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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. You absolutely must plow forward.

Nobody told me how hard it was going to be to get published. I wrote four novels that nobody wanted, sent them out all over, collected hundreds and hundreds of rejection slips.

I like to joke that I probably hold the world record for rejection letters. Yes, the truth is that I was fed up of being rejected repeatedly, and self-publication was an act of defiance at traditional publishing. But life works in strange ways.

Rejection is part of the process, so you can't let it crush you. My first three novels never made it into publication, but my fourth, 'Sheltering Rain,' was translated into 11 languages.

I have been rejected 120 times, probably because I didn't write the right book.

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

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

My first book was rejected nine times. It turned out to be a best seller, Battle Cry? in 1953.

As a writer, the worst thing you can do is work in an environment of fear of rejection.

Every published writer suffers through that first draft because most of the time, that's a disappointment.