Ian Rankin Quotes

More people have more access to more readers for less money than ever before in history. It means a lot of dross; but it means a lot of very talented people can find and nurture a readership in ways that were not possible twenty years ago. From a creative perspective, that is all that writing is about.

Twitter and social media have so changed the game for filmmakers, but especially for artists. It shrinks the world and gives chance to feel like they know you. But it's a blessing and a curse. It can help build you up, but there's also such anonymity.

One of the things about being on Twitter, for me, is mostly about just being on the pulse of what people are interested in, what people are doing and what people are looking for. I look at entertainment projects and storytelling, and I really try to think about what people want.

People ask me 'Why you want to do another magazine - 10 years at 'Vogue,' a great magazine? Why do you want to make a new one? It's so difficult and there's already so many.' I wanted to do something new, bring a new vision.

People always ask why I stay in the online space versus going to TV or film, like most people would do, and the answer is that there's opportunity for innovation online - not only innovation in storytelling, but also innovation in how you interact with your audience and that is very fulfilling to me personally.

If you go on my Instagram, you're not going to see the same content you'll see on my YouTube. Instagram has become the new magazine. It's much more editorial and about perfect moments that are captured. Snapchats are funny, real moments that you want to share. On YouTube, it's more structured, more storytelling.

The social media thing is insane: the constant engagement with the public, not even just your fans. It's not really about the music; it's about how you can be seen.

I spend a lot of time on Facebook and Twitter writing all day long because I feel it's my job to entertain people.

I think social media is... really cool in the sense that I don't think that a writer like me would've found a readership if maybe Instagram wasn't there.

Every single path is so different, but I would definitely say that the idea of what a writer is or should be is not a thing anymore. Everyone is redefining publishing, writing, and storytelling in general.

It's urgent that companies tell their own stories on digital platforms.

With social media, the gatekeepers are our followers. It has opened so many doors for me not only musically, but fashion-wise as well.

If you have written something that the film people want, like a book, it does give you a way in.

People do write books.

I don't usually watch a lot of TV, but 'Mad Men' changed my perspective. I admire Matthew Weiner who came up with the idea and wrote such a great TV series, and the broadcasting company for being bold enough to air such a series.

I think stories get better the more people try to amuse themselves.

I am, really, a great writer; my only difficulty is in finding great readers.

Twitter is great to connect with fans and be transparent. I enjoy that aspect about it. But really, I'm still trying to figure it out.

Imagination, it turns out, is a great deal like reporting in your own head. Here is a paradox of fiction-writing. You are crafting something from nothing, which means, in one sense, that none of it is true. Yet in the writing, and perhaps in the reading, some of a character's actions or lines are truer than others.

Let me warn you, if you start chasing after views, you'll be left without bread and without views.

To be a successful Viner, you have to find your own style and be consistent. That will help you stand out from the rest.

If you're one of the hundreds of thousands of people out there toiling over your unpublished manuscript, trying to make your way across that vast ocean in a bathtub, I can only say this to you: keep paddling. Well, either that or start vlogging.

You could have a zillion Facebook followers. Those people don't buy records. It's about a hundred to one...Record companies, they don't have any money, so they see social media as the free marketing... So... 'Billy, light yourself on fire and stand upside down, and that'll market the record.'

My dad is a great writer. Naturally talented, naturally charming. He embodies that back-in-the-day cool.

Once, I optioned a novel and tried to do a screenplay on it, which was great fun, but I was too respectful. I was only 100 pages into the novel and I had about 90 pages of movie script going. I realized I had a lot to learn.