I wonder, does anyone know of any stories regarding acclaimed and/or well known books, stories etc.. that have been rejected many, many times before they 'get there'?

Might it help to hearten those who are suffering the frustration and despair of rejection?

Years ago I read that Alex Haley's "Roots" was rejected by 76 publishers before acceptance, loads of dosh and a mini-series.

Wonder what the record is?

Just a thought.

And keep writing....

I heard that John Grisham spent years finding an agent to take on his first novel and then, when he got one, the agent spent a year finding a publisher. The fim rights for his second one sold for megabucks before he'd finished writing it. How's that for inspiration? Then there was Watership Down, which was rejected a depressing number of times before being accepted by... I don't know... was it Penguin?
This sort of thing doesn't just happen in writing. The Beatles were rejected countless times and, of course, I think the most famous one is probably Fred Astaire. Who was it said he ' can't sing, can't act, can't dance'...
We're in good company here!
Dee.

This must be the case of the most rejections of all time.

http://www.writewords.org.uk/forum/48_227.asp

Dee, I believe it was 40 times that Watership Down was rejected, because "nobody wants to read a story about rabbits."

I think the saddest story of this kind is of John Kennedy Toole, who wrote one masterpiece, 'A Confederacy of Dunces'' which no-one would publish, despair at which drove him to commit suicide at thirty-two. His mother, knowing the greatness of her son's work, then spent something like ten years going from publisher to publisher and receiving rejection after rejection; finally, it was read by somebody who recognised its quality. It was published by Louisiana State University Press in 1980 and the next year won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction! 11 years after its author's suicide......................
So, don't be a fool, don't do a Toole - nil desperandum, hang on in; there's always hope!

Best,

Mike

Oh Mike, that is so sad.
Dee.