--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The way I found time to write 'The…" description: "\"The way I found time to write 'The Imperfectionists' was that I took work as a copy editor at the 'International Herald Tribune' in Paris, working full..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/058/tom-rachman-8194_after_the-way-i-found-time-to-write-the-imperf_1954747.png" --- # The way I found time to write 'The Imperfectionists' was… ![“The way I found time to write 'The Imperfectionists' was that I took work as a copy editor at the 'International Herald Tribune' in Paris, working full-time for approximately six months, then taking my savings from that and writing full-time, then returning after six months, and so on, until the…” quote by Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/058/tom-rachman-8194_after_the-way-i-found-time-to-write-the-imperf_1954747.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/058/tom-rachman-8194_after_the-way-i-found-time-to-write-the-imperf_1954747.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/058/tom-rachman-8194_after_the-way-i-found-time-to-write-the-imperf_1954747.png) > “The way I found time to write 'The Imperfectionists' was that I took work as a copy editor at the 'International Herald Tribune' in Paris, working full-time for approximately six months, then taking my savings from that and writing full-time, then returning after six months, and so on, until the book was done!” [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing a full‑time job with writing a novel requires disciplined scheduling and using work periods to fund creative time. **In simple terms:** Work funds writing; schedule blocks. Key Takeaway Plan work‑to‑write cycles. Themes productivity writing career finance discipline Mood determined pragmatic Type advice personal narrative When to use this quote - author - freelance writing - budgeting - career breaks Key Concepts time management creative financing career transition Questions to Reflect On - How do you protect creative focus during work periods? - What financial safeguards help sustain writing projects? A Different Perspective May limit creative depth if rushed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [After](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/after/) [Approximately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approximately/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Copy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copy/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Editor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/editor/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Full-time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/full-time/) [Imperfectionists Took](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imperfectionists-took-3193115/) [International](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/international/) [Months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/months/) [Paris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paris/) [Paris Working](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paris-working-329853/) [Returning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/returning/) [Savings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/savings/) [Six](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/six/) [Six months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/six-months/) [Taking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taking/) [Then](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/then/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Took](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/took/) [Took Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/took-work-2420604/) [Until](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/until/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Working](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Write Imperfectionists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-imperfectionists-3193114/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-time/) ## Related quotes > [I was born and raised in a suburb of Paris by a working-class family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-martinez/i-was-born-and-raised-in-a-suburb-of-paris-by-a-working-class-family/) [Olivier Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-martinez/) > [I wasn't born a fool. 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The Democrats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/obama-s-policies-have-been-approximately-the-same-as-bush-s-though/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [In 1968, the situation at Harvard was not one of which we can be proud. 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But there's no question I was drawn in by the hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/my-intent-was-to-gain-experience-for-fiction-i-eventually-hoped-to/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [“I built and I built— heaven knows I have done that well. Those skyscrapers, full of tenants, floor after floor, and not a single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/i-built-and-i-built-heaven-knows-i-have-done-that-well-those/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [“What is wrong with guys? Half are molting; half are nothing but undergrowth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/what-is-wrong-with-guys-half-are-molting-half-are-nothing-but/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [“What I really fear is time. That's the devil: whipping us on when we'd rather loll, so the present sprints by, impossible to grasp,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/what-i-really-fear-is-time-that-s-the-devil-whipping-us-on-when-we-d/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [“Journalism is a bunch of dorks pretending to be alpha males.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/journalism-is-a-bunch-of-dorks-pretending-to-be-alpha-males/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [My parents used to rent old movies - my whole childhood is in black and white - and it was my dream to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/my-parents-used-to-rent-old-movies-my-whole-childhood-is-in-black-and/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [I went to the University of Toronto to study the history and theory of film, in the back of my mind thinking I'd go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/i-went-to-the-university-of-toronto-to-study-the-history-and-theory/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [The training of a journalist, of working with words for thousands of hours, is extraordinarily useful for a fiction writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/the-training-of-a-journalist-of-working-with-words-for-thousands-of/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [During my past career as a journalist, I relished writing obits and equally dreaded phoning relatives for the necessary facts. But to my surprise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/during-my-past-career-as-a-journalist-i-relished-writing-obits-and/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [“Don't people drown their sorrows in things like scotch? Not strawberry whatever-it's-called.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/don-t-people-drown-their-sorrows-in-things-like-scotch-not-strawberry/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [“Nothing epitomizes the futility of human striving quite like aspartame.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/nothing-epitomizes-the-futility-of-human-striving-quite-like-aspartame/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [“She is a wonderful nerd, and he hopes this won't change. He'd be distressed if she were cool-- it'd be as if his flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/she-is-a-wonderful-nerd-and-he-hopes-this-won-t-change-he-d-be/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [Many things embarrass me, but reading isn't one of them. I'm not ashamed of my slightly weird collection of prison memoirs. Nor the flaky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/many-things-embarrass-me-but-reading-isn-t-one-of-them-i-m-not/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) [Explore all 83 Tom Rachman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) ## More After quotes > [At the drop of a hat, people will say there are no roles for women after 40. 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But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) > [No lusting after your neighbor's house - or wife or servant or maid or ox or donkey. Don't set your heart on anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses/no-lusting-after-your-neighbor-s-house-or-wife-or-servant-or-maid-or/) [Moses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses/) > [After I finished college, I got a job on Wall Street as a derivatives trader, but after a couple years of it, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/after-i-finished-college-i-got-a-job-on-wall-street-as-a-derivatives/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [When good media takes a bounded form, and comes once in a period of time, it begs to be consumed as a whole -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/when-good-media-takes-a-bounded-form-and-comes-once-in-a-period-of/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [Markets are designed to allow individuals to look after their private needs and to pursue profit. It's really a great invention and I wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/markets-are-designed-to-allow-individuals-to-look-after-their-private/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [I have a lot of success and make a good living, but after while, you start going 'Why? Why are you doing all this?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyra-banks/i-have-a-lot-of-success-and-make-a-good-living-but-after-while-you/) [Tyra Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyra-banks/) > [See to do good, and you will find that happiness will run after you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-freeman-clarke/see-to-do-good-and-you-will-find-that-happiness-will-run-after-you/) [James Freeman Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-freeman-clarke/) > [I went to school at night in L.A. to brush up on my engineering while I applied to the astronaut program. I really did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-jemison/i-went-to-school-at-night-in-l-a-to-brush-up-on-my-engineering-while/) [Mae Jemison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-jemison/) > [Sometimes after a compliment about my characterization skills, I'm asked if I model my characters on real people. Emphatically, no. And sort of, yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/sometimes-after-a-compliment-about-my-characterization-skills-i-m/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [After The Wizard Of Oz I was typecast as a lion, and there aren't all that many parts for lions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bert-lahr/after-the-wizard-of-oz-i-was-typecast-as-a-lion-and-there-aren-t-all/) [Bert Lahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bert-lahr/) > [I'm pretty cautious and not very athletic, so I've only had really dumb injuries, like sprained ankles and allergic reactions. 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