Staff writer Robert J. Hughes wrote an article called "Randomness and Rejection," in the WSJ, explaining how a chapter in Leonard Mlodinow's book The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives describes a number of big-time writers whose early works were, at first, rejected by publishers. "Many books destined for great success had to survive not just rejection, but repeated rejection," Mr. Mlodinow writes. "There exists a vast gulf of randomness and uncertainty between the creation of a great novel...and the presence of huge stacks of that novel...at the front of thousands of retail outlets."
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Does This Make You Feel Any Better?
Staff writer Robert J. Hughes wrote an article called "Randomness and Rejection," in the WSJ, explaining how a chapter in Leonard Mlodinow's book The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives describes a number of big-time writers whose early works were, at first, rejected by publishers. "Many books destined for great success had to survive not just rejection, but repeated rejection," Mr. Mlodinow writes. "There exists a vast gulf of randomness and uncertainty between the creation of a great novel...and the presence of huge stacks of that novel...at the front of thousands of retail outlets."
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1 comment:
This does make me feel a little better, esp. the Harry Potter example. The book is tightly plotted, great premise, clear target audience, hooks you in the first paragraph, and you just OMG BBQ FALL IN LOVE WITH IT!!!11!!!--you know, all those things agents say they're looking for...
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