No matter how many times your work has been accepted, rejections will still weigh you down. We tell ourselves we won't get discouraged but we do. Sometimes, it is all we can do not to erase our data and get on with our lives.
But those who are writers must keep on writing no matter what. It is something we feel compelled to do. Maybe that doesn't sound so great but, when you are rejected, you are in great company.
It is a statistical anomaly have your work accepted first time, every time. Hell, it isn't a long-shot, it is impossible. And if those thoughts don't get you back into the trenches, maybe there is one last thing I can do.
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Quotes from Rejections of Famous Writers
‘It is impossible to sell animal stories in the USA’ George Orwell's "Animal Farm"
‘You’re welcome to le Carré – he hasn’t got any future.’ John le Carré's "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
‘I haven’t really the foggiest idea about what the man is trying to say… Apparently the author intends it to be funny – possibly even satire – but it is really not funny on any intellectual level … From your long publishing experience you will know that it is less disastrous to turn down a work of genius than to turn down talented mediocrities.’ Joseph Heller's "Catch-22"
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Writers' Rejections Numbered
1. Margaret Mitchell-"Gone with the Wind"-Rejected 38 times
2. Madeleine L’Engle-"A Wrinkle in Time"-Rejected 26 times
3. J.K. Rowling-"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"-Rejected at least nine times
4. William Golding-"Lord of the Flies"-Rejected 20 times
5. John Grisham was rejected nearly thirty times between agents and editors.
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Judy Blume Quote
"Determination and hard work are as important as talent." (She would know, she was rejected constantly for two years.)
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If all of this doesn't convince you. Take a listen to this:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14453550
Keep going writers!
-Jennifer Jackson
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