--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I started in the business, there was…" description: "\"When I started in the business, there was a thing called adult fantasy, but nobody quite knew what it was, and most publishers didn't have an adult fan..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec7/terri-windling-8504_adults_when-i-started-in-the-business-there-was_2341648.png" --- # When I started in the business, there was a thing called… ![“When I started in the business, there was a thing called adult fantasy, but nobody quite knew what it was, and most publishers didn't have an adult fantasy list. They had science fiction lists, which they stuck a little bit of fantasy into.” quote by Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec7/terri-windling-8504_adults_when-i-started-in-the-business-there-was_2341648.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec7/terri-windling-8504_adults_when-i-started-in-the-business-there-was_2341648.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec7/terri-windling-8504_adults_when-i-started-in-the-business-there-was_2341648.png) > “When I started in the business, there was a thing called adult fantasy, but nobody quite knew what it was, and most publishers didn't have an adult fantasy list. They had science fiction lists, which they stuck a little bit of fantasy into.” [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author describes how adult fantasy was an undefined niche, often hidden within sci‑fi lists, highlighting a market gap. **In simple terms:** Adult fantasy lacked clear categorization, being mixed into sci‑fi. Key Takeaway Recognize and define emerging genres. Themes genre evolution publishing market gaps creativity Mood reflective analytical Type observational analytical reflective When to use this quote - author interviews - publishing strategy - genre development Key Concepts genre theory market segmentation Questions to Reflect On - How can creators help define new genres? - What role do publishers play in shaping genre perception? A Different Perspective Industry may resist new categories without proven sales. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Publishers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/publishers/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-fiction/) ## Related quotes > [Growing up, I had the weird fantasy list: I wanted to be Alice Cooper, Steven Spielberg, and Stan Lee. You have to have almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-zombie/growing-up-i-had-the-weird-fantasy-list-i-wanted-to-be-alice-cooper/) [Rob Zombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-zombie/) > [Adult fantasy gets a bad name. You think of Xena - Warrior Princess. If you don't do it expensively, it becomes tacky and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-lloyd/adult-fantasy-gets-a-bad-name-you-think-of-xena-warrior-princess-if/) [Harry Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-lloyd/) > [Of the authors published under Ballantine's Adult Fantasy logo, only Evangeline Walton 'spoke' to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/of-the-authors-published-under-ballantine-s-adult-fantasy-logo-only/) [Stephen R. Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/) > [I love young adult fantasies. While I say that, I have not seen all of the Twilight and Harry Potter movies. But I've read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-love-young-adult-fantasies-while-i-say-that-i-have-not-seen-all-of/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [I didn't have a lot of experience with adult fantasy. And that's sort of what intersected with me and 'The Witcher.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/i-didn-t-have-a-lot-of-experience-with-adult-fantasy-and-that-s-sort/) [Lauren Schmidt Hissrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/) > [ \[Mid-list writers are now\] less greed on the part of both publishers and chain booksellers. It is easier for them to publish and sell… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-p-kinsella/mid-list-writers-are-now-less-greed-on-the-part-of-both-publishers/) [W. P. Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-p-kinsella/) > [As a publisher what you are trying to build is a long life for a book, to help it find its readers in many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-dutton/as-a-publisher-what-you-are-trying-to-build-is-a-long-life-for-a-book/) [Danielle Dutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-dutton/) > [To rush in upon an event before its significance has had time to separate from the surrounding circumstances may be enterprising, but is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/to-rush-in-upon-an-event-before-its-significance-has-had-time-to/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [While some of the big publishers might give out 200,000 advances, if your book does not hit some of the lists in the second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/while-some-of-the-big-publishers-might-give-out-200-000-advances-if/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [I got signed with the songwriting deal when I was sixteen and they were really great - my publishers, who to this day are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/i-got-signed-with-the-songwriting-deal-when-i-was-sixteen-and-they/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [I have finally become my own genre, and now that's what publishers want. I have a wonderful publisher now, Mulholland, very innovated, very fine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-r-lansdale/i-have-finally-become-my-own-genre-and-now-that-s-what-publishers/) [Joe R. Lansdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-r-lansdale/) > [I have to declare in all candor that no one interested in being published in our time can afford to be so naive