You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you're working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success—but only if you persist.

About Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov ( AZ-im-ov; c. January 2, 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. He wrote or edited...

More quotations from Isaac Asimov

Life is just one damned thing after another.

—Isaac Asimov

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We have an opportunity for everyone in the world to have access to all the world's information. This has never before been possible. Why is ubiquitous information so profound? It's a tremendous equalizer. Information is power.

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I am not dying, not anymore than any of us are at any moment. We run, hopefully as fast as we can, and then everyone must stop. We can only choose how we handle the race.

—Isaac Asimov

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Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest.

—Isaac Asimov

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It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety.

—Isaac Asimov

More quotations tagged with “persistence”

Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.

—Calvin Coolidge

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If they were there for you when you had nothing, they are the ones worth having now. If they only notice you because of what you have gained, are they worth having at all?

—Donna Lynn Hope

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Successful writers are not the ones who write the best sentences. They are the ones who keep writing.

—Bonnie Friedman

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It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with my problems longer.

—Albert Einstein

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I thought I was in love. And when you think you’re in love, you are willing to stick it out and make it work until it is love.

—Becca Fitzpatrick in Silence

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History

11 Jul 2015 Added
26 Oct 2026 Wording changed

Previous wording

You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you're working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success - but only if you persist.