What keeps you back from writing, or even worse, from submitting that manuscript?  As writers, many of us experience the fear of rejection. Losing confidence, we assign our manuscript to the file drawer or worse, the rubbish bin.

Believe it or not, many of the great writers whose names and titles roll off our tongues have faced the same fears and ultimate rejection. Here are just a few of them:

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

A Time to Kill by John Grisham

Dubliners by James Joyce

Chicken Soup for Soul by Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen

Dances with Wolves by Michael Blake

Jaws by Peter Benchley

Dune by Frank Herbert

Gone with The Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl

Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence

Recognise the famous names? Imagine if they had given up, suffered a loss of confidence, threw their work in the trash can…literature would have suffered a severe loss and we would be the poorer for it.

Some of the great authors resorted to publishing their own work, at a time when such a move was frowned upon. Later they came to be picked up by the big publishing houses. Now, self-publishing has become totally respectable and has grown at a phenomenal rate. Many authors who have been rejected in recent years have become successful in terms of sales and followers; Some have been picked up by the main publishing houses, netting them substantial incomes.

When you next sit down with pen and paper or the keyboard and you fear rejection and feel your work is unworthy; remember the greats that have gone before you and become aware of those who have carved out their own path by self-publishing.

You may be the next best seller. Self-publish and have the satisfaction of watching a growing readership. Nothing increases confidence and self-esteem like it.