Lisa Jewell Quotes

When I sold my first book, 'A Conspiracy of Tall Men,' it was part of a two-book deal. It wasn't hugely lucrative, but it was enough money for me to quit the paralegal job I had in San Francisco.

One shouldn't say yes in desperation to the first publisher who approaches. New authors especially should wait and weigh their deal and agree only when they are sure that they have landed themselves a good offer.

I would very much like to become a best-selling author.

Hell hath no fury like a hustler with a literary agent.

There are several times when I walked into a room and just felt like such a sham. That's the problem with auditioning.

I feel like I'm the luckiest person alive. I'm always waiting for that phone call: 'Hello. We've just realized you're really a no-talent hillbilly. We've made a horrible mistake and we'd like you to leave now.'

Actors are no strangers to self-doubt, fear, and rejection.

There is always a point when one senses one's lack of skill, the doubt.

In a way, I'm always trying to do something I'm not qualified to do. So I feel that lack of qualification. And I'm scared. And I have a tendency to think things may not/probably won't work out. That's my basic mindset.

Am I about to feel really, really stupid?

I've always been a bit of a self-doubter. I think a lot of actors are.

I wrote a novel, Ghost Road Rules, and as soon as it was done and polished, I began reaching out to agents. I ignored the frequent advice to 'shoot low and try for a low-level agent because they're the only ones that will take a flyer on a new author.' That sounded like bad advice to me.

I used to second guess myself all the time. I can sit there and work in circles when I'm nervous about what I'm doing.

I knew I wasn't a baseball writer. I was scared to death. I really was afraid to talk to players, and I didn't want to go into the press box because I thought I was faking it.

I'm wildly unskilled at what I do. Part of me thinks: 'Why do I think I can pull this off?' but the part of me that has to pay the mortgage thinks: 'Just get on with it!' I'll just keep going until someone discovers I'm no good.

I second-guess myself all the time. I make a decision and then wonder if I made the wrong choice.

The moment I said I'd finished a book, I knew what would happen. There would be a bidding war, and I would end up with someone who'd got the fattest wallet, who had bought it because I'd written Harry Potter. That would have been why.

Even if you are a best-seller you feel insecure because it is all so unpredictable.

No one leaves the edit room thinking, 'Yeah, I nailed that one!' Everyone I know goes into their first premiere or their first screening thinking, 'I screwed up so bad. I'm sorry, I messed up.' It's just a real common feeling.

I'm so loud, as if I know what I'm on about, but deep inside, I'm so insecure. Just a little girl.

Sometimes I panic and think I can't really write.

The trick was really finding the appropriate publisher for each of the projects I'd devised.

I always think that I'm not going to be right for a movie or that there's someone else who can do it better.

Pressure is something you feel when you don't know what you're doing.

I think you have to have a publishing house that offers you some support.