Faced with rejection from publishers, some writers simply quit

Original Toronto Star caption: Faced with rejection from publishers; some writers simply quit. David Day; However; smiles when he recalls the time in 1975 when he offered Anna Porter; then MacClelland and Stewart's editorial director; his idea for A Tolkien Bestiary; the illustrated reference book which celebrated the myth-making imagination of the bestselling storyteller. Anna wasn't willing to take a gamble at the time; says Day. The $200;000 production costs were too prohibitive. But as it turned out; Mitchell Beazley Publishers in London took up my offer. Published in 1979; A Tolkien Bestiary sold 250;000 copies; was translated into seven languages; and has earned $200;000 for Day. And its success opened up more publishing doors. The Doomsday Book Of Animals; his 1981 study of animals driven to extinction; has racked up 30;000 in sales; and his new book; Castles (bantam; $25.95); has 70;000 copies in print.