A Writer’s Tale

Though not as flashy as Shakespeare or as strange as Lewis Carroll, Geoffrey Chaucer contributed much more to the English language as a writer than both of them put together. He is called the Father of English literature and is single-handedly responsible for creating nearly 2,000 words that we use today. He was the very first person to be interred at Westminster in the famed Poet’s Corner and his stories were so good, Heath Ledger and the future Vision actor starred in an adaptation of his work about 600 years after he wrote it. What’s ironic is that the author best known for the Canterbury Tales never made a single cent off his writing.

The Merchant of London

Geoffrey Chaucer was born into the merchant class into rather fortunate circumstances. His father was a successful vintner, winemaker, and he worked for the crown for most of his career -- even when the crown changed heads a few times during the tumultuous Hundred Years’ War.

Remembered today as one of the great writers and studied in schools the world over, Chaucer  was a diplomat, a courtier, a soldier and a clerk to the King, among other things. He was, for all intents and purposes, a government employee…and he was not really a rich man. He was a merchant, not a Lord or a noble, and he almost never stopped working -- proof that he needed money to live, just like anyone else.

Somewhere in the midst of this busy life, Chaucer became one of the greatest poets the world has ever known. History does not show any record that Chaucer ever received any money for his work but he did, perhaps, receive some acclaim. During a St. George’s Day celebration in 1374, King Edward III rewarded Chaucer with a gallon of wine every day for the rest of his life. This is probably the only payment he ever received for writing some of the greatest works in the English language. And for shaping the English language.

Working Man, Amateur Writer

Chaucer did make good on the King’s promise, collecting his gallon of wine daily until the crown shifted to Richard II. It was then that Chaucer began to receive a monetary grant but by then, he was employed as a comptroller for the port of London so the salary may be tied to this position.

Geoffrey Chaucer was the first to be interred at what is now known as Poet’s Corner in Westminster. Today, he keeps company with the likes of William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling and Lord Tennyson.

Like many modern writers, Chaucer worked every day of his life and wrote in his free time. He invented thousands of words, which is beyond remarkable, and wrote a book that people are still reading 500 years after his death.

Chaucer did not write for money, because he didn’t get any, and he didn’t write for fame, because he wasn’t known for being a writer by most people until after his death. He lived during a time of war and chaos in England and maintained employment even as Kings were being killed in battle and worse. And he wrote. He held many different positions in his life and clearly knew how to hustle and never stopped, working steadily through most of his life. But in the end, he is known as a writer and was remembered as one of the greatest to ever pick up a quill.

He worked government jobs, serving at the King’s pleasure as a clerk and any other position to which he was appointed, but when he could have his own time he wrote things.

And though he lived and died so many centuries ago that his version of English is only just recognizable to modern readers…he was a lot like many writers out there today. Most writers are fairly regular people who aren’t born rich, who have to work for a living and sometimes at jobs they might not love, who write what they can in their free moments. And some writers, like Chaucer, might not make a penny from all their writing efforts.

But it didn’t keep him from inspiring generations and generations of writers in the future and it didn’t keep him from becoming immortal as one of the greatest writers who ever lived. So remember this: the end of your own story hasn’t been written yet.

From the Trenches: Unbroken

Receiving rejections is a wearing, wearying experience. Each brand-new letter brings a ray of hope. Every time the envelope is opened, that hope is crushed. It's like standing on top of a mountain for thirty seconds before falling to the Earth...and it's a long, long way down.

One author refused to let that fall break her, and because she wouldn't give up all of us know her name.

Being Stubborn

Judy Blume was born in 1938 in New Jersey. As a child, she liked to make up stories in her head. After graduating high school, Judy attended Boston University, but went on to graduate from NYU with a degree in teaching.

Teach she would, but not necessarily in the classroom. Judy went on to marry in the early 1960s, and became busy with a home and a young family. But all those stories were still in her head. So when her children started attending school, July Blume finally had the time to start writing them down. She wrote prolifically, and eventually got enough gumption together to submit her stories to publishers.

They were promptly rejected. Undeterred, Judy Blume continued writing and submitting...and she continued receiving rejection letters. She began selling short stories to magazines, but for two straight years only rejection letters came in the mail.

Blume recounted her experience in her own words on her website: "One magazine, Highlights for Children, sent a form letter with a list of possible reasons for rejection. 'Does not win in competition with others,' was always checked off on mine. I still can't look at a copy of Highlights without wincing."

True Grit

"I would go to sleep at night feeling that I'd never be published. But I'd wake up in the morning convinced I would be."

Blume said that she learned a little more with each new story she created. And finally, someone else agreed. She published her first book in 1969, then a second quickly after. But it wasn't until Are You There God, It's Me Margaret came out in 1971 that Blume officially became a bestselling author.

Her books have sold more than 80 million copies around the world, and today Judy Blume is considered to be one of the foremost children's writers in the business. Take that, Highlights magazine!

Judy Blume was stubborn, and continued to dream about being a writer even when her hopes were repeatedly crushed. She didn't give up, and eventually the publishing industry gave in. She wrote in the trenches, fueled on little more than hope, and she's still writing today.

From the Trenches: Lucky Day

What does it take to be an award-winning, best-selling, much-loved author? In looking at the stories of those who have walked the path of success (without falling on their faces), certain qualities shine through: grit, stubbornness, hard work...and luck. 

