Authors: From Failures to Fabulous

This is the first list  in a series of Famous People lists who went from failure to success or as I'm calling it "From Failures to Fabulous."


I love to read, so my first list is of some of my favorite authors who faced difficulties and rejections, but kept following their love of writing to become some of the most famous authors in history.  


I am sure there are many authors who face rejections, this list simply reflects the ones who have personally inspired me (or in the case of the last one my husband).

1. My truly favorite book every written faced rejection from more than 38 publishers before it was finally printed. The book ended up being a best selling Pulitzer Prize winner adapted into a movie. The Book and Author? Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.
   
   
2. After receiving 30 rejections for his book, this author gave up and threw it into the trash. Luckily, his wife believed in him, removed it from the trash, and encouraged him to resubmit it.  What book and Author? It was Carrie by Stephen King, one of my all time favorite authors.
   
   
3. Another one of my favorite authors submitted his first book and was rejected by twelve publishing houses and sixteen agents.  Instead of giving up, he wrote another book and another.  Who was the Author? John Grisham
   
   
4. One of my truly favorite inspirational books received feedback from publishers that "anthologies didn't sell" and the book was "too positive."  Ultimately, this book was rejected more than one hundred and forty times.  It has now sold over 80 million copies all over the world.  The book?  Chicken Soup for the Soul
   
   
   
5. Facing a battle to get her writing to the public, she was encouraged by her family to get work as a servant.  Instead, she became a nurse and wrote letters back home while serving in the Civil War.  This was her first break. Her most famous work is one of my top ten favorite books ever written.  The famous book and author? Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.
   
   
6. After 22 rejections, a publisher took a small chance on another one of my favorite authors.  The publisher made a little over 1,000 copies of the book. The author bought more than 300 of the ones that sold the first year.  Ultimately, this author became one of the most influential authors of the twentieth century.  The book and author? Dubliners by James Joyce (he also wrote A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses, and Finnegan’s Wake)
   
   
7. I haven’t read this one since I was in grade school, but I absolutely loved it.  However, before being published, becoming one of the best-selling children’s books of all time, and being adapted for a television series, this book was rejected 26 times.  The Book and Author? A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.
   
   
8. This author has written an entire series of best-selling books that have been adapted to movies and now makes a great deal of money doing what she loves.  Before she was published, she was financially poor surviving with assistance from welfare, trying to raise a child as a single mother, and some say she also suffered from depression.  The Author?  J.K. Rowling of the Harry Potter series.
   
   
9. Another genuinely universally known children’s book author faced rejection from 27 different publishers for his first book.  Today, this book and many of his other books have been published and read by nearly every child in the world.  The rejected book and author? To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss (His real name was Theodor Seuss Giesel.)  Nearly everyone has read The Cat in the Hat or Green Eggs and Ham.
   
   
10. Ignored throughout her lifetime with very few published works, this poet was a quiet recluse who after death became one of the most commonly read poets of all time.  She only had a little over 20 of her poems published during her life, despite having almost 1,800 completed writings.  She is my favorite poet. The poet? Emily Dickinson.
    
    
11. The last one for the author section isn’t one of my favorites (well it might be, but I’ve never been interested enough to read it), but it is one of my husband’s favorite books.  It’s a science-fiction story that was rejected by 23 publishers before being published, winning numerous awards, having 5 sequels, and being adapted to film.  I guess it’s kind of a favorite for many interested in science fiction. The book?  Dune by Frank Herbert.