Famous Rejections

Many great writers have only become successful because they persevered. They faced rejection, discouragement, and deterrents. But they persevered with their creative writing.

Margaret Mitchell got rejection letters from 38 different publishers before anyone finally deigned to publish her novel, Gone With The Wind. How many talented writers are there who gave up without ever making it into print because of misguided rejection?

Rudyard Kipling managed to sell one article to The San Francisco Examiner in 1889, but the paper then rejected any future submissions, saying, “You just don’t know how to use the English language.”

John Kennedy Toole, meanwhile, received so many rejection letters for his novel, A Confederacy Of Dunces, that he finally killed himself. Only the persistence of his bereaved mother led to the eventual publication of his novel and its receipt of the Pulitzer Prize in 1980.

Other famous authors whose works were initially rejected include Richard Bach – Jonathan Livingston Seagull (140), Stephen King – Carrie (30), Richard Adams – Watership Down (26), Thor Heyerdahl – The KonTiki Expedition,(18) Laurence J. Peter – The Peter Principle (16), JK Rowling – Harry Potter books (12) and even Beatrix Potter – The Tale of Peter Rabbit (8). She finally published it herself.

Kenneth Taylor’s idea for the Living Bible was rejected by Moody Publishing House. He published it himself from his own garage and within the first ten years over 50 million copies had been sold. It led to the establishment of Tyndale House, Publishers of the runaway successful “Left Behind” series.

So in the words of Winston Church, “Never give in! Never give in! Never, never, never, never – in nothing great or small, large or petty. Never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.”

Source: Nico Bougas

Go here for information about the exciting Writing Seminars in Durban and Johannesburg, April 24 and 28 with Dan Poynter, author of the Self-Publishng Manual and myself.