It helps to write something new and interesting and great...but a stroke of luck can completely change your fate. Just ask one award-winner who came within inches of never being published at all. 

A Wrinkle in a Perfect Plan

Madeleine L'Engle was born in 1918 and spent most of her childhood in New York City, where many writers have been inspired. She wasn't much of a student, and received poor grades. Madeleine preferred writing in her journal, creating poems and making up stories. It was a habit she took with her to the French Alps, where her family moved when she was 12.

She studied English in depth at Smith College, where she continued working on her own writing. Upon graduation, Madeleine moved to Greenwich Village in New York, and worked in the theater. By the time she me and married her husband Hugh Franklin, she'd already completed two novels. 

The manuscripts collected dust while Madeleine established her family, but whenever time allowed she was writing and working at her craft. The family returned to New York after a few years, but not before taking a 10-week cross-country camping trip. It was during this family adventure that she would come up with the idea for her most famous novel. She named it A Wrinkle in Time, and completed the book in 1960. 

She would have lots of wrinkles to iron out of her way before she would see it published. 

Lucky Day

Excited about her novel, Madeleine began submitting it to publishers. She was rejected...repeatedly. More than two dozen rejection letters came back to her. The book was unlike anything else on the market, and that frightened the publishers. Having a female protagonist in a sci-fi novel, in her own words, just "wasn't done," and her novel was "too different." 

Her agents gave the manuscript back to her, and it looked like her chances of being a published author were dead. But the fates changed when Madeleine attended a tea party at her mother's house and happened to meet John Farrar...of the publishing company Farrar, Straus & Giroux. She gave him the manuscript, and he loved it. Farrar decided to sign her to the company at once.

A Wrinkle in Time has been in publication ever since. It won the Newberry Medal, spawned a series, and remains one of the most popular children's books on the market. If she'd missed that party, maybe none of that would have ever happened, and we still wouldn't know about Mrs. Whatsit and her charming friends.

Madeleine L'Engle worked from the trenches in secret and for many years, constantly working on her craft and fitting it into the pages of her life. She wrote a great book, and no one cared until she was lucky enough to have a chance meeting with the one man who did. She was eager enough, and smart enough, to seize opportunity when it presented itself, and that's why we know who she is today.

From the Trenches: Going It Alone

Being great doesn't mean you're going to be successful. There have been lots of great writers who still had to work hard before their words were read. Sometimes, it takes a long time for everyone else to realize just how great you are. 

Walt Whitman had something to share, and he decided that he was going to share it. He's arguably the most famous American poet...and he was a self-published author. 

Lighting the Fire

Walt Whitman was born Walter in 1819 Long Island. He was one of 9, and called Walt so he wouldn't be confused with his father. They had severe financial difficulties, and Walt would later recall his childhood as being unhappy. He finished his school at age 11 and began working for a living. 

Young Walt worked for lawyers as an office boy, and later worked on the printing machines for local newspapers. He learned how the machines worked and picked up typesetting. Whitman continued to gravitate toward the written word when looking for work. He accepted a job working for an editor at a major paper, and sent some of his own poetry anonymously to the New York Mirror. He moved to New York, but financial trouble in the city made it hard for him to find work. Eventually he moved back to Long Island and began teaching, but was ultimately unhappy with the work.

He continued to work in the papers and eventually worked his way into editorial positions. And like many authors, he read. Whitman would later say that he was "simmering, simmering, simmering." All the poems were burning slowly away inside him. It took another poet to set it all ablaze. He read The Poet, by Ralph Waldo Emerson, in 1844. It called for a new and unique poet from the United States to step forward.

So Walt Whitman did. As he said, "Emerson brought me to a boil." 

He went to work. And in May 1855, he went to the clerk at the United States District Court in New Jersey to register the title Leaves of Grass. Like many self-published authors, he had to buy his own copyright. Luckily, he knew people in the printing business. Whitman next went to Fulton Street in Brooklyn, where two of his friends owned a small printing shop. Walt knew typesetting from his experience in the newspaper business, so he did most all of that himself.

It didn't sell very well. He worked for years on that collection of poems, and had enough gumption to get his own copyright and do his own printing and self-published the darned thing, besides. When sales were few and decidedly tepid, Whitman could have easily given up. 

He didn't. The very first edition of Leaves of Grass was 95 pages long, with 12 poems that had no names. Whitman made it small enough, he said later, to fit in one's pocket. He hoped that it would make people want to "take me along with them and read me in the open air." He printed up 800, 200 with covers made of green cloth. There is only one library in the US known to have purchased one of these first editions. It's in Philadelphia.

One copy was sent to Ralph Waldo Emerson, whom Whitman admired. Emerson praised it, and sent a letter back to Whitman complimenting the work. It was enough to fuel Walt's fire to write and succeed. He produced edition number 2, now 384 pages in length. It had a pretty cover this time, and was priced at one dollar.

He relentlessly perfected his work, something to which all self-published authors can probably relate. Whitman added titles to his poems, then began to write more poems. He re-arranged them and then did it again. Some he removed altogether. He published so many different versions of the book, in fact, scholars still aren't clear on just how many times Leaves was revamped. Depending on the source, Whitman created 9 editions. Others say there were only 6.

