Rejection

I heard from a colleague, a published and much more experienced writer who shared his frustration with having a particular story rejected.  It wasn't the rejection, he has learned to roll with that thank you very much.  It was that he regards this particular story as on of his best.

I made a flip comment, which I regret, about my never having had a rejection.  Yes, well, I haven't made an independent submission yet.

To try to make partial amends, I looked up who had been rejected and found so many examples I needed to edit my Facebook posting with an axe.

I now know two things for certain.  

1. Writing is hard.  
2. There ain't nothin' funny about rejection.

Here is what I said:

Just because something happens every day to all kinds of people, I am told, and can vividly imagine, that having your stories rejected by agents and publishers is painful. Some sources report that having your work rejected, especially a piece you are especially proud of, is like being rejected as a person.

I am preparing my psyche for such an inevitable event. Perhaps this may help a little. Probably not but here goes.

Number of Rejections (a selected list)
- Peter Rabbit – uncounted rejections then self-published
- Lady Chatterley’s Lover – all publishers in the UK and US
- Alex Haley – 200 consecutive rejections over 8 years
- Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - 121
- Gone With The Wind – 38
- Carrie - 30
- A Wrinkle in Time – 26
- Dune - 23
- Dubliners – 22
- Auntie Mame; Diary of Anne Frank – tied at 15
- J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone - 12.  Her     agent said: “better get a day job”.

Poetry 
- Gertrude Stein – 22 years
- e.e. cummings - The Enormous Room has a dedication page ‘With No Thanks To’ all 15 publishers who turned it down.

Last but not Least
To prove how hard it is for new writers to break in, Jerzy Kosinski used a pen name to submit his bestseller Steps to 13 literary agents and 14 publishers. All of them reject it, including Random House, who had already published it.