WD-40 got its name, by being rejected as a product 40 times.
What?!
In this same vein, I recall that monster bestseller, The Four Hour Work Week, By: Tim Ferriss was rejected by 25 different publishers.
Apparently, the Great Gatsby was nearly the same.
It just goes to show that sometimes your work is not ready.
I mean, what creator is satisfied with a first draft?
And sometimes, maybe, the world is not ready.
What are the chances that your prototype is perfect the first time? The Great Gatsby was rejected several times. WD-40 is named after the forty attempts it took its creators to nail the working formula. None of my books were immediately accepted by my publisher—and they were right to kick them back at me. In being forced to go back to the manuscript, I got the books to where they needed to be. I know that now, but at the time it was infuriating to be told, “It’s not quite there yet.”
-Ryan Holiday, Perennial Seller