Inspirational Anecdotes
From the 1860's "Had my manuscripts been paper boomerangs they could not have returned with greater accuracy to their unhappy dispatcher. Oh, the vileness and utter degradation of the moment when the stale little cylinder of closely written pages, which seemed so fresh and full of promise a few days ago, is handed in by a remorseless postman!"

An interesting short story, by a world-famous author, which you can view now, online, in its entirety (a .txt file, 40k) by clicking here...txt or download as a .zip file (17k) by clicking here...zip.

(By the way, the world famous author? Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the famed Sherlock Holmes. You can download his impressive works from the Project Gutenburg site...see Writers' Resources).

Quotes Posterity: What you write for after being turned down by the publishers. --George Ade

The difference between the amateur and the professional writer is that the professional didn't quit. -- Richard Bach

If you write a hundred short stories, and they're all bad, it doesn't mean you're a failure. You only fail when you stop writing. --Ray Bradbury

I've made nearly two thousand sales of all kinds, and I still get rejections now and then, and some pretty off-handed ones at times, too. --Isaac Asimov

This manuscript of yours that has just come back from another editor is a precious package. Don't consider it rejected. Consider that you've addressed it to 'the editor who can appreciate my work' And it has simply come back stamped 'Not at this address'. --Barbara Kingsolver



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