--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As a writer, I'm not convinced that we…" description: "\"As a writer, I'm not convinced that we are the best equipped to understand how we go about the business of literary production.\" — Will Self" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a8/will-self-2296_best_as-a-writer-i-m-not-convinced-that-we-ar_160260.png" --- # As a writer, I'm not convinced that we are the best… ![“As a writer, I'm not convinced that we are the best equipped to understand how we go about the business of literary production.” quote by Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a8/will-self-2296_best_as-a-writer-i-m-not-convinced-that-we-ar_160260.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a8/will-self-2296_best_as-a-writer-i-m-not-convinced-that-we-ar_160260.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a8/will-self-2296_best_as-a-writer-i-m-not-convinced-that-we-ar_160260.png) > “As a writer, I'm not convinced that we are the best equipped to understand how we go about the business of literary production.” [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers may lack the necessary perspective to fully grasp the complexities of literary production. **In simple terms:** Authors might not fully understand how books are made. Key Takeaway Recognize limits of self‑knowledge. Themes literary criticism authorial bias meta‑analysis Mood introspective critical Type analytical professional When to use this quote - writing workshops - publishing - academic study - self‑reflection Key Concepts creative process industry dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can writers gain better industry insight? - What role does collaboration play? A Different Perspective Even writers can learn from external viewpoints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Business Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business-literary-1758411/) [Convinced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convinced/) [Equipped Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equipped-understand-1758412/) [Go](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/go/) [Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary/) [Literary Production](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary-production-1299200/) [Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writer Convinced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-convinced-1758410/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“6 criteria to upgrade literary production; Correct language, the power of the idea, the fluency in expressing, the connection between ideas and the depth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryam-abdullah-alnaymi/6-criteria-to-upgrade-literary-production-correct-language-the-power/) [Maryam Abdullah Alnaymi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryam-abdullah-alnaymi/) > [In France, for instance, one magazine writer was convinced that On The Road had been a huge influence on Lost Souls and was crushed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poppy-z-brite/in-france-for-instance-one-magazine-writer-was-convinced-that-on-the/) [Poppy Z. Brite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poppy-z-brite/) > [If a writer is convinced that he is honest, then it is very difficult for him to be a bad writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/if-a-writer-is-convinced-that-he-is-honest-then-it-is-very-difficult/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [I have the conviction that excessive literary production is a social offence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-have-the-conviction-that-excessive-literary-production-is-a-social-2/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Literature has been a treacherous site for black Americans because literary production has been so tied with the project of proving our humanity through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-ligon/literature-has-been-a-treacherous-site-for-black-americans-because/) [Glenn Ligon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-ligon/) > [I have the conviction that excessive literary production is a social offense. ... Everyone who contributes to the 'too much' of literature is doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-have-the-conviction-that-excessive-literary-production-is-a-social/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Excessive literary production is a social offense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/excessive-literary-production-is-a-social-offense/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [It might be an idea for all literary critics to read the books they analyse aloud - it certainly helps to fix them in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/it-might-be-an-idea-for-all-literary-critics-to-read-the-books-they/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [I'm more interested than Philip Roth in understanding women, even if I do it imperfectly. But that book, Portnoy's Complaint, is literary punk in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karan-mahajan/i-m-more-interested-than-philip-roth-in-understanding-women-even-if-i/) [Karan Mahajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan-mahajan/) > [Criticism even should not be without its charms. When quite devoid of all amenities, it is no longer literary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/criticism-even-should-not-be-without-its-charms-when-quite-devoid-of/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [There's definitely been a focus on the literary aspects of my music, and I always get a little cringey because I don't feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-holter/there-s-definitely-been-a-focus-on-the-literary-aspects-of-my-music/) [Julia Holter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-holter/) > [I have said it somewhere - our literary lived lives are as important as our literally lived lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/i-have-said-it-somewhere-our-literary-lived-lives-are-as-important-as/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [They never opened the door which leads to the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/they-never-opened-the-door-which-leads-to-the-soul/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“And when I’d settled down, I considered the possibility that I wasn’t yet ready to ask for the love of anyone because I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-decker/and-when-i-d-settled-down-i-considered-the-possibility-that-i-wasn-t/) [Steven Decker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-decker/) > [Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday speech. If you approach me at a bus stop and murmur Thou still unravished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/literature-transforms-and-intensifies-ordinary-language-deviates/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) ## More by Will Self > [As for critical writing about modernism, its moments of lucidity are but fulgurations illuminating the dark and incomprehensible landscape of its subject's unabashed difficulty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/as-for-critical-writing-about-modernism-its-moments-of-lucidity-are/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [“As my voice died away I became conscious of the voice of another woman two tables away. I couldn't hear what she was saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/as-my-voice-died-away-i-became-conscious-of-the-voice-of-another/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [That tertiary education is under a sustained assault by a political and - it often seems - social consensus that equates all education with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/that-tertiary-education-is-under-a-sustained-assault-by-a-political/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [I'm an anarchist. I'm implacably opposed to heirarchical systems of power and control. I also mistrust crowds, as they often operate according to their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-m-an-anarchist-i-m-implacably-opposed-to-heirarchical-systems-of/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [What fiction offers us is an intimacy shorn of the messy contingencies of human existence - gender, race, class or age. Those moments