By 1860, he'd snagged a publisher. Unfortunately, shortly after they produced their edition of the work the company declared bankruptcy, and they were unable to pay him. Whitman got around $250, and the original plates were sent to a different publisher in Boston. This resulted in a new edition, 456 pages in length.

More editions would come out, and many more years would go by, before Whitman was prepared to be finished with the book. He created his final edition in 1891 and declared in a letter to a friend that it was "at last complete."

It now had nearly 400 poems. Like previous editions, the last carried an updated photo of Walt Whitman -- looking distinguished this time with a full beard.

Leaves got a lot of heavy criticism; perhaps this is why Whitman was intent on perfecting it. One critic said that Whitman should have burned the book after writing it, and one critic called the book "a mass of stupid filth" in a newspaper. Whitman printed one of his bad reviews in the second edition of Leaves of Grass.

Walt Whitman wrote in the poetry trenches every single day, and never stopped. He died shortly after completing his final edition of the book, just when he'd finally finished...if he ever really thought he had. He relentlessly perfected and polished his craft, and always tried to improve upon what he'd done in the past. Today, Leaves of Grass sells thousands of copies every single year. It's studied in classrooms and quoted among word lovers, recited in public and re-posted online. Whitman has now been dead over 100 years, and most critics agree when it comes to his now-famous collection of poetry.

It's pretty perfect.

From the Trenches: Too Talented to Print

Do you automatically conjure up an image of the authors you like? I used to love imagining what the authors behind the words looked like; then I discovered paperbacks, which commonly find a way to plaster a bio picture on a glossy cover somewhere. Everyone has some vision of what authors look like, and what the are like: dramatic, wordy creatures who sit hunched over a keyboard pouring out flowery words all day. The vision is almost never the same as the reality. Sometimes, when the reality doesn't fit that vision writers just can't get published.

In the Victorian Era, three women had to pretend to be men before anyone would pay any attention to their words. Today, millions have read at least one of their books -- which are always printed with their real names.

Creative Spirit

Literature was always a big part of the Bronte household, but tragedy would leave its mark as well. The family had six children in all, but their mother and the two oldest sisters would die young. This left Charlotte, Anne, Emily and their beloved bother -- who painted the picture of them above. He used to be in the painting, but later took himself out. They loved poetry and novels, and read the magazines their father subscribed to regularly. As children, they wrote stories on matchbook-sized papers and stitched them together with thread to create books.

As they matured, their writings (and their binding methods) became more polished. Charlotte, the most ambitious of the bunch, wrote to poet laureate Robert Southey to introduce him to her poetry. He wasn't very impressed, and she waited months to get a lukewarm reply. He was far too important a man, you see, to be bothered by a woman.

And maybe at that point, a lesser woman would have given up. She gave it her best shot. But Charlotte Bronte was far from finished. After discovering a notebook of her sister Emily's poetry, she began to put together a bold new plan: a joint project featuring writing from herself, Emily and Anne. They each picked their best poems, 19 from Charlotte and 21 from each other other two.

Only this time, they would use male names. The sisters decided to keep their relationship -- an their initials -- and transformed themselves into three brothers instead, and so the Brontes became the Bells. Using the names Currer, Ellis and Acton they submitted their poems as a collection and became published through a small company in 1846.

Three copies of the book were sold. One of those buyers, however, admired the work so much he wrote to the publisher to request the autographs of the authors. This is the only known document containing all three pen names.

It was little enough encouragement, but it was all the sisters needed. Each went about writing her own novel, and about a year later three great books were created.

Anne Bronte created Agnes Grey, a novel about a young governess. Her simple style of prose has been lauded as "perfect," and her insights on wealth and class-based society are still studied and discussed today. She wrote the book largely from her own experience as a working governess, and title character Agnes has a background and family life similar to Anne's own. It became popular shortly after publication. Anne Bronte continue to write and penned The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, regarded by many as one of the first feminist novels. Anne ran out of time before she managed to write another novel; her brief life ended at age 29.

Charlotte Bronte created a book that's considered classic today: Jane Eyre. Jane is a strong character who falls in love with the master of a grand house. The book is told in a first-person narrative which follows Jane through much of her life. Charlotte sent the book out with the two written by her sisters, receiving multiple rejections and dismissals. Finally she managed to get a deal where the three books would circulate through certain libraries. Jane Eyre quickly became a bestseller. It was an instant success, and it propelled Charlotte into the career she'd so wanted. Charlotte abandoned her pen name and became a well-known literary figure. She continued to write as a famous novelist, and finished two more full-length books before she died at age 38.

Emily Bronte was not famous in her own time, nor was her novel very well-regarded. Unlike her sisters, who wrote from their own experiences and created singular central characters, Emily was inspired by an old, desolate-looking house near her own country home. Also unlike her sisters, Emily never worked as a governess and wasn't too keen on publishing her novel. Emily was quiet and shy by nature, even around visitors to the family home. She didn't travel with Charlotte and Anne when they went to persuade publishers to buy the three novels, and her novel won immediate criticism. Some even condemned the book, which became quite controversial.

