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.
I'm ...
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