Oliver Herford Quotes

I'm really happy to have the chance to talk about the editing process. It's something that I think doesn't get the weight it deserves, especially with the rise of self-publishing.

If you want to write, write it. That's the first rule. And send it in, and send it in to someone who can publish it or get it published. Don't send it to me. Don't show it to your spouse, or your significant other, or your parents, or somebody. They're not going to publish it.

You don't sit up in a cave and write the Great American Novel and know it is utterly superb, and then throw it page by page into the fire. You just don't do that. You send it out. You have to send it out.

I have a problem with blogs - all the best writers benefit from edits.

There are many challenges I face while working on a book. Working within deadlines and schedules is certainly one of the bigger ones for me. I want to create the best possible book I can for my readers with words and pictures - and that takes time to get it just right.

People might be surprised to know how much I throw away. For every page I publish, I throw 10 pages away.

For every issue, I send four pages of finished marginals and they select the ones they need.

Creating a book and creating a collection involve a lot of editing.

The best way to learn to write is to read in the genre you might be interested in; then, you need to actually sit down and write. In a lot of cases, the first book you write will not get published. Do not get hung up on that. Start a second book.

I don't publish anything I haven't worked over 100 times.

With the possible exception of God during the writing of the Bible, every writer in history has needed an editor. So do you.

There are days when the result is so bad that no fewer than five revisions are required. In contrast, when I'm greatly inspired, only four revisions are needed.

Most writers want to share their essay or book much too quickly. Those who accept the pain of hard work and revising are those who get published.

Of every four words I write, I strike out three.

I'm not a speed writer. I write slowly and revise obsessively. The end result tends to be good. That's where my strength is.

I don't spend the day writing. I'll maybe write fresh copy for two hours, and then I'll go back and revise some of it and print what I like and then turn it off.

I rewrite a great deal. I'm always fiddling, always changing something. I'll write a few words - then I'll change them. I add. I subtract. I work and fiddle and keep working and fiddling, and I only stop at the deadline.

During the day, if I don't have any other commitments, I'm usually at my desk writing, revising, or researching anywhere from four to six hours.

I'm not a writer who refuses to talk about a book until I've finished.

I edit as I write. I revise endlessly. I don't go forward until I know that what I've written is as good as I can make it.

Don't talk about writing. Write. Don't show unfinished work to anyone. Don't show finished work to non-writers. Get your opinions, not from friends and family, but by sending your work out to editors. An endless stream of rejection slips means you need to learn more. So learn more.

Writing is probably one-fifth coming up with the stuff, and four-fifths self-editing again and again and again.

Making a book is a craft, like making a clock; it needs more than native wit to be an author.

I write all the time, but you just want to be careful what you put out. That's all. You want to have the confidence that you've done what you need to do to it, because otherwise it's an exercise in vanity.

I must write the book out in my head now, before I sit down.