She became ill shortly after the book's 1847 release while attending her brother's funeral in the fall of 1848. By the time the year 1849 rolled around, Emily Bronte was gone at age 30. She never knew that her one novel, Wuthering Heights, became the most celebrated of all the Bronte works, or that I would write about her book some fifteen decades later.

Emily Bronte was one of many one-hit wonders in the literary world, and to this day one of the most well-known. Read this amazing post about other one-hit wonders. Sometimes, you don't need to write a dozen great books. Just one will do.

The Bronte sisters wrote in the trenches of fiction when the world said they shouldn't. They had to pretend to be men to find voices, and only after they'd already proven themselves was it safe to reveal their true identities. The somewhat tragic tale of the Bronte sisters is beautifully told in the movie Devotion, which I love, starring Olivia de Havilland as Charlotte Bronte. Watch it!

From the Trenches: Late Bloomer

Some writers find their calling at a young age, and begin scribbling on pages as soon as they can hold a pen. Other writers get that urge, and don't follow it -- maybe because they're afraid, or they're busy, or it just feels too hard to try. One famous writer found that she couldn't ignore the urge any longer, and began writing children's books when other women her age were grandmothers. Good thing she did, or else re-runs would be seriously lacking some seriously good period TV.

Laura Ingalls Wilder probably never thought of having her own career. She was a daughter, a wife, a mother, and a pioneer...and none of it left very much time for writing. But she felt the itch that all writers feel, and when she saw her daughter, Rose, making a go of writing Wilder decided she would try it herself. And so she did, and the entire world fell in love with a family that lived in a Little House.

Little House, Big Dreams

Laura Elizabeth Ingalls was born in the wilds of Wisconsin in 1867 to father Charles and mother Caroline. She had an older sister Mary, who went blind, and two younger sisters named Caroline and Grace. They were true pioneers, who settled on the frontier in what's now known as Kansas. Laura's father had a wandering urge, an they moved from frontier to frontier for several years before settling in South Dakota, where they saw an entire town spring up around them.

She began teaching school at age 16 to help with the family finances even though she was still attending school herself, not to mention working for a local dressmaker. All of this stopped, however, when she married a farmer named Almanzo Wilder at age 18. She joined him on his homestead and had a baby girl, Rose, shortly thereafter. Another son was born, but he died shortly after being born in 1889.

Disaster struck, and struck, and struck. Just before her baby boy died, Almanzo (whom she called "Manly") suffered illness that left him partially paralyzed for life. A fire destroyed their home and their barn, and then drought swept through the land and lasted for years. They left South Dakota and moved to Florida, which had a warm climate. This didn't last long. They moved back to South Dakota and each took jobs to support their small family. In 1894, they moved to Missouri where the land was still wild and undeveloped. Here, they built Rocky Ridge Farm. Eking out a living was tough. Almanzo cleared the property and sold cartloads of firewood for 50 cents in town. But as the land was cleared, the fields were tilled. Over the next two decades Rocky Ridge turned into a sprawling, 200-acre farm producing poultry, fruit and dairy products.

Meanwhile, Rose was growing up and dreaming of being a writer. She began to enjoy some success and earn some money at the task, and her mother took notice. Laura decided to follow her own writing itch, and penned an article for the Missouri Ruralist. It was great, and they gave her a permanent position as a columnist as a result. The Wilders began to work their own land less and less, hiring help to toil in the fields instead, and this gave Laura more time to write. Daughter Rose Wilder Lane enjoyed some success as a national freelance writer, and though her finances suffered in the crash of '29 she earned enough to get through the Great Depression.

Her parents were not so lucky. The stock market crash and resulting financial collapse hit them hard, leaving Rose to assume financial responsibility for them. But Laura Ingalls Wilder was still writing. She penned a biographical story about her childhood on the frontier following the death of her mother and her sister. It was called Pioneer Girl.

The publishers and Rose's agent didn't like it. Laura Ingalls Wilder, who had already experienced death, drought, catastrophe and even depression, wasn't about to give up that easily. She changed the autobiographical work into a story instead. "I" became "Laura" and the focus of the book became more for young girls Laura's age. The story became The Little House in the Big Woods instead, and in 1932 it was accepted for publication. Laura Ingalls Wilder was 65 years old when it hit the shelves.

It was the beginning of a dynasty. While Rose wrote more adult fare, Laura Ingalls Wilder was thinking about her childhood -- and she wrote about it. Wilder's career as a novelist continued with Little House on the Prairie and a whole host of children's books that followed. Since the first Big Woods book was published in 1931, Wilder's novels have never been out of print.

Her first royalty check came in 1932 in the amount of $500 USD. In 1938, The Saturday Evening Post gave her $30,000 to serialize her book Free Land. She was a huge success as an author, and her writing brought in steady income -- not to mention fan mail. The next few years were filled with writing, and Wilder produced 8 Little House books. They fairly flew off store shelves.

Almanzo died in 1949 at age 93 at Rocky Ridge, where carloads of fans stopped nearly every day to meet the real-life Laura of the Little House books. She lived alone at the farm until 1957, and died just three days before she would have turned 90. She's buried, with Rose and Manly, in the nearby town cemetery.

You can still visit Rocky Ridge Farmhouse today if you like. The townspeople got together to buy the house and grounds, which they turned into a museum. Rose Wilder Lane gave them some of the funds they needed to complete the sale, and donated a portion of her earnings to its continued upkeep.

