50 Iconic Writers Who Were Repeatedly Rejected

If you ever get dejected about your writing, consider this list. Here are just a few highlights:

Margaret Mitchell: “Gone With the Wind” was rejected 38 times.

Tony Hillerman: was told to “get rid of the Indian stuff.”

Richard Bach: 18 publishers thought a book about a seagull was ridiculous before Jonathan Livingston Seagull was picked up.

John Grisham: “A Time to Kill” was rejected by 16 publishers before finding an agent who eventually rejected him as well.

Richard Hooker: The book that inspired the film and TV show M*A*S*H* was denied by 21 publishers.

Gertrude Stein: submitted poems for 22 years before having one accepted.

Robert Pirsig: “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” faced an amazing 121 rejections before becoming beloved by millions of readers.

Rudyard Kipling: In one rejection letter, Mr. Kipling was told he doesn’t know how to use the English language.

J.K. Rowling: J.K. Rowling submitted Harry Potter to 12 publishing houses, all of which rejected it.

William Saroyan: received an astonishing 7,000 rejection slips before selling his first short story.

Okay, so let’s play fill-in-the-blank.

Rejection is ________.

My advice: Don’t let the bastards beat you, keep writing better stories until you beat them!

UPDATE: Via The Atlantic, author’s harshest rejection letters. HT to @DFTVYP for the link. A bit of synchronicity there I think.

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