Rejection

Did you know that “Dr. Seuss,” the wildly popular children’s author, was rejected by 27 publishers before a friend published his first book? Margaret Mitchell’s classic Gone With The Wind was rejected 38 times.

 The Help received 60 rejections!!

Kathryn Stockett, author of THE HELP states - "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."

Within a month of submitting the first manuscript to publishing houses, the creative team behind the CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL series got turned down 33 consecutive times. Publishers claimed that "anthologies don't sell" and the book was "too positive." Total number of rejections? 140. Then, in 1993, the president of Health Communications took a chance on the collection of poems, stories, and tidbits of encouragement. Today, the 65-title series has sold more than 80 million copies in 37 languages.

MASH the famous TV show inspired by a successful film, inspired by the novel, was rejected 21 times before seeing the light of day. 

If it hadn't been for Stephen King's wife, Tabitha, the iconic image of a young girl in a prom dress covered in pig's blood would not exist. King received 30 rejections for his story of a tormented girl with telekinetic powers, and then he threw it in the trash. Tabitha fished it out. King sent his story around again and, eventually, Carrie was published. The novel became a classic in the horror genre and has enjoyed film and TV adaptations as well. Sometimes all it takes is a little encouragement from someone who believes in you.

Where am I at?  Well I lost hope of keeping track but I should be somewhere around the fifteen rejection mark.