20 April 2017 - FAMOUS AUTHORS REJECTED




FAMOUS AUTHORS REJECTED

G'day folks,


The revered sage Frank Sinatra once said, "The best revenge is massive success."


He never spoke a truer word, particularly when it comes to aspiring authors who, after suffering severe smackdowns from publishers, went on to become renowned writers.


Think this has happened to only a select few? Guess again. Cast your eye upon this list of Cinderella authors (and the nasty little notes publishers sent them) and savor the taste of their sweet, sweet revenge.

1. Stephen King


Mr. King received dozens of rejections for his first novel, Carrie; he kept them tidily nailed to a spike under a timber in his bedroom.
One of the publishers sent Mr. King's rejection with these words:
We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias. They do not sell.

2. William Golding

Mr. Golding's Lord of the Flies was rejected by 20 publishers.  One denounced the future classic with these words (which should be inscribed on the hapless publisher's tomb):
An absurd and uninteresting fantasy which was rubbish and dull.

3. John le Carré  

After Mr. le Carré submitted his first novel, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, one of the publishers sent it along to a colleague, with this message:

You’re welcome to le Carré – he hasn’t got any future.



4. Anne Frank

According to one publisher, The Diary of Anne Frank was scarcely worth reading:

The girl doesn't, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the 'curiosity' level.

15 publishers (other than this dope) also rejected The Diary of Anne Frank.

5. Joseph Heller

In an act of almost unparalled stupidity, one publisher wrote of Mr. Heller's Catch-22:
I haven’t 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.


  Clancy's comment: Mm ... Like life, writing is also subjective. However, when I first read this list I punched the air, excited that the authors had proven them wrong.

I'm ...








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