For today’s blog post, I chose the Potluck title because I have varying “dishes” floating around in my mind and couldn’t decide on which to focus. The answer became clear the other day as I sat at the Women’s Imaging Center waiting to have “the girls” squashed flat for a mammogram. As if Monday mornings aren’t bad enough.
Anyway, while awaiting the dreaded “mammy whammy,” as my pal Linda O’Connell calls it, I stumbled on an issue of More magazine. I read an interview with Kathryn Stockett, the author of “The Help.” She had lots of nifty things to say, but the one that jumped out at me is this: Her manuscript for “The Help” was rejected a whopping 60 times before she found an agent. She simply refused to give up.
My curiosity was piqued, so I hunted down a few more authors who didn’t give up. Take a look:
- The William Golding classic, “Lord of the Flies,” was rejected 20 times.
- Richard Hooker’s novel, “M*A*S*H*,” made famous in film and on T.V. received 21 rejections.
- “Carrie” by Stephen King garnered 30 rejections.
- Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone With the Wind” earned 38 rejections.
- Frank Herbert’s Sci-Fi classic, “Dune,” received 23 rejections.
- The first “Chicken Soup for the Soul” edited by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen is the winner today, with 33 rejections the first month and—drumroll, please—140 total rejections.
This isn’t news. We’ve seen it before, heard it before, and filed it away. But it bears repeating: Never. Give. Up. What if Kathryn Stockett had dumped “The Help” in the bottom of her desk drawer after agent #60 said no? She would never have connected with agent #61, and that was her magic number.
So what’s your magic number, or mine? The one that gives us a YES! It could be #4 or #104. We won't know until we make it happen. Maybe you've already made it happen. If so, what is your lucky number?
Do you know the name of a famous author whose work received multiple rejections? Please leave a comment about it. A little inspiration goes a long way.
Hope you enjoyed today’s Potluck. See you next for Book Blurb Friday!
Lisa
I love many of the titles and authors you mentioned. "The Help" is one of my favorites of the recently-published books. What a shame if she had given up and surrendered...
ReplyDeleteA local (but nationally known) poet--Howard Nemerov--put his rejection slips to good use. He "wall papered" his office with them.
(And isn't "mammy whammy" the perfect term? Linda is brilliant.)
This a reminder I can always use. It's easy to get down on yourself after a string of rejections. I heard Dr. Suess had something like 76 rejections. It does inspire me to keep going. Thanks, Lisa!
ReplyDeleteLisa, your post revved me up in a way that all of the other "writer's tip sites" I've read this morning have been unable to. You are right! Never, ever, give up.
ReplyDeleteNow, send me something On Family, won't you pleaseeeee?
Although I know similar stories, I did NOT know about multiple rejections for The Help. Isn't that amazing! Thanks for reminding us to keep going...we all need pushed now and then over something!
ReplyDeleteHave a good day.
Can you imagine how stupid you'd feel about now if you were one of the agents that rejected The Help?
ReplyDeleteSioux - Yes to your first and last statements, and "wow" to your second!
ReplyDeleteDeb - I didn't know that about Dr. S. That is also a "wow!"
Linda - Glad I could help! And . . . it's on my to-do list!
Claudia - I thought it was amazing, too.
Mama Z - Haha . . . I agree!
Lisa! I had my mammo last week too.
ReplyDeleteI loved this post, because it is very encouraging. I am just at the beginning, and am doing things in my own way right now (which means that I have never submitted anything because there isn't anything long enough to submit).
This reminds me of the old saying, "Try, try again." I had to laugh at Mama Z's comment; I bet those peeps are kicking themselves.
Hugs and thanks for coming over to see me!
Kathy M.
I must have read that same article and I was just amazed and so inspired... never give up. Thanks for the reminder. On a writer's blog (http://howtoplanwriteanddevelopabook.blogspot.com/) on her sidebar, she lists several writers that have been rejected and The Diary of Anne Frank was rejected 16 times, but the first one she mentions is Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo with a whopping 397 rejections - and then it became a movie. So there, talk about not giving up!
ReplyDeleteHi, Lisa. Wow, some writers should receive Pulitzers for endurance. I read many years ago that Richard Paul Evans, who wrote The Christmas Box (and zillions of other best sellers)wrote it as a gift to his friends. They loved it and encouraged him to publish it so he self-published it and then publishing companies came a-knocking. Great blog, as usual.
ReplyDelete