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Often something comes in from which you can see that the person is good, the book may not be perfect as it is, and the person doesn't want to do a re-write. That's something we do almost nothing of.

It isn't as if a writer merely records life as it unfurls. Reality does not automatically transcribe as literature; real people are not shapely, compelling characters to be harvested. Charming facts and sharp observations rarely slide seamlessly into whatever narrative is at hand.

Humans are very complex; I definitely have a new respect for authors that are able to write books nonstop. It's an incredible talent.

Writers are not just people who sit down and write. They hazard themselves. Every time you compose a book your composition of yourself is at stake.

I know that books seem like the ultimate thing that's made by one person, but that's not true. Every reading of a book is a collaboration between the reader and the writer who are making the story up together.

Authors are ordinary people who usually start to live apart, in the imagination, because they don't fit in with normal, healthy people.

The writer's job is to let the books speak for themselves eventually.

The truth is that every writer, whether it's fiction or nonfiction, is trying to write something truly original and that's what I think I'm doing.

As a writer, you live in such isolation. It's hard to imagine your book has a life beyond you.