I'm going to have to be impressed and feel confident in the people I'm handing a book to - or I'm not going to do it. Once you hand it to them, you're out. You have no control over it.
Interpretation
Trust is essential when sharing your work with others, as you relinquish control once it is given.
This quote emphasizes the importance of having confidence in the people to whom you entrust your work, particularly in the context of sharing a book. Once a creative work is handed over, the creator loses control over how it is perceived and received, which highlights the need for careful consideration of who receives that work and the implicit trust involved in the process.
In practice
In a motivational speech about creative processes.
I would change very little because I have been very, very fortunate. A lot of things fell into place for me simply by happenstance. When that happens you don't really want to change anything, even if you could. Editorially my regrets are few and for the most part minor. I look back on my first published book and think I held on to it too long, babied it too long.
The fulfillment I get from a good day of writing is addictive and will always bring me back the next day.
I trust the readers to build their own visual images. To me, that's part of the wonder of reading.
That's the irony in the work: the best stories are the worst things that happen. My best times were somebody else's worst.
You can fall in love and make love many times but there is only one bullet with your name etched on the side. And if you are lucky enough to be shot with that bullet then the wound never heals.
I watched 'Kojak' religiously with my father. It was a great bonding time. He loved shows where the stakes were high. Life and death, justice prevailing, things like that. I think that helped set me on the path to what I do now.
Never assume the obvious is true.
Thirty millions, mostly fools.
The best way to defend the bombers is to catch the enemy before it his in position to attack. Catch them when they are taking off, or when they are climbing, or when they are forming up. Don't think you can defend the bomber by circling around him. It's good for the bombers morale, and bad for tactics.
Simplicity is the key to brilliance.
Establish the eternal truth that acquiescence under insult is not the way to escape war.
Life is not quantifiable in terms of age, but I suppose in my fifties I am more grounded and more at ease in my own skin than when I was younger. I have a confidence that I didn't have before from the experiences I've had.
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