“One of the signs of Napoleon’s greatness is the fact that he once had a publisher shot.”

The quote comes from Siegfried Unseld; I don’t know what the publisher in question did to annoy Bonaparte.And I’m not suggesting we go that far. But to any writer who’s received a rejection – especially of the dismissive and unhelpful ‘not right for our lists’ variety – will perhaps feel a twitch of sympathy. Rejections are the warp and weft of a writer’s life. You have to deal with them; no matter how ill judged or unfair you believe them to be. Nevertheless, I’m sure I’m not the only one wh...