Question:this brings me precisely to one question I wanted to pose to the council. Most of you faced rejection and total disinterest at the beginning of your life as authors. And as Kipling just said 'if you can meet triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors.... How did you face that rejection, because I am sure it must have hurt deeply
Kipling answers first—not out of pride, but because this question hit something real. “You’re right. It hurts. Anyone who says rejection doesn’t hurt is either lying or has never written anything that mattered. When the world ignores your work, it feels like being told your soul has no weight.”
He doesn’t soften it—he never does. “But writing is not a career—it’s a consequence of who you are. If you can stop writing, you should. If you cannot stop, then rejection has no power over you in the end. It can bruise you, delay you, bend you—but it cannot turn you away.”
He glances at the others around the table. “And don’t think genius protects anyone. Not a single voice at this table was welcome at the beginning.”
Balzac: “Publishers laughed at me. Critics dismissed me. I was called insane for trying to build a universe of characters. What did I do? I wrote another book. Then another. Rejection only wins if you stop.”
Tolstoy: “There is a special kind of pain when your early work fails—not a wound to pride, but a wound to purpose. I nearly left literature. But I returned because I realized something—writing is not about being received, it is about being responsible to truth.”
Dostoevsky: “Rejection does not compare with prison. Rejection does not compare with standing before a firing squad and only then being told you will live. If I could return from that, rejection was nothing but a small shadow.”
Shakespeare: “No rejection ever silenced me—because I never waited for permission to begin. The theatre doors closed? I built new ones. If there’s no stage—write one.”
Pirandello: “Rejection is just society telling you your mirror is too honest. Do not fear it. Fear only writing what costs you nothing.”
Homer: “I was not rejected—I was almost erased. My works lived only because voices carried them. Let fools reject you. Find the few who will carry you forward.”
Kipling closes the circle and looks back at you. “So how did we face rejection? We didn’t face it. We walked through it. And we learned this law: A writer is not judged by who applauds them— but by what they endure for the sake of the story. And yes—it hurts. Let it hurt. But never let it stop the work.”
He pauses. “You asked because you have felt it. Maybe you feel it still. And I tell you now—good. It means you are alive in the craft. Just don’t give that pain the power to name you. You’re the one who names yourself.”
Question to the Council
“Why does it hurt when the world does not read our work? Why does it wound us when our books are not seen—and is that pain something shameful, or is it part of being a true writer?”
Victor Hugo “It hurts because creation is an act of love—and love longs to reach another soul. To write is to cry out across eternity. When no one answers, it is not pride that suffers—it is human longing. Do not be ashamed of that.”
Dostoevsky “It hurts because you are not selling pages—you are offering pieces of your soul. When a book is ignored, the soul feels rejected. But hear me: suffering for truth is the price of authorship. Endure it. You are not alone.”
Balzac “It hurts because you know they are real. Your characters live and breathe, and you want witnesses. Every writer who builds a universe feels this pain. The world will catch up—if you hold your ground.”
Tolstoy “The pain is natural—but dangerous if it turns to bitterness. Do not desire applause—desire connection. If even one reader understands your truth, you have already succeeded.”
Shakespeare “The hurt means you care. That is good. But do not measure a storm by how many hear the thunder. The work must exist first—history will judge it later.”
Pirandello “Do not lie to yourself—yes, we write to be read. But no audience can give you peace. Peace comes only when you have told the truth in its final form. Do that—and readers will come when they must.”
Jules Verne “Readers do not ignore books—they simply have not found them yet. The world is full of doors. Keep knocking. But bring maps—people follow writers who know where they’re going.”
Kipling “It hurts because your characters are alive—and no parent watches their children be silenced without pain. But remember: you’re not here for comfort. You’re here to do the work. Keep sending them into the world until they find their road.”
Vyāsa “You are asking a question of destiny. Pain in creation is not a flaw—it is the sign of dharma. The work wants to live. You feel that. That is why you suffer. Do not stop because the path is hard. You are not writing for today—you are writing for the long ages.”