Tony DiTerlizzi Quotes

When I write a book, I'm making it the best book I can.

No one writes a great book every time out, or even a good book.

Having reached the halfway mark in the alphabet, my prime focus is on writing each new book as well as I can.

When I'm writing the text for a book like 'Little White Rabbit,' I read it aloud, alone, in my studio, again and again and again - because the rhythm has to be exactly right. After I get my manuscript to the point where I think it is perfect, I begin to think about what I want the art to look like.

It depends on the book and what else is going on during my life, but it usually takes me about six months to write and revise the first draft.

The minimum I need is six months to allow for dithering, procrastination and the research. The research times varies from book to book; some are faster because they're based off resources I have at my disposal.

'One With You' was the hardest book I have ever written. I rewrote it three times.

I always want to make sure the book I'm writing is the best book I can deliver.

I take a very long time to write my books - from five to ten years.

Writing books takes a long time, and one thing a writer must do is learn to live with his or her project.

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

You write a lot of books; you hope you get better.

Each of my books took roughly one and a half years to write. Some may have taken a shorter time to write the draft and a longer time to revise, while others were the opposite.

I try very hard to write the best book I possibly can, every time.

Some stories or passages are more difficult and demand more fussing with than others, but, in general, I'm a two-draft writer rather than a six-draft writer, or whatever.

People think writing a children's book is something you could do in an afternoon but it's actually really hard.

Let's put it this way: if you are a novelist, I think you start out with a 20 word idea, and you work at it and you wind up with a 200,000 word novel. We, picture-book people, or at least I, start out with 200,000 words and I reduce it to 20.

I really have reached a point where I can write a book about all of this.

I knew that if I was going to write a book, I was going to have to read one, too.

I give each book however long it needs to be the best I can make it.

When I write a book, I write very cleanly from page one to the last page. I hardly ever write out of sequence.

I am never really surprised at the way my books take shape. They are just not as perfect as I'd like them to be.

Every writer has to figure out what works best - and often has to select and discard different tools before they find the one that fits.

Becoming an author changes your attitude too. Once you see where books come from, and how they're made, they never seem quite as sacred again.

Each book has been different and has been challenging in its own way to write.