Don't ever write just for a trend or fad, because it's a moving target, and by the time you get your work out there, the trend or fad is gone. Dig deep; don't be afraid to write fiercely. Expose your heart.
Jane YolenRead
If you give up at the first rejection or the first bad review, you will never make it in publishing.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Perseverance in the face of rejection is crucial for success.
This quote emphasizes the importance of resilience in the journey towards success, particularly in the field of publishing. Jane Yolen suggests that facing setbacks, such as rejection or negative feedback, is a natural part of the process and that giving up too soon will prevent one from achieving their goals.
Themes
PerseveranceRejectionSuccessPublishingResilience
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech for aspiring writers.
More from Jane Yolen
All quotes →I don't care whether the story is real or fantastical. I tell the story that needs to be told.
Jane YolenRead
What makes a good book? Scholars and critics have been debating that question for decades. I like books that touch my head and my heart at the same time.
Jane YolenRead
Just write. If you have to make a choice, if you say, 'Oh well, I'm going to put the writing away until my children are grown,' then you don't really want to be a writer. If you want to be a writer, you do your writing... If you don't do it, you probably don't want to be a writer, you just want to have written and be famous—which is very different.
Jane YolenRead
I believe that culture begins in the cradle . . .To do without tales and stories and books is to lose humanity's past, is to have no star map for our future.
Jane YolenRead
Childrens books change lives. Stories pour into the hearts of children and help make them what they become.
Jane YolenRead
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I've written about 2,000 short stories; I've only published 300 and I feel I'm still learning. Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old fashioned virtues of hard, constant labor, he'll eventually make some kind of career for himself as a writer. Ray Bradbury, 1967 interview (Doing the Math - that means for every story he sold, he wrote six "un-publishable" ones. Keep typing!)
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If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.
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Giving yourself permission to lose guarantees a loss.
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Seize today and put as little trust as you can in tomorrow.
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