A Quote by Anita Diament

I got nice rejections explaining that historical fiction was a difficult sell. But I kept trying.

Anita Diament

Quote Topics

Difficult Explaining Fiction Got Historical Historical Fiction Kept Nice Sell Trying

Quote Author

Anita Diament
American - Author
Born: June 27, 1951

I've been typed as historical fiction, historical women's fiction, historical mystery, historical chick lit, historical romance - all for the same book.

Lauren Willig

As much as I love historical fiction, my problem with historical fiction is that you always know what's going to happen.

George R. R. Martin

Historical fiction is actually good preparation for reading SF. Both the historical novelist and the science fiction writer are writing about worlds unlike our own.

Pamela Sargent

The usual way - through a long series of rejections, revising my manuscripts, and kept trying again and again. Finally I was fortunate enough to find a good agent.

Danielle Steel

History buffs expect historical background in historical fiction. Mystery readers expect forensics and police procedure in crime fiction. Westerns - gasp - describe the West. Techno-thriller readers expect to learn something about technology from their fiction.

Edward M. Lerner

I first started writing historical fiction in the late '70s and kept pictures of Kathleen Woodiwiss and Rosemary Rogers on my refrigerator until my first book was published by Avon in 1982. The biggest advantage of this genre for me is that it allows me to blend fact and fiction.

Virginia Henley

Historical novels are about costumery. I think that's the magic and mystery of fiction. I don't want to write historical fiction but I do want the story to have the feel of history. There's a difference.

Chang-Rae Lee

As you see, I bear some resentment and some scars from the years of anti-genre bigotry. My own fiction, which moves freely around among realism, magical realism, science fiction, fantasy of various kinds, historical fiction, young adult fiction, parable, and other subgenres, to the point where much of it is ungenrifiable, all got shoved into the Sci Fi wastebasket or labeled as kiddilit - subliterature.

Ursula K. Le Guin

I'm a Catholic, and I have always been fascinated by not just my religion, but religion in general, in the sense that it is the ultimate brand that they're trying to sell. Whereas Ford is trying to sell cars, the Vatican is trying to sell salvation, which is a much better product to be peddling.

Tom Fontana

We don't sell a watch to give time. We sell a piece of art. We sell an object that represents something to you, you know. It's like you have a nice shirt or a nice jacket. It's like a luxury accessories that can be considered like shoes or like handbags for ladies.

Ricardo Guadalupe

Writers of historical fiction are often faced with a problem: if they include real-life people, how do they ensure that their make-believe world isn't dwarfed by truth? The question loomed large as I began reading 'The Black Tower', Louis Bayard's third foray into historical fiction and fifth novel overall.

Sarah Weinman

It certainly was difficult to sell NAFTA because it's always difficult to sell open markets.

Lawrence Summers

Audrey was a princess, so natural, the camera really loved her... James and I kept each other company during all the rejections. We used to meet, have a cup of coffee and went from office to office to get work and never got work.