"This sort of encouragement is vital for any writer. And lastly the publication of Touching the Flame, which was on hold for two years and went through a few publishers before finding a stable home"
About this Quote
There’s a quiet drama in Kane’s phrasing: the “vital” encouragement isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s life support. He’s not romanticizing the solitary genius myth; he’s sketching the real ecosystem that keeps writers producing when the work is uncertain, unpaid, or simply ignored. The line reads like a gratitude note, but it’s also a corrective to the fantasy that talent automatically finds its audience.
The second sentence slips into the industry’s less glamorous mechanics. “Lastly” signals a ledger of milestones, the kind writers assemble when they need to prove-to themselves as much as anyone else-that progress happened. “On hold for two years” compresses a long stretch of suspended animation: drafts revisited, momentum stalled, confidence tested. He doesn’t name the reasons, which is telling. Publishing delays are often impersonal and opaque, and that vagueness captures how writers experience them: as weather rather than a clear argument.
“Went through a few publishers” is an understatement with teeth. It implies rejection, shifting priorities, maybe changes in editorial staff or market taste. Kane’s most revealing choice is “stable home.” Books don’t just get released; they get adopted. He frames publication less as a triumphal finish line than as a search for caretakers who won’t drop the project when the next season’s list arrives.
Under the calm surface, the intent is twofold: to credit support systems and to normalize the grind. For emerging writers reading between the lines, it’s a permission slip to keep going while the industry keeps you waiting.
The second sentence slips into the industry’s less glamorous mechanics. “Lastly” signals a ledger of milestones, the kind writers assemble when they need to prove-to themselves as much as anyone else-that progress happened. “On hold for two years” compresses a long stretch of suspended animation: drafts revisited, momentum stalled, confidence tested. He doesn’t name the reasons, which is telling. Publishing delays are often impersonal and opaque, and that vagueness captures how writers experience them: as weather rather than a clear argument.
“Went through a few publishers” is an understatement with teeth. It implies rejection, shifting priorities, maybe changes in editorial staff or market taste. Kane’s most revealing choice is “stable home.” Books don’t just get released; they get adopted. He frames publication less as a triumphal finish line than as a search for caretakers who won’t drop the project when the next season’s list arrives.
Under the calm surface, the intent is twofold: to credit support systems and to normalize the grind. For emerging writers reading between the lines, it’s a permission slip to keep going while the industry keeps you waiting.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
|---|
More Quotes by Paul
Add to List