Years after Wilder's death, the Little House books became a television series on NBC. It ran for 8 years, from 1974 to 1982, and has rarely been out of syndication since. If you've got a TV, you've probably seen Little House on the Prairie at least once. Laura Ingalls Wilder couldn't possibly live long enough to see her book become a beloved and long-running TV show, but it probably would have delighted her. She once said that she wrote the Little House books because she wanted girls to see how much, and how quickly, America changed in her own lifetime. 

She got more out of her one lifetime than some people could get with five. Laura Ingalls Wilder was a late bloomer in the world of writing, because she wasn't afraid to try something new -- not even when she was what we would call a senior citizen. She wrote from the trenches in rugged circumstances, in times of financial trouble, because she had a story she just had to share. And for my part, I'm really, really happy she found a way to share it.

From the Trenches: Mother Nature's Son

Some of the world's greatest writers never become famous in their own lifetimes. One of America's best never made much money with his writing, and by the time he died only two of his books were in print...because he paid for them himself. 

Henry David Thoreau, who was born David Henry, paid to have 1,000 copies of his book A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers printed...less than 300 sold. He built himself a shack in the woods after being schooled at Harvard, and many of his contemporaries thought he was quite odd. Maybe they weren't wrong -- but he was still a brilliant writer.

It just took a long time for anyone to realize it. 

Into the Woods

He was born in Concord, Massachusetts and went to Harvard in 1833 to study science, philosophy, math, rhetoric and the classics. But as an adult, Thoreau decided he wanted to escape the polished atmosphere of city living...and all the rest of society. 

In his own words, Thoreau went out into the woods "to live deliberately." He built a shack on a friend's land out by Walden Pond, to learn what he couldn't learn in college...and to write. He was told in 1845 to "build yourself a hut" and then to begin "the grand process of devouring yourself alive" by Ellery Channing. Thoreau followed the advice and just two months later, he was in the woods.

Here he wrote A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, but couldn't find a publisher. It was Thoreau's friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson, who suggested that Thoreau self-publish. He did, but very few copies of the book sold. He left Walden Pond in 1847 and worked to pay off various debts he'd earned. For years, he worked on his second book, Walden, which talked about his adventured in the woods. 

Today, it is considered to be a very important book. It's studied, and re-studied, and cited as a fantastic work of literary art. Back then...well, opinions were slightly different.

Publishers and critics weren't really interested in Henry David Thoreau. He wrote for himself instead, keeping journals and writing essays to the very last day of his life. Bedridden with ill health for weeks, Thoreau wrote frantically until the very end. His only fans were a few close friends who believed in his writing. They were the only ones who did.

Friends like Ellery Channing and Harrison Blake helped to publish some of Thoreau's very prolific writings after his death. The first were published in 1906, and slowly began to grow in popularity. It wasn't until the 1920s that literary critics began to discover him, and his talent. Today, the international Thoreau Society is dedicated to honoring and spreading awareness about his vast writings, in particular his famous Walden.

Henry David Thoreau wrote in the writing trenches when no one really considered him a writer...and he kept on writing, even after he failed at it commercially. He died with very little money, but he did have a circle of friends who believed in his genius. They were right, and because they kept trying everyone now knows the name Henry David Thoreau. He waited a lifetime to share his books, and never benefited from his patience. But the rest of the world did, and I'm pretty sure he would be pretty happy with that.

From the Trenches: Master of Perseverance

Sometimes, the dream of becoming a published author feels like a silly fantasy. Repeat rejection letters have a way of taking their toll, and everybody's got their limits. Well, maybe not everybody. One author you've definitely heard of was rejected 800 times before selling any of his writings. Today, his books are among the most popular fiction ever written. 

Clive Staples Lewis, more commonly known as C. S. Lewis, lived in a world of words. He was on the faculty at Oxford University's English Department and belonged in a literary group called the Inklings (cute, right?). Whether he was working or socializing, words were everywhere. One of Lewis's closest friends was J. R. R. Tolkein, who famously wrote the Lord of the Rings books. 

No, Thank You

C. S. Lewis also wanted to be an author. He began writing while working at the University, but every manuscript he sent to editors came back with a rejection slip...by the hundreds. Lewis didn't publish his first book until 1933, a novel about his own very personal spiritual journey. Academic books followed, and in private Lewis started writing the first of his Narnian books in 1939. 

He wouldn't finish it for ten years. When The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe was published in 1950, C. S. Lewis was still getting rejected. His good friend J. R. R. Tolkien criticized Lewis and the book itself -- he thought it was too busy, with too many elements that clashed.

But C. S. Lewis was a veteran in the rejection department. Critics didn't fall in love with the book, either, so he went ahead and wrote 6 more of them. The readers loved the books, and word of mouth began to spread them all over the world. Today, more than 100 million copies of the Narnia books have been sold. 

C. S. Lewis wrote in the writing trenches even when he was drowning in rejection letters and criticism. He persevered, despite what the critics and even his friends had to say about it. For him, the idea of being a famous author wasn't a silly little fantasy...but he had to go through a lot of letters before it came true.

