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Did you ever get discouraged when you were starting out?

My first book, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, was not distributed well when it first appeared in 1978. The book was difficult for parents and teachers to find. It never sold very many copies, but I got lots of fan letters that greatly encouraged me. Still, even though I was uplifted by the attention, supporting myself as a writer still looked like a rough proposition at the time.