Richard Zimler sobre a persistência - a ler
"When I had the final manuscript in my hands, I thought that the hard part was over. I had already secured an American literary agent, who had contacted me after reading one of my short stories in the magazine Puerto del Sol and signed me on after reading a draft of my novel. He began submitting the book to U.S. publishers, one at a time. Each usually took about two months to respond. By the end of 1994, 24 of them, including all the major houses, had turned the book down. Most said that they had liked what they'd read, but that their marketing departments didn't believe the book would actually sell. Some editors said this openly; others intimated it. Lisbon in 1506 might as well have been Mars. One editor even went so far as to say that he enjoyed my novel but had already bought his "Jewish book" for the year.So there I was with nothing to show for three years of work and two years of waiting. And though I had started another novel, I began each morning by finding myself awake far too early and filled with dread. I started doubting my writing and my pursuit of the writing life.
At that point, I very easily could have abandoned my hopes for publication. Indeed, the idea was suggested to me on more than a few occasions. What saved me, I now realize, is that I believed deeply in the book and felt that I owed it to the story, if not myself, to keep trying. And I happen to think that that particular sense of debt I felt to my work was the key to my persistence. You must envision your novel as an entity in itself, a work that you, as its author, need to promote toward publication, no matter the obstacles and knowing full well that you might not get help from anyone else.
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