“I didn't dare to dream of making money. But now of course, I've made many thousands of dollars sharpening pencils.” Quote by David Rees
“I don't have to work extra hard, but that's because there are a lot of women in my professional network and I have hired a lot of women as full-time writers and part-time columnists.” HardExtrasPart TimeColumnists Author:Ann Friedman
“If editors truly want to improve their byline ratio, they need to stop lamenting the fact that few women journalists send them cold pitches and start taking a hard look at their stable of regular contributors. How many women are on the masthead? How many women columnists or bloggers are on the payroll? This is how real change is going to happen.” IfsWantNeedsLooksRealHardFactsHappensColdJournalistEditorsStableRatiosBloggersColumnistsContributorsReal ChangePayroll Author:Ann Friedman
“I'd always been really intimidated by prose writing.” WritingProseIntimidatedProse Writing Author:David Rees
“I've been really surprised about a lot of the negative comments about artisanal pencil sharpening. Like, it really rubs some people the wrong way.” PeopleWayNegativeCommentPencilsWrong WaySharpeningNegative Comments Author:David Rees
“People think, "Wow, people in America have so much money, they're sending hundreds of pencils to this guy." I don't think those people realize that most people who are buying these pencils are buying them as art objects or conversation pieces.” PeopleThinkingArtAmericaGuyRealizingPiecesObjectsConversationBuyingWowPencilsThis Guy Author:David Rees
“I hardly ever use pencils. I'm left-handed and it's really messy if you're left-handed because of the graphite smudging. I use them more now than I used to because there's, like, 15,000 pencils all over my house.” IfsUseUsedHouseLeftPencilsMessyLeft Handed Author:David Rees
“I don't think I would've ever dared dreaming of becoming a professional cartoonist. I wouldn't set myself up for that disappointment.” ThinkingDreamBecomingDisappointmentCartoonist Author:David Rees
“Nobody could be a professional cartoonist, because you have to do something you don't like to do in order to be a responsible adult and pay the rent.” OrderPayAdultsResponsibleCartoonist Author:David Rees
“I never thought I would make a living as a pencil-sharpener. The first goal was: I don't want to lose money. And then the goal was: I want to see if 100 people buy my pencils. I just kept upping the benchmarks.” PeopleIfsWantFirstsGoalLosesPencilsSharpenerPencil Sharpeners Author:David Rees
“It would be amazing to tell my grandchildren, like, 'Yeah, I was paid to sharpen 1,000 pencils.'” Would BePaidYeahGrandchildrenPencilsMy Grandchildren Author:David Rees