It is great fun reading through some of the rejection letters sent by publishers, or words spoken by critics to authors and performers 'before they were famous' and it just goes to show....what it just goes to show!!
My favourite is the curt message to John Keats, "Stick to medicine, Mr. Keats, as you will never succeed as a poet."
Then there's the message of Simon Cowell to the multi-million-disc-selling Will Young, "Just average."
Going back further, George Orwell's "Animal Farm" was rejected because: "animal stories don't sell in the USA."
Sylvia Plath didn't have 'enough genuine talent for us to take notice."
Beatrix Potter's work was given to a junior partner with the idea that it would keep him busy - with little hope of success.
Stephen King was told, "“We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias. They do not sell.”
Didn't they say Fred Astaire could 'dance a bit' but was too unattractive to get anyway?
Dr. Seuss' book was described as: “…too different from other juveniles on the market to warrant its selling.”
And of the Diary of Anne Frank, a publisher wrote: "The girl doesn't, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the curiosity level."
Well...it just goes to show....
The Original "Getting Real"
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2 comments:
Christina ~
What a beautiful blog and a wonderful endeavor! I cannot wait to read some of your works and am eagerly awaiting the book on the Grand Duchess!
Bravo for going into schools and unlocking the poetry in children. I have always wanted to mentor children not just in reading but in finding their inner literary voice. How many Brontes and Hemingways have had the creative spirit beaten out of them I wonder?
Mihaela,
Thank you so much for your kind words - we really appreciate what you'be written.
Oh absolutely!! The creative spirit is so often beaten out of people and everything put into boxes with labels. No wonder Emily Bronte almost suffocated in the atmospheres of some of the places she briefly worked!
Grand Duchess Elizabeth will be available on Amazon very soon and it was labour of love to write. I do hope you enjoy it!
Thank you again,
Christina
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