Rejected novels

An interesting article in yesterday's Guardian about Joanna Kavenna who has won the Orange prize for her novel 'Inglorious'. It was her eighth novel. No one wanted to publish the previous seven and she appears to have abandoned them. Two were lost in her computer and the others "are just lying around somewhere".

There are probably many more unpublished novels than published ones. But should they be thrown away? J.L. (Jim) Carr, a friend, sadly now dead, always persevered. He is probably best remembered for 'A Month in the Country', which won several literary prizes and was shortlisted for the Booker. I don't know whether it was snapped up for publication at once as it should have been, but he told me that one of his novels was rejected by 17, or it may have been 18, publishers. It was eventually published with success. "Never throw anything away," Jim said.