Jane Yolen on Creativity, Productivity, and Returning to Scotland

I had the great pleasure of interviewing Jane Yolen, author of literally hundreds, perhaps thousands, of books, poems, and stories. This was such a joy of an interview that I wanted to pull out some of my favorite quotes.

On writing: “The whole thing about writing is paying attention. As writers you have to pay attention to the world. To the world around you, to the larger world, to the inner world. If you’re not paying attention, that poem, that story, that song, that novel will disappear.”

On being a writer: “I get up every morning and get dressed as though going to work, and I sit down and I work. For me writing is joy, and interest, but it’s work as well. It’s my work.”

On productivity, and why she sends something out every day: “If you only send out one book a year, then your chances of getting published have diminished by an enormous amount. You may need to send it to a hundred people, to 365 people, before someone takes it. You have to have the guts for that. It’s not a business for sissies.”