newcomers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/newcomers/) [Optimistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimistic/) [Optimistic Chances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimistic-chances-1538715/) [Player](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/player/) [Publish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/publish/) [Rooms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rooms/) [Selling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selling/) [Short Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-fiction-456299/) [Sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sides/) [Sixty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sixty/) [Sooner or later](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sooner-or-later/) [These days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/these-days/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writers Sixties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-sixties-786577/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) [Young man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-man/) ## Related quotes > [We are not, of course, optimistic about our chances of success. Some form of ecocatastrophe, if not thermonuclear war, seems almost certain to overtake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-holdren/we-are-not-of-course-optimistic-about-our-chances-of-success-some/) [John Holdren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-holdren/) > [The trouble with young writers is that they are all in their sixties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-trouble-with-young-writers-is-that-they-are-all-in-their-sixties/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I am a fairly optimistic person... If everything that I'm involved in now suddenly fell away, I know I would cope because I've coped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-tabberer/i-am-a-fairly-optimistic-person-if-everything-that-i-m-involved-in/) [Maggie Tabberer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-tabberer/) > [I can be fairly optimistic, but I'm probably more a realist, I think. I mean, optimism's an interesting quality, isn't it, because I'm always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-pearce/i-can-be-fairly-optimistic-but-i-m-probably-more-a-realist-i-think-i/) [Guy Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-pearce/) > [I remain, however, fairly optimistic for the future of period drama because it's just such a popular thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davies/i-remain-however-fairly-optimistic-for-the-future-of-period-drama/) [Andrew Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davies/) > [My own personality is fairly optimistic and generally very happy, but like everyone else I've been through difficult stuff, particularly in my teenage years,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-hopkins/my-own-personality-is-fairly-optimistic-and-generally-very-happy-but/) [Jon Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-hopkins/) > [I'm a fairly happy-go-lucky person, generally fairly optimistic, but there were points when I was down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-gun/i-m-a-fairly-happy-go-lucky-person-generally-fairly-optimistic-but/) [Katharine Gun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-gun/) > [I read a lot of short fiction, like Kurt Vonnegut and Raymond Carver and Wells Tower.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorde/i-read-a-lot-of-short-fiction-like-kurt-vonnegut-and-raymond-carver/) [Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorde/) > [Short fiction is the medium I love the most, because it requires that I bring everything I've learned about poetry - the concision, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-rash/short-fiction-is-the-medium-i-love-the-most-because-it-requires-that/) [Ron Rash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-rash/) > [When I was starting out, I did not do short fiction well, because I kept wanting to write books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/when-i-was-starting-out-i-did-not-do-short-fiction-well-because-i/) [Elizabeth Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-moon/) > [“Most short fiction falls into one of three categories: stories of conflict, stories of decision, or stories of discovery…The story of conflict is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-sakaduski/most-short-fiction-falls-into-one-of-three-categories-stories-of/) [Nancy Sakaduski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-sakaduski/) > [Short fiction isn't my natural form. It's taken a lot of work over the years to finally feel more comfortable writing stories under 80,000 words!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kameron-hurley/short-fiction-isn-t-my-natural-form-it-s-taken-a-lot-of-work-over-the/) [Kameron Hurley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kameron-hurley/) > [We get so many people saying short fiction is not economical, that it doesn't sell; but there are so many of us enjoying writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/we-get-so-many-people-saying-short-fiction-is-not-economical-that-it/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [I am really excited by the form of short fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-bob-waksberg/i-am-really-excited-by-the-form-of-short-fiction/) [Raphael Bob-Waksberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-bob-waksberg/) > [ “ … The best pieces in \[Queeries\] - such as … Raymond John Woolfrey’s “Pages from My Window: Red Geraniums” - are more traditional… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-woolfrey/the-best-pieces-in-queeries-such-as-raymond-john-woolfrey-s-pages/) [John Woolfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-woolfrey/) ## More by Stephen King > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“October 3, 2017 The clown, Hagarty said, looked like a cross between Ronald McDonald and that old TV clown, Bozo—or so he thought at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/october-3-2017-the-clown-hagarty-said-looked-like-a-cross-between/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Eddie saw great things and near misses. Albert Einstein as a child, not quite struck by a run-away milk-wagon as he crossed a street.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/eddie-saw-great-things-and-near-misses-albert-einstein-as-a-child-not/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It hurt, of course, but more often than not the best things do, I've found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-hurt-of-course-but-more-often-than-not-the-best-things-do-i-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The idea that creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time... Creative people probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-idea-that-creative-endeavor-and-mind-altering-substances-are/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The sun had burned through and the day had gone from dull to dazzling, yet in the west blask-satin thunderheads continued to stack up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-sun-had-burned-through-and-the-day-had-gone-from-dull-to-dazzling/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Flakes of snow swirled and danced across the porch. The Overlook faced it as it had for nearly three-quarters of a century, its darkened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/flakes-of-snow-swirled-and-danced-across-the-porch-the-overlook-faced/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Who gets to be best-liked in any community? Who is the most trusted? Why, the man