105 Quotes About Authorship

Authors who moan with praise for their editors always seem to reek slightly of the Stockholm syndrome.

I consider myself a Nordic author. But I do not know exactly what that is. I think it has something to do with time, landscapes, weather and language: a slow melancholic attitude, interrupted by dramatic emotions, like a stone in water.

I don't know. Sometimes I try to say what's on my mind and it comes out sounding like I ate a dictionary and I'm shitting pages. Sorry

Don't be afraid! We won't make an author of you, while there's an honest trade to be learnt, or brick-making to turn to.

Begitu seorang pengarang mati, tugasnya sebagai pengarang tidak dapat diambil alih orang lain. Sebaliknya, kalau dekan, camat, atau mantri polisi mati, dalam waktu singkat akan ada orang yang dapat dan mampu menggantikannya.

Pada masa itu sering saya menjawab pertanyaan yang kadang-kadang diajukan kepada saya, "Mengapa Saudara menjadi pengarang?" dengan, "Karena saya tak dapat bekerja lain. Kalau saya bisa jadi importir atau eksportir, tentu saya akan menjadi importir atau eksportir.

That's the thing about writers -on one hand evrything is sacred to them, but, on the other, nothing really is.

A new book is very much like a child. Sooner or later it must go out into the world and succeed or fail on its own, usually leaving behind one or two loving people filled with concern and guilt and wondering if they had truly done all they could have to prepare their issue for the cruel marketplace of life.

Writing to please all tastes is like cooking without seasoning...