--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not long after I published my first book…" description: "\"Not long after I published my first book, I quickly found I was terrible at being interviewed.\" — Tom Wolfe" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10c/tom-wolfe-2191_being_not-long-after-i-published-my-first-book_3191994.jpg" --- # Not long after I published my first book, I quickly found… ![“Not long after I published my first book, I quickly found I was terrible at being interviewed.” quote by Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10c/tom-wolfe-2191_being_not-long-after-i-published-my-first-book_3191994.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10c/tom-wolfe-2191_being_not-long-after-i-published-my-first-book_3191994.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10c/tom-wolfe-2191_being_not-long-after-i-published-my-first-book_3191994.jpg) > “Not long after I published my first book, I quickly found I was terrible at being interviewed.” [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He admits lack of skill in media interviews despite author success. **In simple terms:** I’m bad at interviews. Key Takeaway Improve communication skills. Themes authorial identity media self‑awareness Mood reflective hopeful Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - book tours - press conferences - career advancement - personal branding Key Concepts public speaking personal development Questions to Reflect On - How can you practice interview techniques? - What resources help improve public speaking? A Different Perspective Skill gaps can affect professional opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Interview](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interview/) [Interviewed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interviewed/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Quickly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quickly/) [Quickly Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quickly-terrible-5891616/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) [Terrible Interviewed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible-interviewed-5891615/) ## Related quotes > [When you're interviewing someone, you're in control. When you're being interviewed, you think you're in control, but you're not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-walters/when-you-re-interviewing-someone-you-re-in-control-when-you-re-being/) [Barbara Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-walters/) > [Being interviewed is one of the most abnormal things that you can do to somebody else. It's two steps removed from the Inquisition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/being-interviewed-is-one-of-the-most-abnormal-things-that-you-can-do/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [ “I thought to do something good by giving an interview to People, which was exceedingly foolish of me. I asked Aaron \[Asher\] to tell… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-thought-to-do-something-good-by-giving-an-interview-to-people-which/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [You play to whatever publication you're being interviewed by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-rhys/you-play-to-whatever-publication-you-re-being-interviewed-by/) [Matthew Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-rhys/) > [When you're used to interviewing someone then you like being in control of the interview. There's something slightly unnerving about being interviewed, it's interesting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bacon/when-you-re-used-to-interviewing-someone-then-you-like-being-in/) [Richard Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bacon/) > [If you acquiesce to one interview, there's always another waiting in the wings. Also if you're interviewed repeatedly, you just start repeating yourself. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-smith/if-you-acquiesce-to-one-interview-there-s-always-another-waiting-in/) [Robert Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-smith/) > [I interviewed Johnny Knoxville once. I was kind of scared to interview him because I thought he might be a real jerk, but he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-perry/i-interviewed-johnny-knoxville-once-i-was-kind-of-scared-to-interview/) [Rachel Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-perry/) > [When I tell people that I get interviewed five or six times more than I will interview players or coaches leading up to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-nantz/when-i-tell-people-that-i-get-interviewed-five-or-six-times-more-than/) [Jim Nantz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-nantz/) > [I am certainly more interested in interviewing than being interviewed. Sometimes you find yourself attacked from the start.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/i-am-certainly-more-interested-in-interviewing-than-being-interviewed/) [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) > [Interviewing is fun. You get to learn things about people other than yourself. When you're being interviewed, you're talking about things you've already lived.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-smear/interviewing-is-fun-you-get-to-learn-things-about-people-other-than/) [Pat Smear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-smear/) > [I don't enjoy being interviewed. I feel like it exhausts a lot of my energy. I feel empty after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sza/i-don-t-enjoy-being-interviewed-i-feel-like-it-exhausts-a-lot-of-my/) [SZA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sza/) > [I've fallen out very badly with some of the subjects I've interviewed, because they see their lives a certain way; to step into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-macdonald/i-ve-fallen-out-very-badly-with-some-of-the-subjects-i-ve-interviewed/) [Kevin Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-macdonald/) > [Do people ever ask me to say 'Wow?' Never in interviews, but a few times on the street. I don't do it. I try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-murray/do-people-ever-ask-me-to-say-wow-never-in-interviews-but-a-few-times/) [Hannah Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-murray/) > [I quickly learned that asking if an interview space was wheelchair accessible was a bad idea; it gave a potential employer an immediate bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-young/i-quickly-learned-that-asking-if-an-interview-space-was-wheelchair/) [Stella Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-young/) > [I remember an interview so terrible with CNN's Jon Klein, I nearly blurted out, 'Forget it, I am a loser!' But I didn't need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mika-brzezinski/i-remember-an-interview-so-terrible-with-cnn-s-jon-klein-i-nearly/) [Mika Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mika-brzezinski/) ## More by Tom Wolfe > [“Well … things are beginning to stack up a little,” said Gordo. It was the same old sod-hut drawl. He sounded like the airline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/well-things-are-beginning-to-stack-up-a-little-said-gordo-it-was-the/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [“Everything in everybody’s life is … significant. And everybody is alert, watching for the meanings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/everything-in-everybody-s-life-is-significant-and-everybody-is-alert/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > ['Back to Blood' really took it out of me. While I was writing it, I just never went out anywhere, except to the gym.