I was just going over my notes that I took from Stephen King's On Writing and Terry Brooks' Sometimes the Magic Works concerning their rejections. Yes I took notes...my wife calls me a nerd so I figured I might as well roll with it. Anyway, like the question states, how many "no's" did you receive before your first "yes"? Two of my early stories (written almost 20 years ago) are nearing the repolished stage and I'll be making the leap by submitting to magazines.
2007-09-28 15:23:59 · 6 answers · asked by Arachstorm 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
Had to add this. I've read all about the rejections of established authors such as J.K. Rowling and so on. I was looking more for those of you here in Yahoo Answers that have submitted something that was originally rejected and finally accepted. Thanks!
2007-09-29 01:45:50 · update #1
Sky...from what I've learned, that's the nature of the beast. I know that if I write a graphic horror story (which I have one), there's no way it's going to be accepted by a magazine like Boy's Life (Boyscout magazine). Gotta find the right market.
2007-09-29 01:48:34 · update #2
have had nothing accepted by a major publisher. Locally i do okay, but I have yet to make any money from writing. Rejections come in by the dozens. Mine probably number in the thousands, but I'm too busy with the next story to stop and count.
2007-09-29 05:08:36 · answer #1 · answered by Ruth C 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In 1995, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was completed and the manuscript was sent off to prospective agents. The second agent she tried, Christopher Little, offered to represent her and sent the manuscript to Bloomsbury. After EIGHT other publishers had rejected Philosopher's Stone, Bloomsbury offered Rowling a £3,000 advance for its publication. And just look at the enormous success Harry Potter series made.
2007-09-28 23:03:06 · answer #2 · answered by aceix 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Every author gets many. Even the famous ones. Here are some quotes from rejection letters of some famous authors... Yes, these are real. Pax - C
On Sylvia Plath
'There certainly isn't enough genuine talent for us to take notice.'
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.’
2007-09-28 22:31:39 · answer #3 · answered by Persiphone_Hellecat 7 · 6⤊ 1⤋
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee was turned down, can you imagine how those publishers feel now. What, with it winning the Pulitzer Prize and having over 300,000,000 sold!
2007-09-29 08:37:08 · answer #4 · answered by Emma (: 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I've had 100s of rejections. No takers. It seems as though I am considered "unpublishable" by the mainstream. (I don't write what their clients publish--it turns out.)
Oh, well. More fun for me! :0)
2007-09-29 00:58:45 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
To me, Harry Potter is the best example. Imagine what would have happened if Bloomsbury hadn't accepted it!
2007-09-29 04:10:31 · answer #6 · answered by Jas 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