1. Home
    2.  › 
  2. Quotes tagged “publishing a book”

Quotes tagged “publishing a book”

“In order to write and edit a book and sell it to a publisher, you must be creative and conscientious. WHICH IS A PERFECT STORM FOR DEBUT PAIN. Bc you can imagine grand successes and then feel completely to blame when they do not come to pass. Honey, it ain't you.”
— Delilah S. Dawson
Tagged: publishing a book, publishing industry, selling books, Writing, book success, success in writing
“The really important point here is that your debut book/series/year DOES NOT PREDICT YOUR CAREER. It's not any indicator of future success. Publishers know and understand this. Just keep writing the best books you can. Keep innovating without fear. Keep that hope.”
— Delilah S. Dawson
Tagged: Writing, Writing A Book, writing a novel, Writing Advice, Writer's Truth, author, Books, selling books, Publishing, publishing industry, publishing a book
“If I could change 1 thing about my debut year as an author, I wish someone in power had looked me in the eye and said, 'You wrote a good book, and you're a good writer, but we are not pushing your book. There is no way it will hit list. Just have fun.' Truth > disappointment.”
— Delilah S. Dawson
Tagged: Books, selling books, publishing a book, Publishing, publishing industry, author, Writing
“The best editors take the book you give them and don’t make it their own version or vision—they give you the insight and feedback you need to make it even more yours.”
— Kiersten White
Tagged: Editors, book editors, Writing, Publishing, publishing a book, publishing a novel
“The only updates you need to send an agent reading your query is if you've received an offer of representation or the Nobel Prize. Everything else irrelevant.”
— Kate McKean
Tagged: Writing, Books, publishing a book, Book Publishing, Book Publishing Tips, publishing industry, finding an agent, querying your manuscript, manuscript
“The hard thing about publishing is you need professional feedback to grow your skills, but you can't get professional feedback until you have skills. I feel like this is why so many people lose hope in the query trenches. The solution: Take a class, go to a conf.,  join a group.”
— Delilah S. Dawson
Tagged: Publishing, publishing a book, publishing industry, Writing, writer's advice
“Let's say you write a book. You get an agent. Your agent thinks the book is flawless and requests no changes. She sells it to an editor. The editor thinks the book is flawless and requests no changes. THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED. IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN. STOP IMAGINING IT.

So if you want to be traditionally published, you've got to grow accustomed to having other cooks in your kitchen. That doesn't mean they're going to turn your pumpkin pie into a kale salad. That means they're going to make your stew more delicious. It's a team effort.”
— Delilah S. Dawson, via twitter.com
Tagged: publishing a book, getting published, writing truth, Writer's Truth
“Every book can't be a bestseller, obviously, and they know that. Publishers buy plenty of books that are well written to fill out their lists. That's why we have midlisters and quiet books. That's why I have a career.”
— Delilah S. Dawson, via twitter.com
Tagged: Writing, Writing Advice, Writer's Truth, publishing a book, getting published
“Another painful writing truth = You can follow every bit of advice, do everything you're supposed to do, and still not succeed the 1st time. Writing = art. It's not about ticking all the boxes. Your story must, above all, compel. If it doesn't, you've got to figure out why.

There's this thing we call LIFT -- this unteachable, unforceable element of a book that makes it fill your heart with excitement. It makes a series sticky, makes a character someone you care about like they're real. It's a tough code to crack. Agents can see it. You need it.

The slush pile = your reaction to the test is part of the test. If you get 5 query rejections and want to quit, this might not be the job for you. You've got to find your reason to push through the self-doubt and fear. How much are you willing to fail?

But I can tell you with 100% accuracy when your book ISN'T ready and when you SHOULDN'T query, and that is December 1, after you've won NaNoWriMo. Do yourself a favor and edit that book properly. Do your work before attempting to query. Agents remember garbage queries.

Oh, and a tip for querying and live pitching at conferences: 95% of the time, saying, "This book is like nothing ever written before!" doesn't signal that you're the next JK Rowling. It says you haven't read widely in your genre or have disdain for it. Pick a different hook.

And when I think back to editing my first 2 books, the pre-agent books, I remember how hard I was on myself. I was learning a new skill set. I wasn't born knowing how to edit a book. It took a few messes and some guidance. No one expects you to get it right the 1st time.”
— Delilah S. Dawson, via twitter.com
Tagged: Writing, Writing Tips, Writing Advice, Editing, publishing a book
“So if you want to know if your edits are improving your book, consider all these points. It doesn't matter how many times you check for typos if you don't have an active plot or your main character doesn't have an arc. The book should feel TIGHTER with each edit.

Here's some tough love: It's very rare that your 1st book is the one that will get an agent or a sale. For most pro writers I know (NOT ALL; DON'T @ ME), our 1st book is great practice that is ultimately trunked. Start writing book 2 while you query. Forward momentum!

How do you know when it's time to trunk your 1st book? * When you honestly can't think of a single way to improve it further * When you've got 60+ rejections and are out of agents to query * When you're sick of it and have a new story idea WRITE THE NEXT BOOK and query again.

The painful truth is that if your goal is to be traditionally published, you can't cling to 1 book forever. You can't write 7 books in the series and expect someone to buy them. You've got to write 1 great book, query it, repeat-- until you get an agent/sale. Period.

And as I say with every one of these writing advice threads: This is all based on my experience in the world of traditional publishing. YMMV. You may disagree. Every journey is different. There are outliers. You do you. May the odds be ever in your favor.”
— Delilah S. Dawson, via twitter.com
Tagged: Writing, Writing Advice, Writing Tips, publishing a book
“If your writing is compelling from page 1, NO ONE CARES WHAT THE TITLE IS. Titles can change. No one rejects an amazing book because the title is bad.”
— Delilah S. Dawson, via twitter.com
Tagged: Writing, Writing Advice, finding an agent, publishing a book
“I'm still with my 1st agent, but from what I hear, some red flags with an agent are:
1. If they take more than a week to return a simple email, more than 6 weeks w edits
2. If you've been working on a book for over a year and still haven't gone on sub.
3. That sinking feeling...”
— Delilah S. Dawson, via twitter.com
Tagged: Writing, publishing a book, agents, finding agents, publishing industry

Featured Posts

50 Paulo Coelho Quotes That Will Soothe Your Aching Soul 24 'Stranger Things' Quotes To Help Hold You Over Until The Second Season Pick Up Lines For Girls 107 Of The Greatest Single Sentences In Literature 18 Grey's Anatomy Quotes That Were All Too Real For Television 50 Quotes That Prove It Takes Strength To Let Your Vulnerable Side Show

About The Authors

This page was created by our editorial team. Each page is manually curated, researched, collected, and issued by our staff writers. Quotes contained on this page have been double checked for their citations, their accuracy and the impact it will have on our readers.

Kelly Peacock is an accomplished poet and social media expert based in Brooklyn, New York. Kelly has a Bachelor's degree in creative writing from Farieligh Dickinson University and has contributed to many literary and cultural publications. Kelly assists on a wide variety of quote inputting and social media functions for Quote Catalog. Visit her personal website here.

Kendra Syrdal is a writer, editor, partner, and senior publisher for The Thought & Expression Company. Over the last few years she has been personally responsible for writing, editing, and producing over 30+ million pageviews on Thought Catalog.