I always think that if I write well enough, the people in my books –– the world of those books –– will somehow survive. In time the shoddy and trendy work will fall away and the good books will rise to the top. It’s not reputation that matters, since reputations are regularly pumped up by self-serving agents and publicists and booksellers, by the star machinery of Random House and The New Yorker; what matters is what the author has achieved in the work, on the page. Once it’s between covers, they can’t take it away from you; they have to acknowledge its worth. As a writer, I have to believe that.
'The Lost World of Richard Yates'
[The Boston Review, October/November 1999]
Use the link below to visit the website of North American writer STEWART O'NAN:
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The Write Advice 057: RICHARD YATES
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