You know, it's sort of common wisdom among New York publishers

The words of Chad Harbach—“You know, it's sort of common wisdom among New York publishers that short story collections don't make money.”—speak not only to the practical world of commerce, but also to the eternal tension between art and profit. Within them lies the lament that the beauty of the short story, compact and powerful, is often undervalued in a market that hungers for the grander weight of the novel. The phrase “common wisdom” reveals not truth, but the hardened beliefs of an industry that measures worth in coin rather than spirit.

This utterance reminds us that the fate of literature often lies not in the hands of its dreamers, but in the ledgers of those who sell it. The short story collection, though capable of distilling entire lifetimes into a handful of pages, struggles to find its place in a world that prizes profit over subtlety. Yet this does not diminish the art itself. Rather, it highlights the courage of those who persist in writing short stories, knowing their creations may not yield wealth, but will endure as treasures of the imagination.

History offers us the radiant example of Anton Chekhov, master of the short story. Though he never sought riches, his works captured the small, intricate details of human life with such clarity that they continue to speak across centuries. Publishers may have seen little gold in such collections, but Chekhov’s legacy shines brighter than many novels that once lined the shelves of wealth-driven markets. His life is proof that the short story is not barren ground, but a field where eternal truths grow.

The quote also reflects the danger of common wisdom itself. What is widely believed is not always what is right. When profit blinds judgment, art risks being silenced. Yet again and again, writers rise to defy this wisdom, creating works that, though unprofitable in their own time, sow seeds of greatness for the future. In this struggle, the short story becomes a symbol of integrity, of creating for the sake of truth rather than coin.

Let this wisdom endure: do not let the worth of art be measured solely in money. The short story, though often dismissed, carries within it the same magic, the same wisdom, the same eternity as the longest novel. As Chad Harbach reminds us, the world of publishers may cling to its common wisdom, but the true value of literature is not in sales, but in the way it enlarges the heart and awakens the soul.