It was considered very bad form to wish authors on their birthdays 'many happy returns.

As long as you believe in yourself and your own vision, you have something. When you give up that, you are personally bankrupt.

Publishing is no longer simply a matter of picking worthy manuscripts and putting them on offer. It is now as important to market books properly, to work with the bookstore chains to getterms, co-op advertising, and the like. The difficulty is that publishers who can market are most often not the publishers with worthy lists.

Just like a spider with a line of silk! Did you ever see them throw themselves out into space to weave? They're taking a chance, every single time. They got to do it or else they'd never create anything. But I bet it don't feel good, even to a spider.

It was considered very bad form to wish authors on their birthdays 'many happy returns.

The secret to true happiness is low expectations and insensitivity.

As difficult as it is for a writer to find a publisher-admittedly a daunting task-it is twice as difficult for a publisher to sort through the chaff, select the wheat, and profitably publish a worthy list.