Fiction Quote by Lisa Alther

Nobody told me how hard it was going to be to get published. I wrote four novels that nobody wanted, sent them out all…

— Jerry Spinelli

I heard you had to get 200 rejections before you got published.

— Andrew Sean Greer

As a writer, you can't allow yourself the luxury of being discouraged and giving up when you are rejected, either by agents or publishers.…

— Augusten Burroughs

Like pretty much every short story writer, I submitted to every market under the sun and hoped for the best. The rejection letters I've…

— Ken Liu

I've had a lot of books rejected in my time. My first novel, which didn't get published, was, with hindsight, crashingly dull.

— Helen Fielding

It had been fourteen years and I hadn't had anything published. I had 250 rejection slips. I got my first novel published and it…

— Lisa Alther

I have SO many books I didn't sell. Some my agent rejected outright, others made it all the way to my editor to be…

— Sarah Dessen

My first novel was rejected by some of the most eminent publishers in the world. Starting again was a real wrench.

— Wilbur Smith

“It seems important to me that beginning writers ponder this—that since 1964, I have never had a book, story or poem rejected that was…

— Joseph Hansen

It's my belief that you should never show your work to anyone in the publishing world until it shines like a diamond. Rough drafts…

— Patrick Rothfuss

I tell writers to keep reading, reading, reading. Read widely and deeply. And I tell them not to give up even after getting rejection…

— Anita Diament

This is a stamina game, so don't despair if you run down a blind alley and have to start over, or if you get…

— Tim Maleeny