Famous Rejections (and not just the great J.K)

Every night there are publishers and agents who go to sleep knowing that they held the manuscript of Harry Potter in their hands and turned it down.
I don't know for sure how many times it was rejected - every source quotes a different figure - but it seems safe to say quite a few.

So here are a few more famous rejections to give you heart if you've ever been on the receiving end of I'm-afraid-your-book-doesn't fit-into-our-list  kind of letter.

CARRIE by Stephen King

King received 30 rejections for his story of a tormented girl with telekinetic powers, and then he threw it away – his wife found it and persuaded him to keep on trying.

GONE WITH THE WIND by Margaret Mitchell

Rejected by 38 publishers before it was printed. The 1939 film is the highest grossing Hollywood film of all time (adjusted for inflation).

LORNA DOONE by Richard Blackmore

Turned down 18 times before being published in 1889.(Made up name by the way, just as Jonathan Swift invented Vanessa and Wendy in Peter Pan was the very first of her kind.)

DUNE by Frank Herbert

The epic science-fiction story was rejected by 23 publishers

LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding was rejected by 20 publishers.  

The DR SEUSS books 15 publishers denied themselves the chance of becoming very rich.

And James Patterson's first efforts were rejected by nearly 50 publishers. He is believed to have sold more books than any other author - that's an estimated 260 million copies worldwide.

Taking REJECTION on the chin

Just come across this quote from George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)

“I finished my first book seventy-six years ago.
I offered it to every publisher on the English-
speaking earth I had ever heard of. Their
refusals were unanimous:  and it did not get into
print until, fifty years later, publishers would
publish anything that had my name on it…”

At first take it may read it as another example of the publishing industry getting it wrong. I found it in an advice article for new writers and it was included to boost confidence. The implication was that you shouldn't be deterred by rejection because even the greats of English literature had to endure it. Shaw's plays and essays are important to me. I love his reviews and prefaces and speeches. And there's no doubt that he is one of the all time great letter writers...  but has anyone read a GBS novel?  And wouldn't it have been a shame if he had ignored the rejections and stuck with novel writing instead of turning to the theatre?   I know that every night there are agents who go to bed  knowing that they once had the manuscript of Harry Potter in their hands and let it go, but if there is a consensus of opinion in a writers' group or in the publishing industry there's a chance they may just have a point.

A creative commons photograph by Peter Beens from Niagara Falls, Canada

Studying at Hogwarts

Just read that Durham University is running a new course this autumn on the Harry Potter books. Reminded me of the weekend I was in City Lit's staff room and saw a notice advising that MAGIC had been moved to a different room. For a moment I rather enjoyed the fantasy that spells and potions were being developed down the corridor (homework: find two sources of Highwayman's nail clippings). The module at Durham is part of the BA in Education Studies and students will study such issues as peer pressure, good citizenship and ideals of adulthood. 

 "It will also explore ways in which the Harry Potter series has helped to re-brand Britain.”

That takes a bit of the oooomph out of the broomstick but yes, I can see how it works to put the iconic series in a wider social and cultural context, especially for the generation which has grown up with them . 

 Any ideas for other serious courses from unlikely sources? Pattern cutting from the last half of The Color Purple? (Remember the trousers Celie makes into a thriving business - I always wanted a pair).