JK Rowling tweets rejection letters to inspire authors

  • 26/03/2016
J K Rowling (Reuters)
J K Rowling (Reuters)

Harry Potter author JK Rowling has publicly posted letters of rejection sent to her by publications in a bid to inspire young authors to press through.

The British author tweeted two of her rejection letters by popular request "for inspiration, not revenge, so I've removed signatures".

The letters were in relation to her first novel, The Cuckoo's Calling, which she pitched under the name Robert Galbraith.

Her rejection letter from Constable & Robinson read: "I regret that we have reluctantly come to the conclusion that we could not publish it with commercial success."

The publisher even suggested she take a writing course.

The Cuckoo's Calling was eventually published in 2013, and climbed to the top of the bestseller lists when the secret of its authorship broke.

Harry Potter was also rejected several times. It has now sold more than 400 million copies internationally.

Ms Rowling said she pinned her first rejection letter to her kitchen wall because it "gave me something in common with all my fave writers!"

 

She then sent out a series of tweets answering questions about the rejection letters and giving advice to budding authors.

Ms Rowling is the United Kingdom's best-selling living author, with sales in excess of £238 million (NZ$502 million).

Newshub.