A Southern Mirrored Window
“The Help,” a novel about the relationships between African-American maids and their white employers in 1960s Mississippi, has the classic elements of a crowd pleaser: it features several feisty women enmeshed in a page-turning plot, clear villains and a bit of a history lesson.
The book, a debut novel by Kathryn Stockett, also comes with a back story that is a publishing dream come true: at first rejected by nearly 50 agents, the manuscript was scooped up by an imprint of Penguin and pushed aggressively to booksellers, who fell in love with it...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/books/03help.html
Note: I purchased my copy of "The Help" last week and glanced at the numbered print run (my copy is part of the 44th print run). Curious, I did a quick Internet search ... this book is a first novel that was rejected over and over. Lesson for aspiring writers, write a good book and keep it out there. Dreams do come true.
While I haven't finished the book I am hooked. Have you read this one?
4 comments:
That was interesting to learn that The Help had been rejected many times. Persistance does pay ~ though sometimes hard. Thanks for the reminder.
It's always nice to hear when a book makes it after all those rejections. Sometimes it's not you. : )
I needed to hear this right now. Although I have an agent, my book has not found a publisher yet. Thanks!
The Help was reject 49 times before being picked up. One "yes" can make all the difference.
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