Rejections - Part 2

Yesterday I printed several rejection snippets from publishers and agents to now-famous authors.

Today, I'll continue with just a few facts about the number of times famous authors were rejected:

Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, the authors of the first Chicken Soup for the Soul book, received 134 rejections before they decided to self-publish. They were eventually picked up by a major publisher and their Chicken Soup for the Soul franchise is worth millions.

Janet Evanovich submitted her work for 10 years and filled a crate with rejection letters before it was finally accepted. Listen to her interview on The View:

John Grisham's first novel, A Time to Kill, was rejected 25 times before he self-published it. It was later purchased and re-released by one of the major publishers.

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell was rejected 25 times.

Gertrude Stein tried to get her poetry published for 22 years before one poem was accepted for publication.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull was rejected more than 40 times.

Dick Wimmer, author of Irish Wine, tried to get his work published for 25 years. After more than 160 rejections, his book was finally accepted for publication.

But who really persevered?

Louis L'Amour was rejected more than 200 times before his first book sold.

Rejection

If it's one thing most writers must learn to deal with, it's rejection. Sometimes it comes in the form of no answer. Sometimes it's a form letter that doesn't give you any clue as to why the publishers or agents didn't like it. And sometimes it's a nasty opinion of the book that could have easily led to the author giving up.

Fortunately for us, many now-famous authors hung in there after terrible rejection.

Consider the following:

One publisher said about Animal Farm by George Orwell, "It's impossible to sell animal stories."

One publisher said to Stephen King about Carrie, "We are not interested in science fiction that deal with negative utopias. They don't sell." (He went on to get a $300,000 advance for the paperback edition; millions of copies have sold and a movie was made from the book that also grossed millions.)

One publisher said of Catch 22 by Joseph Heller, "I haven't the foggiest idea of what the author is trying to say."

Emily Dickenson was told her poems "are truly devoid of poetic qualities."

Of J.G.Ballard, the author of Crash, it was said, "This author is beyond psychiatric help."

One publisher said of Rudyard Kipling, "You just don't know how to use the English language."

Of The Diary of Anne Frank, it was said, "This girl doesn't have a special perception or feeling that would lift the book above 'curiosity' level."

Lord of the Flies by William Golding was called "an absurd and uninteresting fantasy"

One publisher said of John le Carre after reading The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, "He hasn't got any future."

Have you received any interesting or horrific rejections?