Toni Morrison
What failed
Her marriage ended in 1964 and she became the sole support of two small children, taking a textbook editing job and writing before five in the morning because that was the only time there was. Her first novel was turned down by a number of publishers before one took it, then printed in a hardcover run of two thousand copies. It sold poorly and went out of print by 1974. Her second novel was a National Book Award finalist and did not win. Even Beloved was passed over for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, which prompted more than forty Black writers and scholars to sign a public letter of protest.
What happened next
Beloved won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993.
The point
There is no rejection count for her, and inventing one would miss the point. Her first book was reviewed decently in places and simply did not sell — which is the commoner and quieter failure. The work did not change between 1970 and 1988. What changed was how many people had caught up.
The sequence
8 documented failures, shown with the successes in between. Every entry carries its own source — the wins are part of the record, and leaving them out is how these stories get distorted.
- 1964
Her marriage ends and she becomes the sole support of two small children.
- 1965
She writes before five in the morning, because it is the only time there is.
- 1969
Her first novel is turned down by a number of publishers.
- 1970
It is printed in a hardcover run of two thousand copies.
- 1974
It has sold poorly and is out of print.
- 1975
Her second novel is a National Book Award finalist and does not win.
- 1977
Her third novel wins the National Book Critics Circle Award.
- 1987
Beloved is a National Book Award finalist and does not win.
- 1988
Beloved is passed over for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and more than forty Black writers and scholars sign a public letter of protest.
- 1988
Beloved wins the Pulitzer Prize.
- 1993
The Nobel Prize in Literature.
Sources
- Toni Morrison — Facts (The Nobel Prize)
who in novels characterized by visionary force and poetic import, gives life to an essential aspect of American reality
- Toni Morrison and The Bluest Eye — 50 Years Later (Ohioana Library)
Because she was a relatively unknown writer, the initial print run in hardcover was only 2,000 copies.
- 11 Things You Should Know About The Bluest Eye (Mental Floss)
By 1974, it had fallen out of print.
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Related failures
Others in writing, and nearby.
Theodor Seuss Geisel
Children's author
Rejected somewhere between 20 and 43 times. He never gave a consistent count.
2 documented failures
J.K. Rowling
Novelist
Turned down by more or less every major publisher in Britain, over about a year, while on state benefits.
4 documented failures
Agatha Christie
Novelist
Told her voice would never be strong enough for opera. Her first novel was never published at all.
5 documented failures
George Orwell
Novelist and essayist
T. S. Eliot rejected him twice, twelve years apart. The second book was Animal Farm.
9 documented failures