From the Trenches: It's a Jungle Out There

"You just don't know how to use the English language." Many authors who receive a cruel rejection such as this one might throw away their dictionaries, burn their thesaurus and develop a deep hatred of the literary world. The author who received this letter ended up writing one of the world's most beloved books instead, a story so good that Disney couldn't wait to get their hands on it 75 years later. 

Rudyard Kipling received the quote above in a rejection letter from an editor at the San Francisco Examiner. To his credit, the editor prefaced the quote with "I'm sorry," though any author knows this small courtesy probably didn't do much to ease the sting.  

 Inner Strength

Kipling lived an interesting life. He was born in 1865 in Bombay and was immersed in the world of the arts early, spending time around painters and sculptors. He didn't find his love of words until he was a college student in north Devon 13 years later. He began working as a journalist and editor in 1882 after returning home to India, but didn't get anything of his own published until 1886. Kipling followed up on his poetry with a volume of short stories a year later, and began to publish prolifically over the next few years. By 1892, Kipling was a huge success.

But before he found success, he was getting rejection letters like the one quoted at the top of this post. Rudyard Kipling didn't have an easy childhood. He spent time in a foster home and later, had bad experiences in boarding school because he was bullied and teased mercilessly. Cruel rejection letters belittling his ability could have easily dampened his love of the written word and made him doubt his own talent. 

Luckily, it didn't. Rudyard Kipling was a prolific writer, and a resilient one, and he kept on scribbling away anyway. During his lifetime, Rudyard Kipling won the Nobel Prize for Literature and published more than 15 books that included poetry, short story collections and full-length novels. He is best known for The Jungle Book, published in 1894, a story that's still well-beloved today.

Rudyard Kipling wrote in the writing trenches in spite of rejection, even when he was told he had no idea what he was doing. He believed in himself, and in his work, and he went on to prove that silly editor wrong millions of bestselling copies over.

From the Trenches: Self-Publishing Pioneer

A story we've all heard almost didn't make it, because the author trying to publish it was rejected so many times. She heard the word "no" from publishers so much, in fact, that she decided to self-publish -- just like so many of today's authors. The thing is, she did it way back in 1902...more than a hundred years before the Kindle existed. 

Beatrix Potter started writing as a child. She invented her own secret writing code and started recording the events of her life as young as 15 years old. As a girl, she often secretly brought small animals into her house. She loved writing stories, but Beatrix Potter also has a scientific mind. She tried to publish a paper about fungi and algae, but because she was female she couldn't submit it. Her parents tried to find suitors for Beatrix as she became of an age to marry, but she rejected them all and retained her single status against their wishes.

Her Own Way

She wanted to be a writer. Beatrix submitted a children's book and accompanying drawings to several publishers, but it was rejected many times.Finally, she self-published the book at her own expense. All the drawings were done in full color, something Potter's youngest brother Norman insisted upon. The book was also made in a small size, because she wanted it to be easy for children to hold in their small hands. 

 

That self-published book was The Tale of Peter Rabbit, which would go on to become one of the most beloved children's books of all time. Frederick Warne & Company eventually published the book on their dime, though they didn't have a lot of hope for it. It sold nearly 30,000 copies that first year, and Beatrix Potter went on to write 22 more children's books. She introduced young readers to characters like Squirrel Nutkin, Benjamin Bunny and Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle. 

Beatrix Potter wrote and drew for the rest of her life, and ended up getting married while in her 40s. Today, young children still read Peter Rabbit and watch animated movies about the rabbit that stole into the garden when he shouldn't have. Beatrix Potter wrote in the trenches when women were supposed to be getting married and having children instead, and when she heard the word no she decided she didn't need any old publisher, anyway. She became a huge success in her market, but before she did it Beatrix Potter was an indie author, too.

From the Trenches: Fortunate Son

One of America's most well-loved writers is also one of the unluckiest. Jack London faced rather miserable circumstances early in life, and before he found fame and fortune he had a mailbox stuffed full of ugly rejection letters. You can still see some of them today, on display at his famous estate. There are almost enough, in fact, to use as wallpaper. 

Jack London was born illegitimately in California to a single mother. As a child, London was raised by an ex-slave and worked in a cannery. As a teen, London worked on fishing and sealing boats before he returned to land to attend high school at 19. 

He loved to read, and as a natural extension of his love of words began to write when he wasn't working in the canning factory. London submitted many early poems, short stories and poems to publications throughout California in his early years of writing, but received rejection in return. His mother committed suicide when he was 21. Devastated by this and by his biological father's subsequent rejection, Jack London decided to quit school and went into the wilds of the Klondike. 

It would change him, and his writing, for ever.

Being Wild

Jack London joined the Gold Rush in 1897, sailing to the Klondike with his sister's husband. When he returned to California a year later, he was motivated to become a successful writer -- and now, he had the perfect setting to give him a good start. Using the backdrop of the Klondike, London began to write his first novel. He was offered 5 dollars for it from The Overland Monthly, and almost decided to give up on writing.

But he didn't. He received much more money for this story "A Thousand Deaths" and began writing more. It was a lucky coincidence that new printing technologies were also available for the first time, creating a magazine boom and a huge need for lots and lots of words. In 1900, London made thousands of dollars from his writing.

