--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you would like to write better than…" description: "\"If you would like to write better than everybody else, you have to want to write better than everybody else. You must take an obsessive pride in the sm..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e4/william-zinsser-2796_agents_if-you-would-like-to-write-better-than-e_3189758.jpg" --- # If you would like to write better than everybody else, you… ![“If you would like to write better than everybody else, you have to want to write better than everybody else. You must take an obsessive pride in the smallest details of your craft. And you must be willing to defend what you've written against the various middlemen - editors, agents and publishers…” quote by William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e4/william-zinsser-2796_agents_if-you-would-like-to-write-better-than-e_3189758.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e4/william-zinsser-2796_agents_if-you-would-like-to-write-better-than-e_3189758.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e4/william-zinsser-2796_agents_if-you-would-like-to-write-better-than-e_3189758.jpg) > “If you would like to write better than everybody else, you have to want to write better than everybody else. You must take an obsessive pride in the smallest details of your craft. And you must be willing to defend what you've written against the various middlemen - editors, agents and publishers - whose sights may be different from yours, whose standards not so high.” [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Excellence in writing demands obsessive attention to detail and the courage to defend one's work against industry pressures. **In simple terms:** Detail and defense create great writing. Key Takeaway Cultivate meticulousness and stand firm. Themes craftsmanship integrity perseverance Mood instructive encouraging Type professional creative When to use this quote - authorial revisions - publishing negotiations - creative workshops Key Concepts Writing process self‑advocacy Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance perfectionism with productivity? - What defenses are worth mounting? A Different Perspective Industry may stifle originality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crafts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crafts/) [Middlemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middlemen/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) [Publishers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/publishers/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Your turn Imagine that the world had no middlemen, no publishers, no bosses, no HR folks, no one telling you what you couldn’t do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/your-turn-imagine-that-the-world-had-no-middlemen-no-publishers-no/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [I like how I write better than how I speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/i-like-how-i-write-better-than-how-i-speak/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [“Writers and learners will write better and learn more if they understand the "why" of what they are studying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/writers-and-learners-will-write-better-and-learn-more-if-they/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [You'll never make your mark as a writer unless you develop a respect for words and a curiosity about their shades of meaning that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/you-ll-never-make-your-mark-as-a-writer-unless-you-develop-a-respect/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [The media is the great middleman. Trump doesn't need a middleman to get his message out. Trump's crowds are five blocks long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-media-is-the-great-middleman-trump-doesn-t-need-a-middleman-to/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Developing expertise or assets that are not easily copied is essential; otherwise you’re just a middleman. “ “Don’t try to be the ‘next’. Instead,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/developing-expertise-or-assets-that-are-not-easily-copied-is-2/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [I...am an evolved being who deals solely with the source of light...in all of us in our own minds. No middleman required.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-am-an-evolved-being-who-deals-solely-with-the-source-of-light-in/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [I think that social media is a really good way to stay in touch with the people who are following you, and I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-styrke/i-think-that-social-media-is-a-really-good-way-to-stay-in-touch-with/) [Tove Styrke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-styrke/) > [The key is to cut out the middleman and empower both doctor and patient with information about what things cost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/the-key-is-to-cut-out-the-middleman-and-empower-both-doctor-and/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [I am more of a sponge than an inventor. I absorb ideas from every source. I take half-matured schemes for mechanical development and make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/i-am-more-of-a-sponge-than-an-inventor-i-absorb-ideas-from-every/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [Government can only do two things: It can beat people up and kill them. Or it can threaten to do so. When it seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/government-can-only-do-two-things-it-can-beat-people-up-and-kill-them/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [It is well-known what a middleman is: he is a man who bamboozles one party and plunders the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/it-is-well-known-what-a-middleman-is-he-is-a-man-who-bamboozles-one/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [I like to think of myself as the middleman between Fred Allen and Henny Youngman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-berle/i-like-to-think-of-myself-as-the-middleman-between-fred-allen-and/) [Milton Berle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-berle/) > [The public needs art, and it is the responsibility of a ’self-proclaimed artist’ to realize the public needs art, and not to make bourgeois…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-haring/the-public-needs-art-and-it-is-the-responsibility-of-a-self/) [Keith Haring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-haring/) > [Developing expertise or assets that are not easily copied is essential; otherwise you're just a middleman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/developing-expertise-or-assets-that-are-not-easily-copied-is/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## More by William Zinsser > [“But the secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components. Every words that serves no function, every long word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/but-the-secret-of-good-writing-is-to-strip-every-sentence-to-its/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [No one has something original or important to say will willing we run the risk of being misunderstood; people who write obscurely are either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/no-one-has-something-original-or-important-to-say-will-willing-we-run/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Avoid the ecstatic adjectives that occupy such disproportionate space in every critic's quiver - words like "enthralling" and "luminous."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/avoid-the-ecstatic-adjectives-that-occupy-such-disproportionate-space/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Scholarship hath no fury like that of a language purist faced with sludge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/scholarship-hath-no-fury-like-that-of-a-language-purist-faced-with/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Clutter is the official language used by corporations to hide their mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/clutter-is-the-official-language-used-by-corporations-to-hide-their/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Keep your paragraphs short. Writing is visual - it catches the eye before it has a chance to catch the brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/keep-your-paragraphs-short-writing-is-visual-it-catches-the-eye/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Never hesitate to imitate another writer - every person learning a craft or an art needs models. Eventually you'll find your own voice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/never-hesitate-to-imitate-another-writer-every-person-learning-a/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Clutter is the disease of American writing,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/clutter-is-the-disease-of-american-writing/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill rode to glory on the back of the strong declarative sentence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/abraham-lincoln-and-winston-churchill-rode-to-glory-on-the-back-of/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Writing organizes and clarifies our thoughts. Writing is how we think our way into a subject and make it our own. Writing enables us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/writing-organizes-and-clarifies-our-thoughts-writing-is-how-we-think/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Rewriting is the essence of writing well - where the game is won or lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/rewriting-is-the-essence-of-writing-well-where-the-game-is-won-or-lost/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Clear thinking becomes clear writing; one can't exist without the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/clear-thinking-becomes-clear-writing-one-can-t-exist-without-the-other/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [I almost always urge people to write in the first person. ... Writing is an act of ego and you might as well admit it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/i-almost-always-urge-people-to-write-in-the-first-person-writing-is/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Don't be kind of bold. Be bold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/don-t-be-kind-of-bold-be-bold/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [Journalism is writing that first appears in any periodic journal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/journalism-is-writing-that-first-appears-in-any-periodic-journal/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) [Explore all 150 William Zinsser quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) ## More Agents quotes > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. 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If you’re a good writer, you’re a good writer.” And if not, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-gessen/honestly-he-says-i-judge-writers-on-how-they-write-queries-if-you-re/) [Keith Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-gessen/) Browse all 1,567 Agents quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you would like to write better than everybody else, you have to want to write better than everybody else. You must take an obsessive pride in the smallest details of your craft. 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