Rejection can be one of the ugliest things a person can ever feel. It tears you up on the inside, makes you think you and your work are worth nothing, and you wish the ground would just swallow you whole.
But you know what? JK Rowling also had her fair share of rejection — even when she was at the height of career. And she wants you to never quit.
J.K Rowling, who once upon a time was in the middle of a messy divorce, out of a job, and needing to find a way to take care of her kids, scribbled on a cafe napkin a story idea about boy who lived in a cupboard who would prove himself to be the greatest wizard who ever lived. she went on to create the entire Harry Potter saga, became a global sensation as a best-selling author, and now thrills young and old through her books, their films, a website, and even a theme park modeled after Hogwarts.
Once upon a time, she was also rejected. Not just for Harry Potter, but also for her work as Robert Galbraith. Check these tweets out:
The Potter ones are now in a box in my attic, but I could show you @RGalbraith‘s? ? https://t.co/McGYViYvqp
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 25, 2016
By popular request, 2 of @RGalbrath‘s rejection letters! (For inspiration, not revenge, so I’ve removed signatures.) pic.twitter.com/vVoc0x6r8W
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 25, 2016
The shorter letter reads more like a Dear John. However, the longer letter had rather eye-rolling, condescending tips such as writing an “alluring blurb” and to take a look at “the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook”, because the publishing company wasn’t sure they’d be able to put the book out “with commercial success”. Ugh.
Rowling continued to tweet about how she’d feared that the book would get turned out by every publishing company out there — something that could very well happen. But she went ahead, and sent the book to all of them anyway.
I wasn’t going to give up until every single publisher turned me down, but I often feared that would happen. https://t.co/bMKu4zJ3nm
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 25, 2016
Fan wanted to know: Were there publishers stupid enough to turn down Rowling’s books twice — twice! — after the commercial success of the Harry Potter books? (Yes. Yes, there were.)
. @jk_rowling were any of them the same people that turned down Harry? Did any of them make the same mistake twice? https://t.co/xNLrvSIBj0
— Joshua Cunningham ϟ (@PhotoOomph) March 25, 2016
This fan asked the author question, one with a sincerity and vulnerability that made many a heart ache and resonate:
@jk_rowling how do I get the courage to risk it all for the things that I love when I don’t have enough of a support system if all fails?
— Auradel Ma. Cirille (@TheAuradel) March 25, 2016
And JK Rowling’s answer was perfection.
I had nothing to lose and sometimes that makes you brave enough to try. https://t.co/ETEk8lcih1
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 25, 2016
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