---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have a lot of stuff that I never…"
description: "\"I have a lot of stuff that I never published because I always had a sense that novels were not finally going to be the way I made my living, because th..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/william-monahan-3226_books_i-have-a-lot-of-stuff-that-i-never-publi_2018738.jpg"
---

#  I have a lot of stuff that I never published because I…

![“I have a lot of stuff that I never published because I always had a sense that novels were not finally going to be the way I made my living, because the form was dying commercially.” quote by William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/william-monahan-3226_books_i-have-a-lot-of-stuff-that-i-never-publi_2018738.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/william-monahan-3226_books_i-have-a-lot-of-stuff-that-i-never-publi_2018738.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/william-monahan-3226_books_i-have-a-lot-of-stuff-that-i-never-publi_2018738.jpg)

> “I have a lot of stuff that I never published because I always had a sense that novels were not finally going to be the way I made my living, because the form was dying commercially.”

[William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He doubts the commercial viability of novels, fearing the market is shrinking.

**In simple terms:** Novels may not pay the bills.

Key Takeaway

Consider alternative income streams.

Themes

career finance creativity

Mood

cautious reflective

Type

advice realistic

When to use this quote

- writing a novel
- seeking literary agent
- exploring self‑publishing
- teaching writing

Key Concepts

publishing market trends risk assessment

Questions to Reflect On

- How can writers adapt to a changing market?
- What non‑writing income can support creative work?

A Different Perspective

The market can shift; niche audiences still exist.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/)

## Related quotes

> [“To publish in the sense of making a book available to the public is easy – and never easier than it is today, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-b-thompson/to-publish-in-the-sense-of-making-a-book-available-to-the-public-is/)

John B. Thompson

> [You really burden the reader if you put things in but, "Oh, it's not interesting, but I'll put it in anyway." Then the reader's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/you-really-burden-the-reader-if-you-put-things-in-but-oh-it-s-not/)

[David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/)

> [Interpretive thinking, as an art form, is dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-tillman/interpretive-thinking-as-an-art-form-is-dying/)

[Josh Tillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-tillman/)

> [Why are people more appalled at what they term an unnatural form of dying than by an unnatural form of living?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-cousins/why-are-people-more-appalled-at-what-they-term-an-unnatural-form-of/)

[Norman Cousins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-cousins/)

> [Pure dance form is not dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hema-malini/pure-dance-form-is-not-dying/)

[Hema Malini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hema-malini/)

> [“I even gave up, for a while, stopping by the window of the room to look out at the lights and deep, illuminated streets.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/i-even-gave-up-for-a-while-stopping-by-the-window-of-the-room-to-look/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [At the outset, my notion of being a writer was that you would have moments of inspiration and moments of frustration, when you'd crumple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/at-the-outset-my-notion-of-being-a-writer-was-that-you-would-have/)

[Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/)

> [Dominion is a spy novel, a love story, and also I hope gives some sense of the difficulties faced by dissidents under any totalitarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-sansom/dominion-is-a-spy-novel-a-love-story-and-also-i-hope-gives-some-sense/)

[C.J. Sansom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-sansom/)

> [If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-writing-novels-is-like-planting-a-forest-then-writing-short/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [I have often heard that the novel is dead. But I see novels produced, I don't know how many a week, in France. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalie-sarraute/i-have-often-heard-that-the-novel-is-dead-but-i-see-novels-produced-i/)

[Nathalie Sarraute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalie-sarraute/)

> [I think of novels as houses. You live in them over the course of a long period, both as a reader and as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/i-think-of-novels-as-houses-you-live-in-them-over-the-course-of-a/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [“Holy hell, Trev! What kind of move was that?” Trevor leaned over her with a big smile on his face. “You really thought I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-aubrey-chris-almeida/holy-hell-trev-what-kind-of-move-was-that-trevor-leaned-over-her-with/)

Cecilia Aubrey &amp; Chris Almeida

> [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

## More by William Monahan

> [“I put no stock in religion. By the word religion I have seen the lunacy of fanatics of every denomination be called the will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/i-put-no-stock-in-religion-by-the-word-religion-i-have-seen-the/)

