Published Fiction writers: How many times were you told NO before someone gave you a book deal?

Answer 1

Many. All authors do. Here are some hilarious letters received by some very well known authors. Pax - C

Crash by J G Ballard
‘The author of this book is beyond psychiatric help.'

The Deer Park by Norman Mailer
'This will set publishing back 25 years.'

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos
'Do you realize, young woman, that you're the first American writer ever to poke fun at sex.'

The Diary of Anne Frank
‘The girl doesn’t, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the “curiosity” level.’

Lust for Life by Irving Stone
(which was rejected 16 times, but found a publisher and went on to sell about 25 million copies)
‘ A long, dull novel about an artist.’

Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
'The grand defect of the work, I think, as a work of art is the low-mindedness and vulgarity of the chief actors. There is hardly a lady" or "gentleman" amongst them.'

Carrie by Stephen King
'We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias. They do not sell.'

Catch – 22 by Joseph Heller
‘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.’

The Spy who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré
‘You’re welcome to le Carré – he hasn’t got any future.’

Animal Farm by George Orwell
‘It is impossible to sell animal stories in the USA’

Lady Windermere’s Fan by Oscar Wilde
‘My dear sir,
I have read your manuscript. Oh, my dear sir.’

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
‘... overwhelmingly nauseating, even to an enlightened Freudian … the whole thing is an unsure cross between hideous reality and improbable fantasy. It often becomes a wild neurotic daydream … I recommend that it be buried under a stone for a thousand years.’

Answer 2

Here is the key - if you keep submitting the same story/manuscript to different agents and you keep getting a "no" then you might get a large number of "no" answers. It could be because the story isn't interesting, or isn't something that could sell in the current market, or is too close in storyline to a book that is already published.

However, if you submit a number of different proposals then the chances are higher that you will get a "yes." One of your ideas might be the one that gets you published or, at least , get an agent interested in representing you.

You only need to have one great story idea accepted!

Once you are published, then you will have an editor who can tell you exactly what the publishers are looking for.

Answer 3

I've heard that authors such as Stephen King and Anne Rice were rejected over 40 times before finally getting published.

So don't give up! :D

Answer 4

i've never experienced it, but for example dr. sues was rejected a total of 53 times. now he is one of the most successful children's book writers. he didn't give up, and neither should you.