How likely is it that a well-written novel will actually be published? Here are some interesting statistics...John Grisham’s first novel,
A Time to Kill, was declined by 15 publishers and 30 agents (I’ll bet they’re all kicking themselves now). Dr. Seuss’s first book was rejected 24 times. Before he wrote
Roots, Alex Haley received 200 rejections.
The Good Earth by Pearl Buck was rejected 14 times before it was finally accepted and won a Pulitzer Prize. Louis L’Amour received 200 rejections before he sold his first novel; he then went on to sell over 200 million copies of 112 books. If you visit the House of Happy Walls, Jack London’s estate in Sonoma County, you will see some of his 600 rejection letters.
But here’s my favorite – 8 years after his novel
Steps won the National Book Award, Jerzy Kozinski permitted a writer to change his name and the title of the book and send it in manuscript form to 13 agents and 14 publishers just to test the plight of new writers. They all rejected it, including
Random House, who had published it originally.
So what’s the lesson to be learned by all this? One thing is certain, do not stop writing for fear of rejection. What if that had been the reaction of any of the great authors mentioned in the last paragraph? What I tell everyone who asks me about my own experience in having my novel The Litigators published (and yes, John Grisham used the same title for his latest book - titles are not protected by copyright laws) is that they need to write for themselves, not for others.
