As if we didn’t already adore J.K. Rowling, she just gave us another reason to admire her. The mastermind behind the Harry Potter books informed aspiring writers through a series of tweets that even she has received rejection letters. While we might obsess over a letter of rejection to the point of wanting to throw it in the trash, Rowling decided to pin her first letter of rejection to her wall as a source of inspiration.
Now, she is encouraging a fellow writer to turn rejection into a possibility of growth and connection.
I pinned my 1st rejection letter to my kitchen wall because it gave me something in common with all my fave writers! https://t.co/ZmGNWDdF7x
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 25, 2016
For years, Rowling, who is very vocal about the fact that her book was not an instant success in the publishing world, has worked to encourage young writers to not fear failure. When she delievered the commencement speech at Harvard in 2008, she urged the audience to embrace failure and utilize their imagination: “Failure means stripping away of the inessential. It is impossible to live without failure.”
While failure is a part of success, even Rowling at once felt like she would never reach the top.
I wasn’t going to give up until every single publisher turned me down, but I often feared that would happen. https://t.co/bMKu4zJ3nm
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 25, 2016
With over 400 million books sold, let’s just say her determination definitely paid off in the end. So remember, collegiettes: embracing our greatest failures can help lead to our greatest successes!