Your manuscript is both good and original, but the part that is good is not original and the part that is original is not good. - Samuel Johnson
A good many young writers make the mistake of enclosing a stamped, self-addressed envelope, big enough for the manuscript to come back in. This is too much of a temptation to the editor. - Ring Lardner
There is no loss bigger than losing your manuscript, not even love. - Himanshu Chhabra
Remember, it is no sign of weakness or defeat that your manuscript ends up in need of major surgery. This is a common occurrence in all writing, and among the best writers. - William Strunk Jr.
What I had to face, the very bitter lesson that everyone who wants to write has got to learn, was that a thing may in itself be the finest piece of writing one has ever done, and yet have absolutely no place in the manuscript one hopes to publish. - Thomas Wolfe
Turning a manuscript into a book is easy; getting the manuscript ready to become a book is hard. - A.P. Fuchs
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. - Isaac Asimov
You know your heart and soul are stapled to that manuscript, but what we see are the words on the paper - Teresa Nielsen Haydense
This manuscript of yours that has just come back from another editor is a precious package. Don't consider it rejected. Consider that you've addressed it 'to the editor who can appreciate my work' and it has simply come back stamped 'Not at this address'. Just keep looking for the right address. - Barbara Kingsolver
When you print out your manuscript and read it, marking up with a pen, it sometimes feels like a criminal returning to the scene of a crime. - Don Roff
Edit your manuscript until your fingers bleed and you have memorized every last word. Then, when you are certain you are on the verge of insanity...edit one more time! - C.K. Webb
It is difficult for me to commit to an manuscript. Once, I get finished writing it. I get this feeling of adrenaline, and satisfaction. This is when the amusement begins, for the writer's side of me. - Mary Sage Nguyen
My congratulations to you, sir. Your manuscript is both good and original; but the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good. - Samuel Johnson