He sold his iconic work, The Call of the Wild, to the The Saturday Evening Post and Macmillan in 1903, and it cemented his career. As planned, Jack London became a successful working writer. Jack London was the highest-paid and most popular author and short story writer of his day, drawing on his own exciting experiences out in nature to craft vivid tales the public still devours. His book The Sea-Wolf was used as the basis for the first full-length American movie ever made.

Jack London didn't commit suicide, as urban myth would have readers believe. He developed kidney disease, possibly stemming from his days in the Klondike when his health was quite poor, and died of renal failure. He wanted to be a writer, and he was -- it's a story with a happy ending, not a sad one. 

You can see Jack London's history if you visit the House of Happy Walls, a museum decided to London established shortly after his death. Here, there are almost 600 rejection letters on display that London received from editors and other literary types during his career. Many writers could use that many letters to completely cover their workspace in wall-to-wall rejection. It didn't stop Jack London, who worked in the writing trenches with ambition firing his brain...and proved them all wrong. 

From the Trenches: In Love with Words, Afraid of People

Some writers are so afraid of being rejected or judged in any way, they won't even let others see their work. This was the case for one American woman who would go on to become one of the most celebrated poets of all time. It's only through a quirk of fate that any of us know she existed -- upon her death, she instructed that all of her writings should be burned to ash. 

Lucky for us, that's not what happened. 

Emily Dickinson lived in Massachusetts, and in her 56 years on Earth she barely saw any of the world. In fact, she barely saw what was going on outside her own room. This is where she spent most of her time, usually wearing white clothing, scribbling away furiously at her poems and her letters. Though she was a homebody who reportedly did not like to greet guests who came to the family house, she was a prolific letter-writer who maintained many close friendships through correspondence. 

But most of her time was spent writing poetry, usually on the topic of mortality (which seemed to fascinate her). Dickinson even put together collections of her own poems, binding them by hand. She never published those poetry books.

Meeting the World

During her lifetime, Dickinson published two poems...both anonymously. No one knows exactly why she was so reluctant to share her work, but some speculate that she received early criticism for her poetry early in life. More likely, Dickinson didn't publish for the same reason she didn't come out of her room -- she was painfully introverted and reclusive. Being an introverted writer is a bit like being a fish who wants to fly. But Dickinson could have been discouraged because her anonymous poems were edited heavily before being put into print; editors removed her dashes and changed some of her punctuations. 

In any time, Emily Dickinson's style of poetry was unique. She didn't exactly observe rules of punctuation or capitalization, her lines were short and her rhyming scale was strange. After she died in 1886, her sister Lavinia discovered a treasure trove of nearly 2,000 poems in Emily's room.

They, too, were heavily edited before they were published in 1890, where they met with rather ugly reviews for about 60 years. It wasn't until an unedited version of her poetry was released in 1955 that Emily Dickinson became recognized as the genius poet she truly was. Now, the critics can't praise her enough, and Dickinson's poetry is a must-read in high school and college classes around the world. 

They're always published in their original, unedited, style.

Emily Dickinson worked in the poetry trenches in private, keeping all of her beautiful words to herself out of shyness, or fear, or reasons we can't understand. But the woman who was always writing of death found a way to become immortal. Today, Dickinson's voice remains strong and her own singular style will be preserved in print for ever. She didn't share much of herself with the world, but at least she did share her words. Fear kept Emily inside her bedroom. The important thing is that it didn't keep her from writing.

From the Trenches: The Starving Editor

How many times have you been asked to study "The Raven" in school? Have you ever heard of the Tell-Tale Heart? Even if you're not an avid reader of his works, chances are extremely high that you've heard the name Edgar Allan Poe at some point in your life. He's still being referenced in popular culture today, and he's credited with inventing the detective fiction drama that's served so many writers so well. 

He died alone, broke and didn't receive much recognition for his work during his own lifetime. One may even infer that at the time of his death, by many perspectives Poe was something of a failure as a writer. 

Starving Editor

His life, sadly, played out a little like something out of one of his own grim tales. After a brief military career, during which Poe asked to be discharged early, he moved to a city that has been a mecca for writers for centuries: New York. 

Poe had published a book of poetry while in the army, but it didn't receive any real attention. His writing aspirations wouldn't get life again until he won a short story contest a few years later, after his poetry was rejected by many different magazines in the United States. The contest landed him a job as an editor. He did pretty well at the job, increasing the publication's circulation by a whopping 3,000 subscribers. 

But the money wasn't good, and Poe was a writer -- not an editor. So he left the magazine and started writing short stories. Two more years passed before he got something published, a collection of short stories. He received 20 copies of the book...and not much else.

Poe accepted another editing position the next year, because a man's gotta eat, and after increasing the magazine's circulation he left the job after two years to start his own magazine. It failed. He published some booklets of his stories, but they didn't really sell all that many copies. Finally he accepted yet another editing position at yet another magazine, but it went bankrupt after a year and Poe was out of a job again.

He left New York in 1849. Edgar Allen Poe was found a few weeks later in Baltimore, semi-conscious, and taken to a hospital. This is where he died four days later, never explaining exactly what had happened to him. His death remains a mystery, though popular opinion blames his ongoing struggle with alcoholism. In his life, he was best-known as a literary critic, and he never much held a steady job for any length of time. He wrote prolifically, and tried on many occassions to get his work published and read. These attempts would, largely, fail. 