of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/what-fiction-offers-us-is-an-intimacy-shorn-of-the-messy/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [I'd rather fiddle with my phone for precious seconds than neglect an apostrophe; I'd rather insert a word laboriously keyed out than resort to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-d-rather-fiddle-with-my-phone-for-precious-seconds-than-neglect-an/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [I'm very happy for whatever plaudits might come the way of my work, but I never ever sit down to write x with y…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-m-very-happy-for-whatever-plaudits-might-come-the-way-of-my-work/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [“I explained to him - as I withdrew the cup, ripped open the sachet and dunked the tea bag - that tea was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-explained-to-him-as-i-withdrew-the-cup-ripped-open-the-sachet-and/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [There is something mysteriously powerful that can happen when young, inchoate minds come into contact with older and more worldly ones in a spirit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/there-is-something-mysteriously-powerful-that-can-happen-when-young/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [It would seem that I, who never could make much sense of physics when I was at school, have now gained a strong sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/it-would-seem-that-i-who-never-could-make-much-sense-of-physics-when/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [Drug use and procrastination often go hand in tourniquet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/drug-use-and-procrastination-often-go-hand-in-tourniquet/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [“…with the morbid realisation that his sexual being was a dull thing, a lifeless thing, a mass-produced marionette with chipped paint and fraying strings”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/with-the-morbid-realisation-that-his-sexual-being-was-a-dull-thing-a/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [A creative life cannot be sustained by approval any more than it can be destroyed by criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/a-creative-life-cannot-be-sustained-by-approval-any-more-than-it-can/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [I don't think in terms of that bizarre tautology 'value for money' in my literary and journalistic work - and nor will I in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-don-t-think-in-terms-of-that-bizarre-tautology-value-for-money-in/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [Is there anything more useless than a crouton? I sometimes wake up in the small hours with a start and realise that what's roused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/is-there-anything-more-useless-than-a-crouton-i-sometimes-wake-up-in/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) [Explore all 172 Will Self quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) ## More Best quotes > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [Scepticism and cynicism about politics is so great that one of the best counters to it is what you can do at a local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-miliband/scepticism-and-cynicism-about-politics-is-so-great-that-one-of-the/) [Ed Miliband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-miliband/) > [Amongst the financial Twitterati, the term 'muppets' has come to describe any client used and abused by some financial predator. I've adopted the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/amongst-the-financial-twitterati-the-term-muppets-has-come-to/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [It's no wonder Pep is one of the best coaches in the world. When I knew I could work with him I was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ederson/it-s-no-wonder-pep-is-one-of-the-best-coaches-in-the-world-when-i/) [Ederson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ederson/) > [“Before you were my enemy, you were my best friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/before-you-were-my-enemy-you-were-my-best-friend/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [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/) > [I want to be perceived as a guy who played his best in all facets, not just scoring. A guy who loved challenges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jordan/i-want-to-be-perceived-as-a-guy-who-played-his-best-in-all-facets-not/) [Michael Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jordan/) > [I feel like I'm the best, but you're not going to get me to say that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/i-feel-like-i-m-the-best-but-you-re-not-going-to-get-me-to-say-that/) [Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/) > [Life is where you love people and use things not use people and love things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babloo/life-is-where-you-love-people-and-use-things-not-use-people-and-love/) [Babloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babloo/) > [With every product, the delta between the brand and the reality determines its power over the minds of consumers, and with Trump, that delta…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wilson/with-every-product-the-delta-between-the-brand-and-the-reality/) [Rick Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wilson/) > [The human element should be the two players on the court, not the officials. The best officials are the ones you never notice. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-scott/the-human-element-should-be-the-two-players-on-the-court-not-the/) [Gene Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-scott/) > [I'm looking to fight the best guys in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yair-rodriguez/i-m-looking-to-fight-the-best-guys-in-the-world/) [Yair Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yair-rodriguez/) > [Batley and Spen has a high proportion of people working in manufacturing, and we can boast the full range of industries, including high-skilled, precision…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-cox/batley-and-spen-has-a-high-proportion-of-people-working-in/) [Jo Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-cox/) > [It is no secret that I have read 'The Da Vinci Code' several times. I genuinely believe that 'The Da Vinci Code' and 'Angels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/it-is-no-secret-that-i-have-read-the-da-vinci-code-several-times-i/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) > [Any position I was going to be in, I was going to make the best of it. I always do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bledsoe/any-position-i-was-going-to-be-in-i-was-going-to-make-the-best-of-it/) [Eric Bledsoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bledsoe/) [Browse all 21,674 Best quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As a writer, I'm not convinced that we are the best equipped to understand how we go about the business of literary production.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Will Self" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/as-a-writer-i-m-not-convinced-that-we-are-the-best-equipped-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Best" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/as-a-writer-i-m-not-convinced-that-we-are-the-best-equipped-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a8/will-self-2296_best_as-a-writer-i-m-not-convinced-that-we-ar_160260.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a8/will-self-2296_best_as-a-writer-i-m-not-convinced-that-we-ar_160260.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a8/will-self-2296_best_as-a-writer-i-m-not-convinced-that-we-ar_160260.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As a writer, I'm not convinced that we are the best equipped to understand how we go about the business of…” — Will Self", "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": "Will Self", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "As a writer, I'm not convinced...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/as-a-writer-i-m-not-convinced-that-we-are-the-best-equipped-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/as-a-writer-i-m-not-convinced-that-we-are-the-best-equipped-to/#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 } } ] } ```