I was going to be the best failed novelist in Paris. That was certainly not the worst thing in the world that one could be.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
The best author will be the one who is ashamed to become a writer.
I couldn't have been the novelist I was without being the journalist I was.
I was too prissy, too refined, too abstemious, too French to be a good American writer.
My first novel was rejected by some of the most eminent publishers in the world. Starting again was a real wrench.
I was incredibly lucky that my first book found a large and loyal readership. It changed my life - from being a very withdrawn adult to living in Paris as a full-time writer. It has also given me enormous confidence.
When I was a child, writing was the worst possible choice of a career in my family.
I didn't know it was possible to be successful as a writer, so I wasn't afraid to fail.
Paris is an unsolved puzzle. She inspires me in a way that other places don't. And she demands more of me. Just try to write about her without bumping into cliche after cliche.
Nobody told me how hard it was going to be to get published. I wrote four novels that nobody wanted, sent them out all over, collected hundreds and hundreds of rejection slips.
I wrote the worst novel ever.