I got a new bookcase for my office last week, and while I was reshelving, I came across a little paperback book that has brought me a lot of pleasure over the years. As you are all writers and fellow book-lovers, I thought that you might enjoy it, too. It's called The Writer's Quotation Book: A Literary Companion, edited by James Charlton. It's a collection of quotations by famous writers and editors that was created as a giveaway for a booksellers' convention, but it proved such a hit, it was subsequently published.
I don't know about you, but I find it illuminating to read what great writers had to say about our craft. Who can deny the truth of Red Smith's conclusion that "There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein?" In case the name Red Smith doesn't ring a bell, he was one of the most popular sportswriters of his day. Fess up now—when you are facing the keyboard at 4:35 a.m. with a deadline looming, that is exactly what writing feels like.
And here's what James M. Barrie wrote about being a newly published author: "For several days after my first book was published I carried it around in my pocket and took surreptitious peeps at it to make sure the ink had not faded." Can't you just see the author of Peter Pan sitting on a bench in Hyde Park, peeking into his pocket to make sure the first copy of his first book hadn't turned to fairy dust?
But I think my favorite entry may be this anonymous quote: "You know how it is in the kid's book world: It's just bunny eat bunny." Pretty awful, I know, but it still makes me laugh.
Anyone else out there who has favorite quotations to share? I'd love to read them.
Melanie Donovan,
Executive Editor, HarperCollins Publishers
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