I’m a mad declutter-bug. I often spend weekends decluttering some corner of my house, which always leads to this conversation with my bestie:
Her on the phone: What are you doing?
Me: Decluttering.
Her: What do you have left to declutter?
I always find something. Decluttering helps clear the energy in both my home and my head. I also, regularly, find messages from the universe in the form of money or little signs.
A recent declutter lead to a delightful discovery.
I was clearing out a filing cabinet drawer and came across a folder of decades old rejection letters. Authors who’ve been around for a while will remember the days when you’d mail a publisher your manuscript, with a stamped return envelope enclosed. In those days, submitting a book was not only an exercise in resilience, as it still is, but also bloody expensive for struggling writers.
In this folder, I had a dozen rejection letters from Australian publishers for a children’s book. I work in the industry now, so flicked through the letters embossed with company logos, looking for any names I recognised. One-by-one I turned the pages: no, no, nope… and then… the final rejection letter. It began…
Dear Ms Tara
Re: Molly and the Hall of Horrors
I rolled my eyes. The correct title of the book was Molly and the Hall of Mirrors, but maybe this guy thought it was so bad he gave it a new name.
And then I noticed the name that signed the letter off…
Keiran Rogers… the sales director and co-founder of Affirm Press. My publisher now.
I marvelled at the coincidence and emailed the photo to him.
Can you believe this? What an incredible reminder for authors to continue working on their craft. Don’t give up on that dream – it will eventually happen for you. Just keep going.
He responded with:
It’s also a reminder for entry level publishing people to not give up. Often, they start their careers having to quash authors dreams (based on the decisions of others). If they keep going, one day they could be the ones making the decisions!
Yes!!!
Keiran’s first job in the industry was rejecting manuscripts for a publisher. Mine was one of the countless manuscripts he rejected.
I can’t remember receiving the rejection, or how I felt about it at the time. Probably nothing. I lived in a Teflon suit for years and these rejection letters – and there were many – were par for the course. I can’t remember the rejections ever impacting me one way or another. I would’ve shoved that rejection in its folder and kept going.
So did Keiran. He kept going. He made his way up the industry ladder to where he is today, co-founder of one of Australia’s most successful independent publishing houses, Affirm Press.
From the moment I began writing Tilda is Visible, I saw Affirm as my dream publisher. There are so many great publishers in Australia, but Affirm was always my top choice.
Now here’s the truly magical bit… Look at the date on the rejection letter
27 February 2001.
Affirm Press (and Keiran Rogers) will publish my novel Tilda is Visible on…
27 February, 2024… exactly 23 years later.
The universe works in mysterious ways. Trust it. And just keep writing.
Extraordinary coincidence Jane! I love the concept of your new novel and hope it takes off like a rocket!
What a great story and what a happy ending for you and Kieran / Affirm!