Celeste Ng Quotes

Writing is the only profession where no one considers you ridiculous if you earn no money.

I have earned enough money in my life. When I started my career, for about 10 years, I told myself I want to make money. Now, I just want to do different roles.

I began as a journalist for my pocketbook and a poet for my soul.

Zombie books were going to be my passion projects, but certainly not pay the bills. I thought I was going to have to get a real job on a sitcom or something, and have my zombie books to remind myself I was still a writer at heart. I never thought I could actually pay my bills and write what I wanted.

I confess that reading proofs is a pleasure. It stimulates and inspires me.

I knew I'd have to go to work in real estate or something else or I could never finish my novel.

I've always been interested in both writing and music. When I first started getting published, I also worked as rehearsal pianist for the Boston Ballet, touring with them all over the U.S.A. and Europe - I wasn't making enough money from writing to support myself.

I'm interested in generating work for myself. I have trouble with this waiting-for-the-phone-to-ring lifestyle, especially after drama school, which was so creatively fulfilling.

Fortunately, now I've got myself in a position where things are about story and not money. In my earlier career, it was more about getting my foot in the door and to get enough money to live, to be perfectly honest.

To make money in New York, you have to add gigs when starting out, so while I was acting quite a bit, I would do modeling.

Career-driven millennials are strategic about working obsessively while they are single and earning enough money to afford advanced education. Most are patient enough to wait until 30 or later to develop their dream.

The more you live, the better an actor you are, but maybe I'd like to do something else on the side. Something to pay the bills as well.

In my mid 30's, after a decade or so of giving full time to the music thing and finding myself with about $10 in the bank and no assets other than my musical equipment, I realized I needed to get serious about making a living.

I had casually rented an apartment that cost $75 a month because I expected my writing to pay my way.

I would recommend, definitely, developing a 'day job' that you like - don't expect to make money writing!

I worked full time jobs, basically doing manual labor until I could make enough money supporting myself as a musician.

Starting out, iRobot was not an economic rocket ship. It took six and a half years before we had enough money in the bank at the beginning of each month to make payroll. We always made it - we paid salaries at the end of the month, and I always had four weeks to figure things out.

I think it's important to be able to say that you did live a normal life and struggled to make ends meet. It all has to do with work ethic and how I apply myself to my awesome job now. I've always been used to working because I've been working since I was four.

I don't believe we are supposed to go through life defeated and not having enough money to pay our bills or send our kids to college.

Unlike the traditional athlete, I've got to do more than just engage in my sport to put food on the table. When I'm done running, it's straight to the office.

Is there not some place within your gift where I can earn a decent support for myself, my wife, and child? I have not heard of a single author, not even a small one like myself, who has been placed under obligation to the Republican party. And yet I think the Republican party is under some obligation to us authors.

When I was young in the business, I felt anything I wanted to buy personally and professionally was always too expensive.

I think, always, with a new book, I get nervous. I think mostly it is because work is really important to me, and a book doing well is important because it buys you another one. Not because of the money but if you keep doing interesting work, work that people like, they will want you to do more, and offers that are interesting come in.

My translation work has been pretty separate from my fiction, as it was basically an accidental side project that turned into a separate and parallel career.

I'm fortunate in having journalism as a sideline to pay the bills, and I essentially do it in order to take as long as I want with books.