In real life, coincidences happen all the time. In novels, they are leapt upon with fury.
Harlan CobenRead
The readers are the ones who let us live our dreams. I try to write books which are really compelling - that you'd take on vacation and rather than going out, you'd read in your hotel room because you had to find out what happened. Hopefully that's what readers are responding to.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Readers play a crucial role in a writer's success by engaging deeply with their stories.
Harlan Coben's quote emphasizes the importance of readers in the literary journey, suggesting that their engagement and enthusiasm for a compelling book allow writers to fulfill their dreams of storytelling. He aspires to create books that captivate readers so much that they prefer staying in to read rather than participating in typical vacation activities.
Themes
ReadersDreamsWritingCompellingBooks
In practice
Example use cases
During a writer's conference, this quote can be shared to highlight the importance of reader engagement.
More from Harlan Coben
All quotes →The ugliest truth, in the end, was still better than the prettiest of lies.
Harlan CobenRead
When you like something and you're pretty good at it and you can make a living doing it, you don't ask why. You just count your blessings and go with it.
Harlan CobenRead
No, I don’t live in heartache. I don’t cry myself to sleep or any of that. I am, I tell myself, over it. But I do feel a void, icky as that sounds. And—like it or not—I still think about her every single day.
Harlan CobenRead
Life may not always fall into neat chapters, and you may not always get the satisfying ending you're looking for, but sometimes a good explanation is all the rewrite you need.
Harlan CobenRead
The most annoying and full- of- crap thing a writer says is, I write only for myself, I don't care if anyone reads it. A writer without a reader doesn't exist.
Harlan CobenRead
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