This is a guest post by the very talented Kiara Halligan, who created the Infographic for GalaxyEssay. I have often written about the subject of author rejections, and this infographic is a great way to show why you should never give up!
Famous author Rejections: Why You Should Never Give Up
A publisher once wrote a rejection letter that simply said ‘It’s badly written’. For the author, it would have spelled doom if he was not persistent. Those three little words said that he had no talent and that he just spends well over a year working hard on something that no one is interested in. Those three little words were soul-crushing.
Or they would be if the author hadn’t persisted. A couple of months later, ‘The Da Vinci Code’ was picked up by a publisher and Dan Brown became one of the most successful authors in the world – at least for a period of time.
Now, say what you want about that book – it’s not a masterpiece, I’ll grant you that – but the story illustrates something most authors face constantly – and that is that persistence in the face of rejection pays off!
A lot of famous authors got their work passed by large publishing companies and sometimes with hilarious excuses. Heck, a publisher wrote that he has no idea what Joseph Heller was talking about in Catch 22 and noted that he thought the writer was trying to be funny. Funny? I can picture the face of that guy’s boss when Catch 22 went on to be a major success.
The point is that writers go through a lot before they get a chance to show the world what they’re all about. If you have writing ambitions, go for it. The following infographic from Galaxyessay by Kiara Halligan will show you that a lot of greats faced rejection, sometimes with hilarious side notes from the publishers, so take a peek!
Who is Kiara Halligan?
Kiara Halligan is an editor, blogger, and contributor to different sites. She also has a keen interest in graphic designing as well and when she is not busy with work, she usually spends her time playing around with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
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I believe everyone will agree that J.K. Rowling is also on of the most famous authors whose work was initially rejected. Such an inspirational post, Nicholas! Thank you!
There’s hope for us yet 🙂
I hear you 😀
Kind of lifted my spirits 😉
Same here 🙂
I actually liked The Da Vinci Code. The imagination and plot behind it fascinate me though I couldn’t warm up to the movie. I’m glad Brown persisted. Maybe it’s because I love my mainstream thriller (I love John Grisham; he’s my favorite author), so I can’t understand when someone accuses Lee Child of being a bad writer. “Too descriptive” at times would be my only complaint.
I’m trying traditional publishing until I can afford my book to be fully professionally edited. If I can’t get an acceptance by then, self-publishing, here I come.
And good to know you accept guest posts. :):)
A guest post by you?? It’d be an honor 🙂
Thanks 🙂
Always good, to realise that many great writers and classic books were rejected.
This will give hope to many, Nicholas!
Best wishes, Pete.
Judging by the comments, I agree 🙂
Love posts like this! I guess there’s hope for us all then. ?
I certainly hope so 🙂
Just goes to show you, doesn’t it? I’d love to see what these publishers had to say when the books were finally published.
I suspect the intern who rejected them had long since moved on 🙂
A comforting post, Nicholas. This message requires repeating now and again. 🙂
Couldn’t agree more 🙂
Great post! Thanks, Nicholas. We all need to be reminded of this. . . 🙂
Absolutely 🙂
I’ve had a few interesting rejections. I thought I might write a book about that sometime.
Leslie
Lol – let me know and I’ll buy it 😀
I have some hum dingers!
Leslie
Oh my! Care to share them in a guest post? 🙂
I’d have to dig them up from a lot of lost files. Maybe someday I’ll do it.
Leslie
Inspiring infograph to remind us to keep going! I don’t know if publishers are still as rude in their comments as they were decades ago. But nonetheless, there are far too many rejections for wonderful books. Say yes to self publishing! 🙂
True dat 😀
😉
Truly inspiring!
Indeed it is! Thanks and welcome 🙂
I think most rejections these days are form letters – I’ve had my share. The industry is rapidly changing and I think there is more change to come! It’s a fascinating time to be publishing. 🙂
Fascinating, terrifying… Same thing, right? 🙂
I’m actually not terrified at all. I think indie publishing is going to become more and more main stream with more avenues for vetting, more cross over with trad publishing, etc. All we need to do is continue to write good books and the doors will open 😀
I love your outlook 🙂
Whenever I read a post about famous authors’ rejections I’m amazed how rude the publishers are. Bet they’re licking their wounds now. Serves them right.
Actually, I suspect that most of these rejections came from lowly interns. Usually, they’re the ones being handed the slush pile 🙂
Thanks, Nicholas. It’s always inspiring what other authors have gone through before gaining success. 🙂 — Suzanne
Isn’t it just? 🙂