There have been a lot of authors in classic literature that I've found inspiring. For example, I love that Stephen King threw CARRIE in the trash and never intended to finish writing it until his wife found it and told him he should.
Or that Dr. Seuss wrote one of the best-selling children's books of all time using only 50 different words (the result of a bet with his publisher).
Or that William Golding's LORD OF THE FLIES was rejected by 20 publishers before it found a home.
William Faulkner received a letter from a publisher (in regards to SANCTUARY) that read, "Good, God, I can't publish this!"
Richard Adams was told that "older children won't like [WATERSHIP DOWN] because its language was too difficult." HA!
All of these are stories show that fiction is subjective, and with
What are some of your favorite stories of inspiration, be they from authors past or present, agents (I've come across some amazing, inspiring, and helpful agents), or pre-pubbed writers. Share!
J.K. Rowling being told she'd be lucky to make a couple thousand on HPSS. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I missed the chat, it sounds like it was excellent. My favorite inspiring story comes from author Krissi Dallas. Krissi tried finding an agent and publisher the traditional way and just kept getting met with rejection. But she believed in her story and wouldn't give up on it. She hired an editor and self-published. Now after seeing her success, a traditional publisher has offered her a contract for the series! Whoo hoo!
ReplyDeleteBethany, that is laughable! :)
ReplyDeleteHeather, that's awesome! Thanks for sharing!
I love stories like this! I was really inspired by hearing author Sandra Dallas speak at a conference. She once entered in every category at a writing conference, and lost in all of them (one even had something like only 7 entries and there were 3 winners and 3 runners-up--she was 7th). Now she's a really successful author, and the key was not giving up. :)
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