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/back-to-blood-really-took-it-out-of-me-while-i-was-writing-it-i-just/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [In the U.S., the term 'general aviation' means its exact opposite, the way 'public school' does in England. An English public school is private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/in-the-u-s-the-term-general-aviation-means-its-exact-opposite-the-way/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [That's mostly what the Internet is, just passing the time. But unfortunately you are dealing with words that can have meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/that-s-mostly-what-the-internet-is-just-passing-the-time-but/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [“The dark night of fascism is always descending in the United States and yet lands only in Europe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/the-dark-night-of-fascism-is-always-descending-in-the-united-states/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [“Loneliness wasn't just a state of mind, was it? It was tactile. She could feel it. It was a sixth sense, not in some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/loneliness-wasn-t-just-a-state-of-mind-was-it-it-was-tactile-she/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [it is either make this thing permanent inside of you or forever just climb draggled up into the conning tower every time for one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/it-is-either-make-this-thing-permanent-inside-of-you-or-forever-just/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [I found a great many pieces of punctuation and typography lying around dormant when I came along - and I must say I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/i-found-a-great-many-pieces-of-punctuation-and-typography-lying/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [“They became desperate for an antidote, such as coziness & color. They tried to bury the obligatory white sofas under Thai-silk throw pillows of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/they-became-desperate-for-an-antidote-such-as-coziness-color-they/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [A cult is a religion with no political power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/a-cult-is-a-religion-with-no-political-power/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [I don't think journalists should talk about whom they're voting for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/i-don-t-think-journalists-should-talk-about-whom-they-re-voting-for/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [Even hostile parodies admit from the start that the target has a distinct voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/even-hostile-parodies-admit-from-the-start-that-the-target-has-a/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [I had always looked down on sociology as this arriviste discipline. It didn't have the noble history of English and history as a subject.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/i-had-always-looked-down-on-sociology-as-this-arriviste-discipline-it/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [I read somewhere that writers, as they get older, become more and more perfectionist. Which may be because they think more highly of themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/i-read-somewhere-that-writers-as-they-get-older-become-more-and-more/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) [Explore all 177 Tom Wolfe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) ## More Being quotes > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/) [Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/) > [I love being in Malibu. It's so cool there, and the water is just, it's nice and, and I love the beach. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-evancho/i-love-being-in-malibu-it-s-so-cool-there-and-the-water-is-just-it-s/) [Jackie Evancho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-evancho/) > [I talk to my mates about our kids, being too tired and being worn out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-willoughby/i-talk-to-my-mates-about-our-kids-being-too-tired-and-being-worn-out/) [Holly Willoughby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-willoughby/) > [I love to fish. I love the peacefulness of being around the water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evonne-goolagong-cawley/i-love-to-fish-i-love-the-peacefulness-of-being-around-the-water/) [Evonne Goolagong Cawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evonne-goolagong-cawley/) > [When you're in your twenties and starting out, the problem is that you care about being cool. Being older, I can care less about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-righton/when-you-re-in-your-twenties-and-starting-out-the-problem-is-that-you/) [James Righton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-righton/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [Being a new mother is a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phaedra-parks/being-a-new-mother-is-a-blessing/) [Phaedra Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phaedra-parks/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Having small children and being an investigative reporter would seem like a difficult mix, but it worked well for me. I was often working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-abramson/having-small-children-and-being-an-investigative-reporter-would-seem/) [Jill Abramson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-abramson/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [We should not live in fear, we should all enjoy being able to express our views freely and openly, challenge each other on issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tan-cheng-bock/we-should-not-live-in-fear-we-should-all-enjoy-being-able-to-express/) [Tan Cheng Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tan-cheng-bock/) [Browse all 18,139 Being quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Not long after I published my first book, I quickly found I was terrible at being interviewed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Wolfe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/not-long-after-i-published-my-first-book-i-quickly-found-i-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Being" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/not-long-after-i-published-my-first-book-i-quickly-found-i-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10c/tom-wolfe-2191_being_not-long-after-i-published-my-first-book_3191994.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10c/tom-wolfe-2191_being_not-long-after-i-published-my-first-book_3191994.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10c/tom-wolfe-2191_being_not-long-after-i-published-my-first-book_3191994.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Not long after I published my first book, I quickly found I was terrible at being interviewed.” — Tom Wolfe", "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": "Tom Wolfe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Not long after I published my...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/not-long-after-i-published-my-first-book-i-quickly-found-i-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/not-long-after-i-published-my-first-book-i-quickly-found-i-was/#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 } } ] } ```