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I've been writing since I'm five years old. I've been writing books since high school - junior high, high school. I write every single day. I never thought I'd be published.

It's taken me 15 years to feel I might be able to write and publish short stories, and for the assiduous checks of the industry to allow some through.

I didn't make any money from my writing until much later. I published about 80 stories for nothing. I spent on literature.

I started off as a journalist when I was young and I did not get paid unless I wrote three stories a day.

I began writing seriously in my mid-20s and didn't publish my first book until I was 41.

I coauthored my first nonfiction book by the time I was 25. I have been involved in nonfiction documentaries, newspapers, TV and internet since that time.

The only reason for being a professional writer is that you can't help it.

I was 40 years old before I became an overnight success, and I'd been publishing for 20 years.

I was a book editor for nine years. I'm familiar with the opposite experience, bracing myself for the likelihood that no one would want to publish my book.

Somewhere along the line, I realized that I liked telling stories, and I decided that I would try writing. Ten years later, I finally got a book published. It was hard. I had no skills. I knew nothing about the business of getting published. So I had to keep working at it.