Outside of having children, or dying, nothing more dramatic or life-changing can happen to you than to see your work in print. [I wouldn't call dying "life-changing."] Oh, maybe winning the U.S. Open or the American's Cup, but I'm not sure about that, because those are fleeting moments, gone almost as soon as they happen. When you have something in print, even if it's a recipe for heirloom tomato aspic [I have no idea what that is], you've bought a ticket in immortality's lottery. Part of you is floating in another universe, and until every last copy of whatever-it-is, is burned, smashed and gone, you are, because of that little scrap, not bound by the rules of time. [Good heavens, get a grip. Usually breaking into print is a letdown. Immortality?]
Carolyn See, Making a Literary Life, 2002
Carolyn See, Making a Literary Life, 2002
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