Susan Orlean

Being a writer means you are running a small business, manufacturing sentences, and you are the owner of the business, and the foreman of the factory, and the guy working on the production line, and the person driving the truck to deliver the sentences to your customers. You run the show (net positive) and you take your lumps when things go wrong (net negative). You have freedom (the perks of owning your own business) but you only have yourself to depend on. You are an entrepreneur. There is no benevolent boss in a room somewhere who will make sure you’re always okay.

SUSAN ORLEAN