Who doesn't love a compliment? But every compliment comes with a warning: BewareโDo Not Overuse. Go ahead, sniff your compliment. Take a little sip. But don't chew, don't swallow. If you do, you risk abandoning the good work that inspired the compliment in the first place. If that happens, maybe it was the compliment and not the job well done that you were aiming for all along.
Jerry SpinelliIโm not my name. My name is something I wear, like a shirt. It gets worn. I outgrow it, I change it.
Jerry SpinelliIt's a shame publishers send rejection slips. Writers should get something more substantial than a slip that amounts to a pile of confetti. Publishers should send something heavier. Editors should send out rejection bricks, so at the end of a lot of years, you would have something to show besides a wheelbarrow of rejection slips. Instead you could have enough bricks to build a house.
Jerry SpinelliOne of the best things about life is friends. We all agree on that. And yet our shyness with strangers often prevents friendship from ever gaining a foothold. If only we would realize that the other person is probably just as shy as we are and is simply waitingโand hopingโfor us to make the first move.
Jerry Spinelli