Rejection is an inevitable part of any business, especially for those in sales. It’s definitely a part of the business of writing and being an author. My wife passed along the following examples from the publishing world.
397 rejections: Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo (became a movie)
140 rejections: Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach (book, album, movie)
97 rejections: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (won the Newberry Medal for best children’s book in 1963 and is now in its 69th printing)
40 rejections: Cinder Edna by Ellen Jackson (has won multiple awards)
38 rejections: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (bestselling novel, movie won 10 Academy Awards)
26 rejections: Watership Down by Richard Adams (popular novel and animated film)
19 rejections: Dune by Frank Herbert (frequently cited as world’s bestselling science fiction novel)
17 rejections: Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot (book and movie series)
16 rejections: The Diary of Anne Frank (more than 30 million copies in print)
15 rejections: Dr. Seuss books (crazy successful children’s books)
9 rejections: Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling (maybe you’ve heard of these?)
Whatever you’re working on, stick with it.
Neil Sagebiel 