I’ve always liked that quote in the title. I’ve seen it play out in my own writing life as well as in many others. Before I wrote my first thriller, Checkmate, I wrote two light-hearted novels and collected close to 50 rejections from various agents and editors. Disheartened but determined not to “quit,” I began to research, outline and finally write Checkmate. I met an editor at a writer’s conference who said she liked my story, and after working with her on edits for close to a year (!), she gave me a contract, thus beginning a new chapter in my life — writing a series of political thrillers.
If you’ve ever suffered disappointments and thought about quitting, let me tell you about some other folks who had disappointments too, but began their own new chapters and new careers. See if you can figure out who they were:
–She was demoted from her job as a news anchor because they said, “she wasn’t fit for television.”
(Oprah Winfrey)
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| Walt Disney |
–He wasn’t able to speak until he was almost four years old, and his teachers said he would “never amount to much.”
(Albert Einstein)
(Walt Disney)
–When he was 30 years old, he was left devastated and depressed after being unceremoniously removed from the company he started.
(Steve Jobs)
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| Dr. Seuss |
–A teacher told him he was “too stupid to learn anything” and that he should go into a field where he “might succeed by virtue of his pleasant personality.”
(Thomas Edison)
–His fiancé died, he failed in business, had a nervous breakdown and was defeated in eight elections.
(Abraham Lincoln)
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| Steve Berry |
There are many more great stories of people who have “picked themselves up” after one or more failures. Their efforts are always inspiring, no matter their field of endeavor.
Well, no famous example comes to mind, except Oscar Wilde’s rejection from a publisher: “My dear sir, I have read your manuscript. Oh, my dear sir.”
As for me, I spent 10 years as a personnel secretary before I went back to school with the goal of working in forensics (pre-CSI, so people thought I was a little strange). I had already begun writing, but it was 15 years and 9 full length novels before I was published. I probably should taken a creative writing course somewhere in all that schoolwork, but I had never thought of writing as a profession!
It's so inspirational to read about who people who persevere in the face of daunting obstacles and hardship. Another one is Winston Churchill who battled crippling depression (he called it The Black Dog) his whole life. He lost 5 elections, including 3 in a row between the years of 1922 and 1924, and fought great odds to become Prime Minister at the start of WWII.
I remember Mary Higgins Clark telling me that among her first rejections was a note from an editor that said, "What you write is light, slight and trite." And Tony Hillerman had a number of rejections, including one that said, "You'd have a good book here if you'd just get rid of that Indian stuff." Both of them went on to be New York Times bestselling authors.
Mary Higgins Clark was an exceptional inspiration. After her husband died, leaving her with five young children. She struggled, doing a variety of jobs to earn money. She went back to college, got her degree, and worked to put her kids through school. She sold her first novel, Where are the Children, in hardcover for $3000, then discovered her paperback rights to that book had sold for $100K. Two years later she sold her second novel for $1.5M. Suffice it to say, she no longer had any financial worries, and her kids college was paid for.
I was lucky enough to sit next to her at signings on numerous occasions. With only one or two coming through my line, I would open books for her to sign as her line wrapped around outside the door. (Go to YouTube and listen to Parnell Hall's song "Signing at the Waldenbooks.") But she was always so kind and encouraging.
Who doesn't love a success story?
Lisa – you are a great example of perseverance….not only becoming a terrific forensic specialist, one who is called on to testify in court (you should be a consultant to shows like CSI) but now a bestselling author (and a talented Rogue!) and inspiration to others.
Yes, Churchill is another good example of one who persevered — glad there are now so many great books out about his life and times. Thanks for listing his efforts here.
Love that story about Mary Higgins Clark — I never had the pleasure of meeting her, but certainly enjoy her stories! Thanks, Chris, for giving us the details.
This is a wonderful, soul-centering post. Thank you for sharing, everyone, and to Karna for including the stories (like Oprah not being "fit for television") that made my eyebrows fly up. Hmm.
Karen – appreciate your visiting us Rogues here and adding such a nice comment.