who does the dirty job, of course, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/who-gets-to-be-best-liked-in-any-community-who-is-the-most-trusted/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“¿Lo ves, tonto? Volvió a regañarse. Tú lo inventaste todo, gato asustado. No fue más que tu imaginación, gato asustado, gato asustado... No te…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/lo-ves-tonto-volvi-a-rega-arse-t-lo-inventaste-todo-gato-asustado-no/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Death . . . but not for you. That was what Walter, clever as Satan even at the end, had said. A lawyer’s answer . . . so close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/death-but-not-for-you-that-was-what-walter-clever-as-satan-even-at/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The ghost story movie that scared me the most was The Changeling with George C. Scott. I think that's sometimes overlooked, but it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-ghost-story-movie-that-scared-me-the-most-was-the-changeling-with/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Climb aboard, Jonesy. I'm going to send you up where the air is rare and the view is much more than fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/climb-aboard-jonesy-i-m-going-to-send-you-up-where-the-air-is-rare/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) [Explore all 3,589 Stephen King quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## More Ball player quotes > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [There is no doubt in my mind and I know in my time, there will be a Canadian basketball player playing for Toronto Raptors, 100%](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masai-ujiri/there-is-no-doubt-in-my-mind-and-i-know-in-my-time-there-will-be-a/) [Masai Ujiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masai-ujiri/) > [I have friends in other industries but if I am training for a wrestling match, I would turn to the best wrestler to train,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-aries/i-have-friends-in-other-industries-but-if-i-am-training-for-a/) [Austin Aries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-aries/) > [And I want to do it the right way, like everybody else, not just a famous figurehead that gets a job because he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/and-i-want-to-do-it-the-right-way-like-everybody-else-not-just-a/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [I competed every day as a professional football player... You've got to like competing. That's how your team gets better, when you have competition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herm-edwards/i-competed-every-day-as-a-professional-football-player-you-ve-got-to/) [Herm Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herm-edwards/) > [“I can’t wait to knock you up and have a whole team of little baseball players around this place!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-sterling/i-can-t-wait-to-knock-you-up-and-have-a-whole-team-of-little-baseball/) [J. Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-sterling/) > [MOST AMAZING FOOTBALL PLAYER IN THE ENTIRE WORLD && IN REAL MADRID](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/most-amazing-football-player-in-the-entire-world-in-real-madrid/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My older brothers were both basketball players so I just grew up around the gym.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brook-lopez/my-older-brothers-were-both-basketball-players-so-i-just-grew-up/) [Brook Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brook-lopez/) > [I'm a basketball player, so I want to do whatever I've got to do to be on the floor and I'm prepared for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyrese-haliburton/i-m-a-basketball-player-so-i-want-to-do-whatever-i-ve-got-to-do-to-be/) [Tyrese Haliburton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyrese-haliburton/) > [“Seeing yourself in print is such an amazing concept: you can get so much attention without having to actually show up somewhere. While others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/seeing-yourself-in-print-is-such-an-amazing-concept-you-can-get-so/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People say baseball players should go out and have fun. No way. To me, baseball is pressure, I always feel it. This is work.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-eckersley/people-say-baseball-players-should-go-out-and-have-fun-no-way-to-me/) [Dennis Eckersley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-eckersley/) > [Canada is a country whose main exports are hockey players and cold fronts. Our main imports are baseball players and acid rain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-trudeau/canada-is-a-country-whose-main-exports-are-hockey-players-and-cold/) [Pierre Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-trudeau/) > [“The great thing about baseball players, from the point of view of personal hygiene, is how seldom they break a sweat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/the-great-thing-about-baseball-players-from-the-point-of-view-of/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [A lot of scouts and people are enamored with athleticism and youth. So they take that any day over mature, high-quality basketball players.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-brogdon/a-lot-of-scouts-and-people-are-enamored-with-athleticism-and-youth-so/) [Malcolm Brogdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-brogdon/) > [I'm a baseball player. I've done this my whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sale/i-m-a-baseball-player-i-ve-done-this-my-whole-life/) [Chris Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sale/) [Browse all 1,395 Ball player quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ball-player/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As a young man just beginning to publish some short fiction in the t&a magazines, I was fairly optimistic about my chances of getting published; I knew that I had some game, as the basketball players say these days, and I also felt that time was on my side; sooner or later the best-selling writers of the sixties and seventies would either die or go senile, making room for newcomers like me.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen King" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/as-a-young-man-just-beginning-to-publish-some-short-fiction-in-the-t/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ball player" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/as-a-young-man-just-beginning-to-publish-some-short-fiction-in-the-t/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/668/stephen-king-13_ball-player_as-a-young-man-just-beginning-to-publish_1743198.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/668/stephen-king-13_ball-player_as-a-young-man-just-beginning-to-publish_1743198.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/668/stephen-king-13_ball-player_as-a-young-man-just-beginning-to-publish_1743198.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As a young man just beginning to publish some short fiction in the t&a magazines, I was fairly optimistic…” — Stephen King", "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": "Stephen King", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "As a young man just beginning...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/as-a-young-man-just-beginning-to-publish-some-short-fiction-in-the-t/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/as-a-young-man-just-beginning-to-publish-some-short-fiction-in-the-t/#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 } } ] } ```