Throughout this writer’s journey, Google has been my friend. It’s helped me figure things out from a practical standpoint, it’s made it so I never feel completely alone. There are so many great resources out there for writers—especially now. (Reedsy is fantastic). And there are also endless communities to join—as in real, recently-bathed-people-getting-together-in-person types of communities—or, if you’re an introvert like me, ones you can access from the sweatpants-clad, less-than-ideal-hygiene comfort of your living room sofa.
One of the things I did early on—something I still do regularly when I’m in need of a little salve on the wound—is google “famous writers who were rejected multiple times.” And lordy, it is a treasure trove of “take that, naysayers!” delight.
Today I’m going to share a couple of my favorites—some downright epic rejections—but with a few caveats.
First: Taste truly is a very personal thing. Just peruse reviews on Goodreads and you will quickly discover how true that is. Books I adore are often slighted, those I think are schlock, are revered. And that’s as it should be—no one person is the arbiter of taste or intrinsic value.
Some of the rejections I’ve included I might actually agree with—although I won’t say which ones. There are plenty of people out there willing to weigh in and say negative things—I choose to not be one of them.
The main point of sharing these rejections is this: Just because you hear that ‘no’—doesn’t mean you aren’t on your way to a yes. (And this goes not only for publishing, but for job searches, fundraising—heck, even dating.) As a very good entrepreneurial friend of mine says, “That no you just got, gets you one step closer to a yes.”
Here are just few of my favorite epic rejections:
“Stick To Teaching.” Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
“An irresponsible holiday story that will never sell.” Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows
“It is so badly written.” Doubleday later takes a gamble and Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code sells 80 million copies.
“You have no business being a writer and should give up.” Undaunted, Zane Grey carries on. There are over 250 million copies of his books in print.
“Anthologies don’t sell.” 140 rejections later, Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen’s Chicken Soup for the Soul series sell 125 million copies.
“Undisciplined, rambling and thoroughly amateurish writer.” Jacqueline Susann doesn’t lose faith and Valley of the Dolls is published and sells 30 million copies.
And finally, from Kathryn Stockett:
“In the end, I received 60 rejections for The Help. But letter number 61 was the one that accepted me. After my five years of writing and three and a half years of rejection, an agent named Susan Ramer took pity on me. What if I had given up at 15? Or 40? Or even 60? Three weeks later, Susan sold The Help to Amy Einhorn Books.”
The Help went on to sell 7 million copies, spent more than 100 weeks on the NYTimes Best Seller list, and was made into a major motion picture.
1 down, 99 Rejections to go….
The power of community - and shared experiences!
LOVE this list! Puts it all in perspective.