Talent is what you possess; genius is what possesses you.

I never cease to be amazed why some of my friends became famous and others, just as talented, didn't. I've come to suspect it's a matter of wanting fame or not, and those who don't want it, don't get it.

In matters like writing and painting, a man does what he has to do - if he has to write, why then, he writes; and if he doesn't feel the urgent need of writing, there are dozens of professions in which it is easier to earn a comfortable living.

Be kind and considerate with your criticism... It's just as hard to write a bad book as it is to write a good book.

It is the fear of being as dependent as a young child, while not being loved as a child is loved, but merely being kept alive against one's will.

Authors are sometimes like tomcats: They distrust all the other toms but they are kind to kittens

Writing offers fairly large rewards to a few successful people, but the rewards come late, and most writers are failures.