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An author spends months writing a book, and maybe puts his heart's blood into it, and then it lies about unread till the reader has nothing else in the world to do.
W. Somerset Maugham
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The dedication of an author can go unrecognized until the right moment for a reader arises.

W. Somerset Maugham's quote reflects on the emotional and temporal investment that authors put into their writing. It emphasizes the idea that despite the extensive effort and passion that goes into creating a book, the work may remain ignored until the circumstances align for a reader to appreciate it. This serves as a commentary on both the nature of literature and the unpredictable journey of an author's work into the hands of readers at the right moment in their lives.

Themes

WritingBooksReadingDedicationAuthors

In practice

Example use cases

Use this quote during a book launch to highlight the effort writers put into their work.

More from W. Somerset Maugham

The common idea that success spoils people by making them vain, egotistic and self-complacent is erroneous; on the contrary it makes them, for the most part, humble, tolerant and kind.
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There in the mist, enormous, majestic, silent and terrible, stood the Great Wall of China. Solitarily, with the indifference of nature herself, it crept up the mountain side and slipped down to the depth of the valley.
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