Rejection is part of being a writer. In fact, it’s one of the biggest parts. Executives, agents, managers, publishers, producers — they don’t like taking risks. And everything seems like a risk. That’s why it’s so hard to find that one person who truly believes in the work you’ve done.
Of course, you need to put in the work first and make sure that your writing is the best it can possibly be. But once you have a script or manuscript that you are truly proud of, don’t let a few (dozen) ‘no’s deter you. Imagine what the literally landscape would look like if these writers hadn’t pushed forward (and I imagine there are just as many stories in the film world):
After 5 years of continual rejection, the writer finally lands a publishing deal: Agatha Christie. Her book sales are now in excess of $2 billion. Only William Shakespeare has sold more.
The Christopher Little Literary Agency receives 12 publishing rejections in a row for their new client, until the eight-year-old daughter of a Bloomsbury editor demands to read the rest of the book. The editor agrees to publish but advises the writer to get a day job since she has little chance of making money in children’s books. Yet Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling spawns a series where the last four novels consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history, on both sides of the Atlantic, with combined sales of 450 million.
read more »