[William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/)

> [When I was a kid in London there was just something about the light and there's something about the way London went onto film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/when-i-was-a-kid-in-london-there-was-just-something-about-the-light/)

[William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/)

> [I think the only real referent for anybody writing drama is probably Hamlet. You have the most extreme tragic drama, this sort of blood-boltered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/i-think-the-only-real-referent-for-anybody-writing-drama-is-probably/)

[William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/)

> [If you need someone to come out of the sewer with a wire you don't hire someone who needs laborious collective instruction. You let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/if-you-need-someone-to-come-out-of-the-sewer-with-a-wire-you-don-t/)

[William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/)

> [In reviewing films, people get quite liberal about saying "the script" this and "the script" that, when they've never read the script any more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/in-reviewing-films-people-get-quite-liberal-about-saying-the-script/)

[William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/)

> [The era I love most is the Federal period, just after the Revolution and the formation of the United States. The birth of America…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/the-era-i-love-most-is-the-federal-period-just-after-the-revolution/)

[William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/)

> [You know a shooter when you see it. At least the creative people do. If a picture isn't obvious in the first draft you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/you-know-a-shooter-when-you-see-it-at-least-the-creative-people-do-if/)

[William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/)

> [If you see, as I do, in edited film, you're going to end up as a director.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/if-you-see-as-i-do-in-edited-film-you-re-going-to-end-up-as-a-director/)

[William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/)

> [I wanted to do London Boulevard because I saw the potential of a story about two people who need each other desperately, who love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/i-wanted-to-do-london-boulevard-because-i-saw-the-potential-of-a/)

[William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/)

> [Dialogue is used to reveal not what we want to say, but what we are trying to hide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/dialogue-is-used-to-reveal-not-what-we-want-to-say-but-what-we-are/)

[William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/)

> [Poetry died as a commercial form and then it died as a serious art form. No one serious touches it. It used to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/poetry-died-as-a-commercial-form-and-then-it-died-as-a-serious-art/)

[William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/)

> [Casting is all about availability, as much as anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/casting-is-all-about-availability-as-much-as-anything-else/)

[William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/)

> [For me, film has been good because I'm able to work at top crack, working at something I love to do, in the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/for-me-film-has-been-good-because-i-m-able-to-work-at-top-crack/)

[William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/)

> [London matters to me because it's the center of what I do for a living and has been since Tudor times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/london-matters-to-me-because-it-s-the-center-of-what-i-do-for-a/)

[William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/)

> [I was always entirely about work, about getting where I am now. If I'm not working I'm thinking about it, though at some point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/i-was-always-entirely-about-work-about-getting-where-i-am-now-if-i-m/)

[William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/)

[Explore all 136 William Monahan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/)

## More Books quotes

> [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/)

[Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/)

> [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/)

[Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/)

> [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/)

[Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/)

> [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/)

[Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/)

> [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/)

[Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/)

> [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/)

[Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/)

> [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/)

Christopher K. Krebs

> [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/)

[Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/)

> [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/)

[Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/)

> [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/)

[Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/)

> [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/)

[Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/)

> [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/)

Markus Herz

> [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/)

[Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/)

[Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I have a lot of stuff that I never published because I always had a sense that novels were not finally going to be the way I made my living, because the form was dying commercially.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "William Monahan"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/i-have-a-lot-of-stuff-that-i-never-published-because-i-always-had-a/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Books"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/i-have-a-lot-of-stuff-that-i-never-published-because-i-always-had-a/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/william-monahan-3226_books_i-have-a-lot-of-stuff-that-i-never-publi_2018738.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/william-monahan-3226_books_i-have-a-lot-of-stuff-that-i-never-publi_2018738.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/william-monahan-3226_books_i-have-a-lot-of-stuff-that-i-never-publi_2018738.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I have a lot of stuff that I never published because I always had a sense that novels were not finally going…” — William Monahan",
                "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": "William Monahan",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I have a lot of stuff...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/i-have-a-lot-of-stuff-that-i-never-published-because-i-always-had-a/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/i-have-a-lot-of-stuff-that-i-never-published-because-i-always-had-a/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
