J.K. Rowling's rejection letters give hope to the writer in us all
LONDON -- J.K. Rowling issued some comforting words for any aspiring writers Friday morning, revealing how she dealt with constant rejection from publishers as she tried to get Harry Potter and her Robert Galbraith novels to the public.
In a series of tweets posted throughout the morning, Rowling revealed that she kept her first rejection letter pinned to the wall as motivation. She also said she never gave up - wise words for any budding novelist.
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Her tweets began in response to a tweeter, Dianne Brubaker, who wrote: "Not getting down... because this WILL happen. This is just the beginning. @jk_rowling got rejected. I will too!"
In response, Rowling wrote: "I pinned my 1st rejection letter to my kitchen wall because it gave me something in common with all my fave writers!"
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Fans immediately asked to see the rejection letters. Rowling said they were tucked away in her attic but hinted that there may be some from her work under the pen name Robert Galbraith.
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And sure enough, within minutes she'd produced the letters.
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One was a pretty abrupt rejection, while the other, which "reluctantly [came] to the conclusion that we could not publish it with commercial success," offered some hilarious advice for one of the highest selling authors of all time. Things like "write an alluring blurb" and "check the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook."
The Harry Potter author also revealed how she reacted to each rejection, determined to carry on but gnawed by doubts.
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Seemingly in a chatty mood, Rowling continued answering fans' questions. One wanted to know if any publishers had been idiotic enough to turn her down twice.
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The reply was surprising.
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One person had a good question: How can you persevere at a dream career when you have nothing to fall back on?
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Rowling replied by saying she had nothing to lose.
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A few tweets to pin to your "likes" for next time doubt strikes.
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Topics Harry Potter JK Rowling
Tim Chester was Senior Editor, Real Time News in Los Angeles. Before that he was Deputy Editor of Mashable UK in London. Prior to joining Mashable, Tim was a Senior Web Editor at Penguin Random House, helping to relaunch the Rough Guides website and other travel brands. He was also a writer for Buzzfeed, GQ and The Sunday Times, covering everything from culture to tech and current affairs. Before that, he was Deputy Editor at NME.COM, overseeing content and development on the London-based music and entertainment site. Tim loves music and travel and has combined these two passions at festivals from Iceland to Malawi and beyond.