as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-curtis/i-have-to-declare-in-all-candor-that-no-one-interested-in-being/) [Richard Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-curtis/) > [My books have been translated into various languages and sold in other countries, but I never have any contact with the foreign publishers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-zarr/my-books-have-been-translated-into-various-languages-and-sold-in/) [Sara Zarr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-zarr/) > [Agents and publishers only want one thing - good writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/agents-and-publishers-only-want-one-thing-good-writing/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [A lot of times, when people send me books to read - new writers mostly - I find that the book is still in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/a-lot-of-times-when-people-send-me-books-to-read-new-writers-mostly-i/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) ## More by Terri Windling > [“I've been very influenced by folklore, fairy tales, and folk ballads, so I love all the classic works based on these things -- like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/i-ve-been-very-influenced-by-folklore-fairy-tales-and-folk-ballads-so/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“Don’t be afraid to be weird, don’t be afraid to be different, don’t worry too much about what other people think. Whatever it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/don-t-be-afraid-to-be-weird-don-t-be-afraid-to-be-different-don-t/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“In England in the 19th century, advances in printing methods, combined with the rise of a prosperous middle class, engendered a booming new industry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/in-england-in-the-19th-century-advances-in-printing-methods-combined/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [What I find interesting about folklore is the dialogue it gives us with storytellers from centuries past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/what-i-find-interesting-about-folklore-is-the-dialogue-it-gives-us/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“Lately, because computer technology has made self-publishing an easier and less expensive venture, I'm getting a lot of review copies of amateur books by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/lately-because-computer-technology-has-made-self-publishing-an-easier/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“I am awfully greedy; I want everything from life," said Simone de Beauvoir. "I want to be a woman and to be a man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/i-am-awfully-greedy-i-want-everything-from-life-said-simone-de/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“I wish I could have known Barbara Bodichon -- and her whole vibrant circle of smart, fearless women friends. I'd like to gather them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/i-wish-i-could-have-known-barbara-bodichon-and-her-whole-vibrant/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“Twelve years ago I left Boston and New York, and moved east and west at the same time. East, to a little village in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/twelve-years-ago-i-left-boston-and-new-york-and-moved-east-and-west/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“I lived in New York City back in the 1980s, which is when the Bordertown series was created. New York was a different place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/i-lived-in-new-york-city-back-in-the-1980s-which-is-when-the/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“Border crossing' is a recurrent theme in all aspects of my work -- editing, writing, and painting. 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I love fantasy, I read it for pleasure, even after all these years. Pat McKillip, Ursula Le Guin and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/oh-don-t-get-me-started-i-love-fantasy-i-read-it-for-pleasure-even/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) [Explore all 80 Terri Windling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) ## More Adults quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. 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Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [Plainly, the environment must be a living one, directed by a higher intelligence, arranged by an adult who is prepared for his mission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/plainly-the-environment-must-be-a-living-one-directed-by-a-higher/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Almost everywhere we find . . . the use of various coercive measures, to rid ourselves as quickly as possible of the child withinus--i.e.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/almost-everywhere-we-find-the-use-of-various-coercive-measures-to-rid/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [Education, for most people, means trying to lead the child to resemble the typical adult of his society . . . but for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/education-for-most-people-means-trying-to-lead-the-child-to-resemble/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [I do not believe in public shaming. I do believe that young adults go to college to learn things, and that this process will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-weingarten/i-do-not-believe-in-public-shaming-i-do-believe-that-young-adults-go/) [Gene Weingarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-weingarten/) > [The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance”: “The differences between expert performers and normal adults are not immutable, that is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-anders-ericsson/the-role-of-deliberate-practice-in-the-acquisition-of-expert/) K. 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