Enduring Fame

Poe did gain attention for the poem "The Raven," which was first published in 1845. Following his death, more people became aware of Poe's works and today he's considered to be one of the greatest writers and poets of all time, a true pioneer in the mystery genre (to which I personally belong). Poe wrote with passion, and that's the way he lived...but as a writer, he had little to celebrate. He worked in the trenches, and he got as close as he could to the literary world he loved. In the end, his struggle did pay off -- albeit, a little too late for him to enjoy it himself. Somehow, I don't think Poe would really mind that too much -- he was a true lover of words, and I like to think he'd be happy just knowing that so many of us have read his.

From the Trenches: Depressing Rejection

Few things can create as much pressure as being given the label "promising." One success usually isn't enough for any author. Phrases like what have you done for me lately? and you're only as good as your last book leap to mind. Once you achieve something in the world of publishing, you may expect all the doors to fall open for you. So when they stay closed, it can be a pretty brutal letdown. 

This was the case for one very promising poet, flush with potential, who discovered that success doesn't immediately lead to more success...in an very harsh way. 

Sylvia Plath was a very promising and talented poet, and she proved it with the publication of her poetry collection, The Colossus. The book was made up of 44 poems, and it didn't exactly set the world on fire right away...but it did give Plath the motivation to begin her first fiction novel. 

Reportedly, Plath began writing the book in 1961 after being awarded the Eugene F. Saxton Fellowship. It was a rather prestigious grant attached to publishers Harper & Row, and it gave Plath the freedom to work furiously at her literary endeavors.

She was no stranger to awards. Plath went to Smith, where she edited The Smith Review, and won a position as a guest editor at Mademoiselle magazine. She even won a grant to attend Cambridge, and traveled around Europe when classes weren't in session. 

So, after spending many months of working on her first (and what would be only) novel, Sylvia Plath sent a copy to Harper & Row, the benefactors of her Fellowship. 

They hated it. They deemed the book "disappointing, juvenile and overwrought," and pulled her Fellowship.

Still determined to succeed, Plath submitted it to a different publishing house -- this time, under a pen name. The response? Another harsh rejection. The editor who read her work commented "there certainly isn't enough genuine talent for us to take notice." 

Plath quickly responded, this time with the revelation of her real name. "I have now re-read --or rather read more thoroughly-- [the manuscript] with the knowledge that it is by Sylvia Plath which has added considerably to its interest," the editor wrote. "But it still is not much of a novel...there is no viewpoint." Of the plot itself, the editor wrote that "one feels simply that Miss Plath is writing of them because [these] things did happen to her and the incidents are in themselves good for a story, but throw them together and they don't necessarily add up to a novel."

Harsh...and stupid. The novel that Plath wrote was, of course, The Bell Jar. Today it is considered a classic, and it's been indelibly ingrained into popular culture as a representation of depression, suicide and teen angst, among other themes that deal in femininity and the pressures of having potential. It's still selling on Amazon to this day, and it's required reading in many high schools and institutes of higher learning. Plath's own sad story is hopelessly entangled with the book, of course...she died by her own hand very shortly after it was first published. Since The Bell Jar is about suicide, the parallels are inescapable. But Plath's voice lives on in the book, and it happens to be one of my very favorites. 

Many brilliant minds struggle with emotions; genius and raw feeling do not make for happy bedfellows. Sylvia Plath worked in the fiction trenches and battled depression the best way she knew how: by writing about it. In the end, she couldn't overcome her own demons...but lucky for the rest of us, she managed to put them down on paper quite beautifully before she left. She weathered harsh rejection and suffered staggering defeats, and even after she died she was still winning awards for her brilliant work.

From the Trenches: Brutal Rejection

"Tell [her] to stick to her teaching; she can never succeed as a writer." These were the words of James T. Fields, then the editor of The Atlantic magazine. According to legend, the Boston editor wrote to the father of a young, aspiring novelist with these very harsh words. She'd just completed work on her first full-length novel, a monster of a volume containing some autobiographical elements and deep, gut-wrenching tragedy. 

The novel in question eventually did get published, and Hollywood has immortalized it in film more than once using some of the city's favorite actresses (including Katharine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor). And even if you've never read it, I'm pretty sure you've heard of it.

It's called Little Women, and it's considered to be a classic piece of literature. Louisa May Alcott, who famously penned the book while living in Massachusetts, eventually became a writer for The Atlantic magazine. Looks like she sure showed Mr. editor James T. Fields. 

A Big Little Woman

Louisa May Alcott wrote prose all her life, though she is still best-known for Little Women and the three books that followed; a group of books known as the March Family Saga. It was published, over two volumes, in 1868 and 1869, and still delights readers and film lovers to this day. Little Women has been adapted in three big-budget Hollywood productions: 1933, starring Katharine Hepburn; 1949, starring Elizabeth Taylor, June Allyson, Janet Leigh and Margaret O'Brien; and one in 1994, with Susan Sarandon, Winona Ryder, Claire Danes, Kirsten Dunst and Christian Bale. That's right: 125 years after Alcott was told she would never be a successful writer, Batman was the leading man in the movie adaptation of her book.

Louisa May Alcott was in the writing trenches well before Twitter and word processors, back when everything had to written by hand, and she still had haters to contend with. Thank goodness she didn't listen to them!