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There are many more want-to-be writers out there than good editors.
Stephen Ambrose
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote highlights the imbalance between aspiring writers and qualified editors in the literary world.

Stephen Ambrose points out the disparity in the writing and publishing industry, suggesting that while many people dream of being writers, there are far fewer who possess the skills and expertise to edit and refine those writings into a polished product. This emphasizes the importance of quality editing in ensuring that writing reaches its full potential.

Themes

WritingEditingLiteratureAspirationQuality

In practice

Example use cases

In a workshop for aspiring authors, you might say, 'Remember, there are many more want-to-be writers out there than good editors.'

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At the core, the American citizen soldiers knew the difference between right and wrong, and they didn't want to live in a world in which wrong prevailed. So they fought, and won, and we all of us, living and yet to be born, must be forever profoundly grateful.
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Lieutenant Welsh remembered walking around among the sleeping men, and thinking to himself that 'they had looked at and smelled death all around them all day but never even dreamed of applying the term to themselves. They hadn't come here to fear. They hadn't come to die. They had come to win.
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Within Easy Company they had made the best friends they had ever had, or would ever have. They were prepared to die for each other; more important, they were prepared to kill for each other.
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There are many rules of good writing, but the best way to find them is to be a good reader.
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