Chapter 148: Publishing Business

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,

the conviction of things not seen.

For by it the men of old gained approval.

By faith we understand that the worlds

were prepared by the Word of God,

so that what is seen was not made

out of things which are visible.

Hebrews 11:1-3, 6

HhH

I still encourage anyone who feels at all

compelled to write to do so.

I just try to warn people who hope to get

published that puboication is not at all

it is cracked to be. But writing is.

Writing has so much to give, so much to teach,

so many surprises. That thing you had to force

yourself to do--the actual act of writing--turns

out to be the best part. It's like discovering

that while you thought you needed the tea

ceremony for the caffeine, what you really

needed was the tea ceremony. The act of 

writing turns out to be its own reward.

Anne Lamott

HhH

I wrote a book. It sucked.

I wrote nine more books.

They sucked, too.

Meanwhile, I read every single thing

I could find on publishing and writing,

went to conferences, joined professional

organizations, hooked up with fellow writers

in critique groups, and didn't give up.

Then I wrote one more book.

Beth Revis

HhH

Who is better off?

The one who writes to revel in the

voluptuousness of the life that surrounds

them? Or the one who writes to escape the

tediousness of that which awaits them outside?

Whose flame will last longer?

Roman Payne

HhH

Publishing a book is like stuffing a note

in the bottle and hurling it into the sea.

Some bottles drown, some come safe to land,

where the notes are read and then possibly

cherished, or else, misinterpreted, or else

understood all too well by those who hate

the message. You never know who

your readers might be.

Margaret Atwood

HhH

I finished my first book seventy-six years ago.

I offered it to every publisher on the

English-speaking earth I had ever heard of.

Their refusals were unanimous; and it did

not get into print until, fifty years later;

publishers will publish anything that

had my name on it.

George Bernard Shaw

HhH

Magazines all too frequently lead to books

and should be regarded by the prudent

as the heavy petting of literature.

Fran Lebowitz

HhH

In the end, what makes a book valuable is

not the paper it's written on, but the

thousands of hours of work by dozens of

people who are dedicated to creating the

best possible reading experience for you.

John Green

HhH

Note to the wise: whenever someone

insists that he wants to buy something

from you, but tells you there is no real value

in it yet, two things are happening:

he's lying and you are being taken.

Michael A. Stackpole

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This Chapter is sponsored by Pharell Williams x Louis Vuitton Sandwich Bag.