For those of you slogging it out on your manuscript and wondering whether it will ever be published, consider the story of author T. J. Newman.
In the acknowledgements of her first book “Falling”, Newman says her manuscript was rejected by 41 literary agents before Shane Solerno said yes. And now her book is on the New York Times Bestseller List, and will probably be coming to a theatre near you after the film rights were sold to Universal Pictures in a seven-figure deal.
The many online articles about Newman’s book and its journey, as well as other stories about authors who persisted and published, serve as a reminder to those of you penning your first or umpteenth manuscript to not let the “no”s stop you.
As Newman said in a Vanity Fair article, “I just wanted to publish a book. I believed in this story and I wanted to publish this story. I never dreamed this big.” And look how that turned out.
Wherever you are in your literary journey, ignore the naysayers and keep writing, because as I’ve always said, if it’s worth writing, it’s worth putting out there. And while there are no guarantees how it will get out there, or whether you’ll be as lucky as Newman, you will never know how far your manuscript can go if you stop believing.